Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Catholics: Avoiding Cc For Communion

NicoleAJ

By NicoleAJ
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

NicoleAJ Enthusiast
NicoleAJ
Posted

I'm getting married next March in a Catholic church in Miami. For the last three years I have simply avoided taking communion, but for my wedding, I would like to receive communion. I've found the site for the Benedictine Sisters' low gluten host, and I was wondering, from those of you who have used it, how you avoid cc with your alternative host. I imagine there is a type of vessel approved for holding the host during the mass, so I was wondering where you might find one. I know similar issues have come up here in the past, but so often the topics turn to politics, and it is difficult to scan through to find the information. I really hope not to discuss the reasons why Canon law requires wheat, but I'd just like some info from fellow Catholics who use the low gluten hosts.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


pnltbox27 Contributor
pnltbox27
Posted

at my church they keep the low gluten host in the freezer and when i get to church i tell the father or deacon im here and they get one and put it on a separate tray, plus i usally try to sit in the first few rows as to get mine out of the way quicker. i have had no issues so far... good luck on your wedding

gfgypsyqueen Enthusiast
gfgypsyqueen
Posted

I know I have seen eucharist holders or containers for sale in the past. I thought ener-G or some company made gluten-free hosts and sold a container so the priest never actually touches it. Google Eucharist container? Or call the local religious store and ask them to special order one for you. I know they exist, but I can't remember where I saw it.

Congrats on the wedding!

hez Enthusiast
hez
Posted

I would think that since this is your wedding it would be fairly easy for the priest to handle this. You and your soon to be husband should be the first to receive communion. You might want to talk to the alter guild about providing a clean vessel and avoid the purchase of one. Congradulations!

Hez

zarfkitty Explorer
zarfkitty
Posted

I bought my own pyx (wafer container) at a Christian Bookstore. It's just the right size to hold wafers snugly... mine holds 9 wafers but I only put one at a time in it. My Pastor actually communes me out of the pyx, turning the container over into my hand so that he never actually touches the wafer. The pyx is an appropriate vessel for holding the host (in your purse or on the altar).

HTH!

p.s. google or ebay "pyx" for lots of choices in lots of price levels. I paid $7 for mine but they can get really fancy.

CarlaB Enthusiast
CarlaB
Posted

Having your own pyx is a great idea!

On regular Sundays, I just receive the chalice. I play flute in the choir and communion is distributed to the choir first. It's no problem for me to receive the chalice before it's contaminated.

When we visit another church, I just sit up front.

You cannot receive from the priest's chalice because there is a piece of the Host floating in it.

NicoleAJ Enthusiast
NicoleAJ
Posted
  • Author

Thank you all for your responses. The pyx sounds like a great solution. I know that I'll be receiving communion first, but I would like to avoid any potential problems. I'm not getting married in my own parish but rather in the church I attended in college (since my parents still live in Miami and are doing much of the planning), so the easier I can make it on the pastor, the better. I really appreciate all of the suggestions.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


zansu Rookie
zansu
Posted

depending on the logistics of how the priest serves, maybe the whole wedding party can do the low gluten then the priest can switch to the regular. A little more money, a lot more safety and less confusion.

debmidge Rising Star
debmidge
Posted
depending on the logistics of how the priest serves, maybe the whole wedding party can do the low gluten then the priest can switch to the regular. A little more money, a lot more safety and less confusion.

that's an excellent suggestion for this situation - and no one at ceremony would ever know and it would keep the ceremony smooth flowing as no "changing" of anything. Good work!

michelleL Apprentice
michelleL
Posted
I know I have seen eucharist holders or containers for sale in the past. I thought ener-G or some company made gluten-free hosts and sold a container so the priest never actually touches it. Google Eucharist container? Or call the local religious store and ask them to special order one for you. I know they exist, but I can't remember where I saw it.

Congrats on the wedding!

Ener-G does do gluten-free wafers - I saw a box of them at my local gluten=free store...

CarlaB Enthusiast
CarlaB
Posted
Ener-G does do gluten-free wafers - I saw a box of them at my local gluten=free store...

That is a great idea about the whole wedding party receiving them. I'm sure you're going to have to buy more than one anyway. ;):P

The Ener-G are fine, but NOT for the Catholic Church. There is only one approved for Catholic Mass, and it's low-gluten. For other denominations, that's a good suggestion.

chatycady Explorer
chatycady
Posted

Will that low gluten wafer make you sick? I thought any amount of gluten caused the autoimmune response?

NicoleAJ Enthusiast
NicoleAJ
Posted
  • Author

Chatycady,

From what I've read, because the low gluten wafer contains only .01% gluten, it is safe. Apparently, it would take 270 wafers in one day to trigger an autoimmune response. That being said, I'm going to order them and test them out just to doublecheck that I tolerate them, but I imagine I will.

