Q: Kindly confirm the significance of adding a small fragment of the consecrated host to the precious blood in the chalice after the host is broken during the Lamb of God. I have read various interpretations.
Thanks
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A: It is thought to have originated in Rome when deacons from various churches came to an early Sunday morning papal Mass. The pope broke the host and gave parts to the deacons who returned to their churches, where the priest added a piece of the pope’s host into the local chalice as a sign of the unity of the Church.
Today I would take at face value the words that the priest says quietly while he performs this action: “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.”
As we behold the unity of the Body and Blood of the risen Lord we pray that those who consume it may share eternal life with him.