Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • 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

Catholic Receiving Communion


Coleslawcat

Recommended Posts

Coleslawcat Contributor

I am newly diagnosed with celiac. I had very mild symptoms so I don't know how sensitive I really am to gluten, but I was advised to cut it out entirely so I am doing that. I learned that communion wafers contain gluten so I contacted the pastor at my parish to ask if there was an alternative way to receive communion because the blood/wine is not offered at most masses. He did a little research and told me there is a low gluten host available that contains no more than .01% gluten that is approved for use by the Catholic church. Would this be ok for me to take? Does it depend on my sensitivity? I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position so I would appreciate insight.


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Ahorsesoul Enthusiast

My very personal opinion, since I have a problem with gluten I take gluten free crackers with me. It is after all a symbolic ritual and it should count only what's in my heart, not what the items I use. If it really mattered it would not be wine and a wafer that were served. Those are symbolic.

Would your pastor bless some gluten free crackers for you to use?

There certainly are gluten free options if your pastor isn't willing to let you use gluten free crackers

jerseyangel Proficient
I am newly diagnosed with celiac. I had very mild symptoms so I don't know how sensitive I really am to gluten, but I was advised to cut it out entirely so I am doing that. I learned that communion wafers contain gluten so I contacted the pastor at my parish to ask if there was an alternative way to receive communion because the blood/wine is not offered at most masses. He did a little research and told me there is a low gluten host available that contains no more than .01% gluten that is approved for use by the Catholic church. Would this be ok for me to take? Does it depend on my sensitivity? I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position so I would appreciate insight.

The low-gluten host would be fine if you don't react to them. You may find, however, that the longer you are gluten-free, the more sensitive you become. (this doesn't happen to everyone, but it can happen)

You could speak to your priest again and ask if you could buy a small chalice and have it there for your use only.

TrillumHunter Enthusiast
It is after all a symbolic ritual

Not for Catholics. I don't want to debate this with you, and I understand that other denominations approach communion this way. Catholics do not.

The gluten-free host has never caused me to react. Also, read up on spiritual communion. Understanding that has helped me tremendously.

jackay Enthusiast

I am avoiding communion. I am not comfortable with someone else touching a communion wafer even if it is gluten free. Our church shares the challis so wine is not an option either.

I may bring this up with my priest at some point. However, I do know God understands why I am not taking part of this sacrament.

Ahorsesoul Enthusiast

This article was in our paper this month about a communion dispenser.

Open Original Shared Link

gfp Enthusiast

This is simply a matter of dogma and belief:

Open Original Shared Link

The council of Trente made it clear that what you (believe) are eating is the body and blood of Christ.

The 1st Nicean Council made it clear in the Nicene Creed that the body of Christ is 'of one substance'. they even invented a new greek word to 'clarify this'. (ἐκπορεύεσθαι)

The later modifications at the council of Constantinople do not change this.