SunnyDyRain Enthusiast
SunnyDyRain
Posted
Chatycady,

From what I've read, because the low gluten wafer contains only .01% gluten, it is safe. Apparently, it would take 270 wafers in one day to trigger an autoimmune response. That being said, I'm going to order them and test them out just to doublecheck that I tolerate them, but I imagine I will.

I was going to suggest something like that, but I didn't know catholic church policy on eating the wafer thingy without the ceremony. I know catholics are strict and sometimes have odd rules. Last thing you want is to get sick on your wedding night!

I was born methodist, we let it all fly, my mother's minister is celiac also, and she does communion for her self first with a gluten free cookie, then breaks the bread for the rest of the congeration. My mom often feels jealous that she gets a cookie and all she is stuck with is plain white bread.

:)

NicoleAJ Enthusiast
NicoleAJ
Posted
  • Author

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the unconsecrated host is just a food product and can be eaten, but once it has become the body of Christ, that is when there are specific rules for how it can be consumed. I believe at the practice for my first communion that they gave us an unconsecrated host so that we wouldn't make a face during the ceremony when we realized its funny texture.

CarlaB Enthusiast
CarlaB
Posted

Yup, the unconsecrated Host is just bread.

  • 1 year later...
Mr. Ed Newbie
Mr. Ed
Posted

I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I've read where Catholics with the disease cannot receive communion because the wafer is made of wheat (gluten). If, as we were taught, the wafer is transformed into Christ's body, it should no longer contain wheat. So what's the problem?

Ed Rothacker

Columbus, OH

bbuster Explorer
bbuster
Posted
Chatycady,

From what I've read, because the low gluten wafer contains only .01% gluten, it is safe. Apparently, it would take 270 wafers in one day to trigger an autoimmune response. That being said, I'm going to order them and test them out just to doublecheck that I tolerate them, but I imagine I will.

The .01% is a maximum potential gluten content. It is likely well below that.

Also, they recently made them a little smaller than before. It's smaller in diameter than a normal host, and seems to be quite a bit lighter in weight.

My son has received these as much as 3 times per week and continues to have negative bloodwork and no signs of reaction.

(We also use a pyx)

knitaddict Apprentice
knitaddict
Posted

Oh no! I never even THOUGHT about Communion! Ugh--something ELSE to worry about! I don't suppose it would suffice if I just took the blood of Christ, would it?? Ugh---why does gluten have to be in EVERYTHING?!?!?! :angry:

TrillumHunter Enthusiast
TrillumHunter
Posted
Oh no! I never even THOUGHT about Communion! Ugh--something ELSE to worry about! I don't suppose it would suffice if I just took the blood of Christ, would it?? Ugh---why does gluten have to be in EVERYTHING?!?!?! :angry:

It is absolutely fine and FULL COMMUNION to receive only the Precious Blood. Avoid the largest chalice that the priest uses during the Consecration as it has a small bit of the Precious Body in it.

My whole family does this every week.

leadmeastray88 Contributor
leadmeastray88
Posted

I had a discussion with my priest about this, and he says that it is FULL COMMUNION to take only the wine and not the bread. We have several Celiacs in our parish so I don't feel self conscious bowing to the communion distributor before taking the wine. I felt awkward the first time though.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. trents
      - trents replied to SilkieFairy's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      IBS-D vs Celiac

      No coincidence. Recent revisions to gluten challenge guidelines call for the daily consumption of at least 10g of gluten (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for a minimum of 3 weeks. If possible, I would extend that two weeks to ensure valid testing.
    2. SilkieFairy
      - SilkieFairy replied to SilkieFairy's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      IBS-D vs Celiac

      Thank you both for the replies. I decided to bring back gluten so I can do the blood test. Today is Day #2 of the Challenge. Yesterday I had about 3 slices of whole wheat bread and I woke up with urgent diarrhea this morning. It was orange, sandy and had the distinctive smell that I did not have when I was briefly gluten free. I don't know if it's a...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens. I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium. I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells. When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly. This is safe...
    4. Jane02
      - Jane02 replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency. I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently...
    5. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hello, @Jane02, I take Naturewise D 3. It contains olive oil. Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets. Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking. Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,336
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Jeffrey Yeres
    Newest Member
    Jeffrey Yeres
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      IBS-D vs Celiac

      By trents · Posted

      No coincidence. Recent revisions to gluten challenge guidelines call for the daily consumption of at least 10g of gluten (about the amount in 4-6 slices of wheat bread) for a minimum of 3 weeks. If possible, I would extend that two weeks to ensure valid testing.
    • SilkieFairy
      IBS-D vs Celiac

      By SilkieFairy · Posted

      Thank you both for the replies. I decided to bring back gluten so I can do the blood test. Today is Day #2 of the Challenge. Yesterday I had about 3 slices of whole wheat bread and I woke up with urgent diarrhea this morning. It was orange, sandy and had the distinctive smell that I did not have when I was briefly gluten free. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the brain fog is back and I feel very tired.   
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.