Q : A question has been raised at our parish about how to properly store consecrated wine overnight. The situation came up during the Triduum, when we had consecrated hosts for use at the Good Friday service. The priest had also consecrated wine, since we have a number of parishioners with celiac’s disease. It was stored in a glass carafe overnight for use the next day. One of our religious education instructors raised a concern about this. She had been teaching the children that consecrated wine can only be stored in a vessel lined with gold, and she was concerned that the children might see the consecrated wine stored in glass and receive inconsistent messaging. Can you please shed any light on he proper way to store consecrated wine overnight?
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A: The proper way to store consecrated wine in the tabernacle overnight is not to do it.
There is no provision for distributing the Blood of Christ on Good Friday, even for those who are gluten intolerant.
The Rite of Pastoral Care and Anointing of the Sick does make provision for placing consecrated wine in the tabernacle after Mass in a chalice properly covered (74, or 95 in the typical edition). But the implication is that the priest himself is going to bring the Blood of Christ to the sick in a properly sealed vessel immediately after the Mass—not a day later.
I believe the reason for these restrictions is to avoid the possibility that the properties of wine could spoil.