(G


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



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Archived

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


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      129,966
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Susan Allsopp
    Newest Member
    Susan Allsopp
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Wheatwacked
      Hello @CeliacNew, If you are Vegan to help you feel better, reconsider returning to omnivore.  Actually, since you are already on a very restrictive diet, transitioning to gluten free might be easier for you.  Read the ingredient labels, Particularly vitamin D and Choline require supplements for vegan diet because our primary source is sun, eggs and beef.  B12 also.
    • Wheatwacked
      Once you've completed testing and still don't have improvement, start a trial gluten free diet.  Looking for imprvement that may indicate Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, which is 10 times more prevalent than Celiac Disease. Deficiencies in vitamins B6, B12, D, and C can manifest as skin rashes.  Virtual guaranty you are deficient in vitamin D.
    • cameo674
      So those rs numbers tell researchers where the dbSNP is located in a Genome so that other reasearchers or an AI system can look in that specific spot for that Snip of information.  You can look those rs # s by pasting the numbers after rs into the lookup on this page https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/snp/ right under the Blue header bar at the top of the webpage.  Since you are not a researcher, I do not know how this will help you though.
    • cameo674
      So I posted here once before, and everyone advocated that I get into a GI doc.  I finally got into my functional health appointment on 6/16 to get my blood results evaluated and get the Gastro referral. I was told that I would be fortunate to see a gastro doctor by December, because of the number of people waiting to get in, but they did believe that I needed to see a GI doc among others.  Well, the stars aligned. I got home. I looked at MyChart and it showed an appointment available for later that same day. I never clicked so fast on an appointment time. The gastro doc ran some additional blood work based off the December values that had confirmed my daughter's suspicion that I have undiagnosed stomach issues.  Gastro has also scheduled me to get an upper endoscopy as well as a colonoscopy since it has been 8 years since my last one. She said it would rule out other concerns if I did not show Celiac per the biopsies.  Those biopsies will not occur until August 29th and like everyone here stated, Gastro wants me to keep gluten in my diet exactly as everyone suggested. To be honest, I was barely eating any gluten since I figured I would have plenty of time to do so before testing.  Doc is also looking for the cause of the low level heartburn that I have had for 30 years.  I have mentioned the heartburn to PCPs in the past and they always said take a tums or other OTC drug.  The upper endoscopy is for ruling out eosinphilic esophagitis, h. pylori, and to biopsy the duodenal bulb and second portion to confirm or exclude celiac. The colonoscopy will have random biopsies to rule out microscopic colitis. I didn't really catch her reasoning for the bloodwork.  Doc looked at the December numbers and said they were definitely concerning for Celiac.  She also said, “Hmm that’s odd; usually it’s the reverse”, but I did not catch which result made her say that. She seems very through.  She also asked why I had never bothered to see a GI before.  To be honest, I told her I just assumed that the heartburn and loose stool were a part of aging.  I have been gassy since I was born and thought constantly passing gas was normal?  Everyone I know with Celiac have horrible symptoms that cannot be attributed to other things.  They are in a lot of stomach pain.  I do not go through that.  I attribute my issues to the lactose intolerance that comes with aging, but have slowly been eliminating foods from my diet due to the heartburn or due my assumption that they did not agree with a medication that I was prescribed. I have already eliminated milk products especially high fat ones like ice cream; fats like peanut butter; acids like citrus and tomatoes; chocolate in all forms; and breads more because it is so hard to get in 100 grams of protein if I eat any foods that are not a protein.  I would not have even done the testing if my daughter had not brought up the fact that she thought I might have an undiagnosed condition since she has issues with bloating and another sibling has periodic undiagnosed stomach pain that GI docs throw pills at instead of helping.  Who knew that Bristol scale 5 and 6 were not considered normal especially multiple times a day? I watched my MIL go through basically the same bowel changes starting at 50 so to be honest, I really did think it was normal before this week's appointment.   December 2024's blood tests ran through Quest Labs were:  Deamidated Gliadin (IgA) 53.8 U/mL Above range >15.0 U/mL; Deamidated Gliadin (IgG) >250.0 U/mL Above Range >15.0 U/mL; Tissue Transglutaminase (IgA) 44.0 U/mL Above range >15.0 U/mL; Tissue Transglutaminase (IgG) <1.0 In range <15.0; Immunoglobulin A (IgA) 274 mg/dL In range 47-310 mg/dL 6/16/25 bloodwork:  Until today, I did not really know what all the four tubes of blood were for and since I did not understand the results, I got into the clinical notes to see what was ordered, but it did not exactly explain why for everything. Immunoglobulins IGG, IGA, IGM all came back in range:  IGG 1,010 mg/dL In range 600-1,714; IgA 261 mg/dL In range 66-433 mg/dL; IGM 189 mg/dL In range 45-281.  How do these numbers help with diagnosis? Google says she checked these to see if I have an ongoing infection? I do have Hashimoto's and she did say once you have one autoimmune disease others seem to follow. Celiac Associated HLD-DQ Typing: DQA1* Value: 05; DQA1*DQA11 Value: 05; DQB1* Value: 02; DQB1-DQB11 Value: 02; Celiac Gene Pairs Present Value: Yes; Celiac HLA Interpretation Value: These genes are permissive for celiac disease.  However, these genes can also be present in the normal population. Testing performed by SSOP.  So google failed me.  I think these results basically say I have genes, but everybody has these genes so this test was just to confirm that there is a vague possibility?  Maybe this test result explains why I do not have the horrible symptoms most individuals with celiac have?  I told the GI my assumption is that I am just gluten intolerant since I do not have the pain? So maybe this test explains why I have antibodies? Comprehensive Metabolic Panel: Everything was in the middle of the normal range.  Google says this just says I am metabolically healthy. Tissue Transglutaminase ABS test results – Done by the Mayo Clinic’s Labs –  T-Transglutaminase IGA AB --Value: 3.1 U/mL – Normal Value is <4.0 (negative) U/mL; Tissue Transglutaminase, IgG -- Value: 15.3 U/mL High -- Normal Value is <6.0 (Negative) U/mL – Interpretation Positive (>9.0) – These are the only labs the GI did that have been labeled Abnormal.  I am confused at how/why these came back different than the December labs? Because these numbers seem to be the opposite of what the were in December and I know I have eaten less gluten.  They were definitely measured differently and had different ranges. This must be why she said they are usually opposite? Molecular Stool Parasite Panel said I was Negative for Giardia Lamblia by PCR; Entamoeba Histolytica by PCR and Cryptosporidium Parvum/Hominis by PCR.  So at least I do not need to do a parasite cleanse like everyone on TikTok seems to be doing. So I guess, I am just really asking why the Tissue Transglutaminase numbers are different.  Was it because they were truly different tests? Is it because I have not consumed the crazy amount of gluten one is suppose to eat prior to testing? To be honest, I thought that was only for the biopsy testing. I generally only eat twice a day, and the thought of eating the equivalent of 6 slices of bread is daunting. Even in my youth, I probably only consumed the equivalent of maybe 3 slices a day. Like I said before, now I usually focus on trying to eat 60 gram of protein.  I am suppose to consume 100 grams, but have failed to succeed. I will focus on eating gluten starting in July now that I know my procedure date.
    • Scott Adams
      I agree with @trents and wiping down the spot you eat your lunch, and eating the food your brought from home should be safe for even sensitive celiacs. Gluten can jump on your food, so it would likely better better for you to continue eating where you prefer.
×
×
  • Create New...