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Is it common to get sick from the communion cup at a Catholic Church?
I was towards the back of the line for communion last Sunday, and drank when there was only a little left. Then on Monday I started having sore throat symptoms, then by Tuesday, I had full blown strep throat, with chills and a fever. I'm now on antibiotics. I'm now questioning how often I should drink from the chalice. Is it fine if I only go on special occasions, and only if I am in the first 2 pews? Im also concerned, could it just be a germ issue, did I drink too much of the wine or was it merely meant to graze my lips, or does the fact I got sick mean I committed some kind of mortal sin? I don't think I've done a mortal sin, and I went to confession on easter, unless I'm going to have to to every week in order to take communion every week. I thought the point of communion was we weren't worthy and would never be worthy, but Jesus loves us anyways. I'm not someone that normally gets sick, I haven't even had strep throat in years, I can't even remember if I've ever had it or how long ago I did. I did nothing else different on that Sunday, and now I'm not going to drink from the cup as I'm still recovering. Is it ok if I just had the bread?
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Even if a Pastor, Priest swipes at the lip of the cup/chalice with a cloth, it is a very good way to catch such germs. I attended a place that bought the individual "mini shot glass servings to put wine in with a silver tray of lots of holes to hold the little cups in, enough for just one sip. It was what you grabbed as you passed by the pastor, or bigger places just had ushers come to row ends and start trays passing down each row. You do what you need to, to protect yourself. Dont drink and when you see the Priest and grab only bread, you can whisper, I got strep throat immediately after last communion from the chalice. I am still recovering. I will not drink from it as I do not wish to pass this on to anyone else as someone was so thoughtful to do for me. (yep, a bit of sarcasm) you dont have to add that in..LOL.
At a separate meeting, you might ask the priest and Elders to come out of the dark ages and start using individual servings. I'll even bet that this is a way that oral herpes is passed on. It is too selfish to continue to use a Chalice out of tradition just because its always been done that way. That would be like people choosing today not to wear seatbelts just because in Grand daddys day no one had to wear seat belts or cars didn't come with them. It is very foolish. Communion itself isn't foolish but we tend to take some of our traditions too seriously and one that is potentially harmful to many people should be discontinued.
I would advise you to learn to think for yourself. I have a church background and know what Christians are taught in church. There tends to be too many stories where God is spoken of as being everything other than a loving parent. If you grew up with imperfect or abusive human parents, I can see assuming God is the same. We tend to think of God as having human emotions. But I came to a point in my life where once I began to have a really close one on one relationship with God, talking with Him and hearing back from him, that I realized, He was nothing at all like what too many Christian churches portray. The God I know, talks in the every day common language I speak, not King James. God will do something I've never heard the church or Bible tell us, that He has a sense of humor. God has said things before to me that have made me laugh. That is good. Laughter is the best medicine.
You are not looking at the bigger picture, thinking that where you are in line will make a difference. You can be just number two. And if the first one had cold sores around the mouth, a sign of oral herpes, you could have it passed to you. So your solutions are not good enough solutions.
So what I am saying in a nutshell, God does not hand out sickness randomly to any person who may have done wrong. In this case its a simple case of unclean health practices bringing sickness upon you.
As I see it, you have several choices, no matter how long you've attended this place or how long its been done this way.
1. Talk to Elders before hand and explain what happened to you and that you will take communion at home from now on and not from a public cup.
2. Or if they desire for you to do so with the family of God, urge them to purchase the disposable indivual servings cups for sanitary purposes.
3. If they don't and to punish you for not taking communion, decide to ask you to leave, then find a church where they use the individual cups.
4. Skip talking to the elders and go somewhere that practicdes a more updated version of communion.
If anyone thinks that Jesus would be offended by you not using a chalice, I feel sorry for them because with such a thought, they've just lowered Jesus to their standards, a human who takes things personally and seeks retaliation if He doesnt get things his way. That is not God. That is a man made image of God that is false.
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