Particle (host)

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Communion giving with godfather

The term particle ( Latin : particula ) denotes the part of a consecrated host in the Holy Mass that has become detached from it or has been broken off.

meaning

According to the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation ("change of essence"), Jesus Christ as God and man is really, truly and essentially present in every particle of the host as long as this particle exists according to its shape.

Liturgical prescriptions

From the belief in the real presence , the liturgical regulation is derived to avoid particle loss at all costs and to treat even the smallest pieces of the transformed host with reverence and care and not to leave them lying there carelessly or even to throw them away.

In order to ensure that any particles that may have fallen on the altar during the celebration of the Eucharist are not lost, a linen cloth, the corporal , is spread out on the altar, on which the Eucharistic gifts are placed , before the gifts are prepared . The corporal is folded inward when clearing the altar, which is to prevent particle loss. Particles stuck to the priest's hands and liturgical vessels are summed up during purification after communion .

The paten serves the same purpose . As long as the host bread in the western church was also leavened , this made it necessary to have godparents of the appropriate size to absorb the particles that were served for communion . Originally only used to break bread , its use has been expanded since the Carolingian period (8th / 9th centuries), so that since then the celebration host has basically been on the paten.

literature

  • Albert Josef Urban, Marion Bexten: Particles. In: Small dictionary of worship. Liturgical Institutes of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 2012, accessed on January 26, 2016 (e-book).