Bishop Larry Silva consecrated the wine during the annual jubilarian Mass April 20 at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu. (Photo courtesy Dann Ebina)
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill in March 2020, perhaps the most profound and immediate impact it had on Catholics was closing churches to Mass attendance.
Weekly worship and fellowship vanished, with livestreamed liturgies taking their place. Parishes had to swiftly up their technology game, or at least know where to direct parishioners to view Mass from home.
When churches reopened for Mass two months later, social distancing and cleanliness guidelines were firmly in place. And while parishioners could receive the body of Christ — with many precautions in place — use of the Communion cup was forbidden due to sanitary concerns.
In March 2023, Father Alfred Omar Guerrero, director of the Office of Worship, issued a diocese-wide memo that churches in the Diocese of Honolulu could resume offering the cup. The suggested start date was Holy Thursday, about a month later, chosen because the Last Supper is commemorated on that day.
Reaction at the time was mixed. Some congregations were eager to use the Communion cup, while others did not want to bring it back — again, their pastors said, due to health concerns.
Now, a year and a half later, Bishop Larry Silva is asking all parishes across the state to offer the Communion cup, with implementation happening no later than Ash Wednesday next year — March 5, 2025.
In an Oct. 26 memorandum to priests, Bishop Silva explained that “while we do believe that a communicant receives the entire body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ by receiving Communion under either species (body or blood), it is a fuller sign of the sacrament to offer the Precious Blood to those who choose to partake of it.
“It is a sign the Lord himself instituted as a memorial of his offering his body and pouring out his blood on the cross for our salvation.”
Bishop Silva acknowledged challenges that parishes might face in bringing back the Communion cup. Sanitary concerns with drinking from a common cup remain high among some populations of faithful, though the bishop’s letter mentioned that “no one is obliged” to consume both the body and blood of Christ.
Parishioners should be catechized, or taught, that “the Lord intended his sacrament of love to be given under both species, even though the full Christ is received under one species only,” Bishop Silva wrote.
Another concern lies among ministers who prepare the Mass — possibly having to drink a large amount of the blood of Christ after Communion due to misjudging the amount needed during a particular liturgy.
Bishop Silva wrote that clergy could be mindful of how much wine is poured into chalices; “attentive sacristans can be trained to provide the proper amount of wine for each parish Mass, after noting trends over several weeks”; and that a few faithful who already received the blood of Christ “could be offered another portion to help with the consumption.”
Parish updates
The Hawaii Catholic Herald interviewed pastors across the state last year after resumption of the Communion cup went into effect. Most, but not all, had brought back the communal cup or planned to.
Father John Molina, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Pahoa, said in 2023 and again in a new interview with the Herald that parishioners were eager to receive the blood of Christ and welcomed the Communion cup’s return. A hand survey of Mass-goers confirmed their desire, and Sacred Heart resumed use of the communal cup on Holy Thursday last year.
“We are very satisfied,” Father Molina told the Herald in the new interview. “Those who are hindered by some reasons to receive the Precious Blood … skip receiving it.”
Other parishes did not bring back the Communion cup on Holy Thursday but have since reintroduced it.
A year ago at St. Patrick Church in Kaimuki, Sacred Hearts Father Clyde Guerreiro was the pastor and told the Herald that it would be “another year” before his parish resumed the communal cup.
“The chief reason is from a health/medical perspective,” Father Guerreiro said at the time, noting that he had checked with the state Board of Health to find out the status of COVID-19 infections and deaths.
Early this year, Father Guerreiro left St. Patrick to serve as parochial vicar of St. Augustine by the Sea Church in Waikiki, and Sacred Hearts Father Lusius Nimu was installed as pastor.
As Father Guerreiro indicated, St. Patrick resumed use of the Communion cup on Holy Thursday of this year. Father Nimu told the Herald in a recent interview that most parishioners are receiving the cup and that, in light of Bishop Silva’s new memorandum, he would encourage those who do not to consider receiving the blood of Christ.
Our Lady of the Mount Church in Kalihi Valley took a detailed approach to resuming the communal cup, opting to wait until Pentecost Sunday, May 28, last year to reintroduce it.
Father Edgar Brillantes, pastor of Our Lady of the Mount, said in a recent interview with the Herald that when last year’s directive was released, the matter was discussed by the parish’s Liturgy Committee and Pastoral Council. The groups are tasked with overseeing liturgical matters and, in this case, weighed details such as how ministers would determine the proper quantity of wine for consecration.
Parishioners then were informed of Our Lady of the Mount’s decision to resume the communal cup and were catechized about the significance of both species. Father Brillantes said the resumption was also connected to an announcement by the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding the three-year National Eucharistic Revival.
“At the beginning, not all Mass-goers came to receive Communion from the cup,” Father Brillantes said. “The scare of the persisting COVID-19 strains was still hovering over us at that time. But as time passed by and the people became accustomed to seeing the ministers of the cup, most of the faithful eventually came receiving the blood of Christ.
“All’s well that ends well.”
