Dear Father,
Years ago, my mother donated a Waterford crystal chalice to our parish. It had great meaning and was used at my wedding. When my mother died, I asked the priest to use it at her funeral Mass. He said that it’s not allowed. Is this true? Should I ask for it back?
-Brody
I bought a beautiful pottery chalice and plate for my parish priest, but I never see them at Mass at our parish. How can I properly tell him that I’m hurt?
-Allison
I made a beautiful wooden chalice as a gift for a relative who was ordained a priest and thought he would use it for his first Mass, but he didn’t. I’m upset because I put a lot of work into it and told him so. He said that wood is not allowed for chalices. Is this true?
-Denis
Dear Brody, Allison, and Denis,
The question of proper material for the chalice used at Mass is quite old. We don’t have absolute certitude what Christ Himself used at the Last Supper. We do know, however, that Christians wanted the best container possible for our Lord’s Blood.
Very often, precious metals were used, especially gold, to form the cup or bowl part of the chalice. We have evidence of wooden chalices that were lined with gold. Numerous gem-studded chalices made of gold and silver can be found in museums around the world.
Historically, priests and parishes who could not afford costly chalices made sure to have them made of something worthy of their contents. The same is true today.
Moreover, we find a progression of laws from ancient times that describe how a chalice used at Mass was to be made. The concern has always been to use special materials for the chalice. Wood, especially, was outlawed on account of its porous nature. Chalices made of glass and metals that could rust were also forbidden in the first millennium of the Church.
For some reason, it became popular in the 1970s to disregard both law and custom in the making of chalices. I know a priest who has his own museum of chalices made of pottery, wood, glass, including oddly colored glass, and various metals. One of the strangest chalices I’ve seen used is one that tilts on its side rather than standing upright. Avant-garde? Yes. Practical? No. Reverent? You decide!
The issue of the material used in making chalices is addressed in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, which is the Church’s law in all matters concerning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Paragraph 328 states: “Sacred vessels should be made from precious metal. If they are made from metal that rusts or from a metal less precious than gold, they should generally be gilded on the inside.”
Specific to the USA, paragraph 329 says that “sacred vessels may also be made from other solid materials which in the common estimation in each region are considered precious or noble, for example, ebony or other harder woods, provided that such materials are suitable for sacred use. In this case, preference is always to be given to materials that do not easily break or deteriorate. This applies to all vessels that are intended to hold the hosts, such as the paten, the ciborium, the pyx, the monstrance, and others of this kind.”
The use of wood, while possible, is not optimal. The instruction seeks to strike a pastoral chord when it mentions that our large country may have regions where certain materials are “considered precious.” Nevertheless, the GIRM is explicit about the bowl of the chalice: “chalices and other vessels that are intended to serve as receptacles for the Blood of the Lord, … are (to be made) of material that does not absorb liquids. The base, on the other hand, may be made of other solid and worthy materials.”
Redemptionis Sacramentum, 117, is crystal (pun intended) clear: “Reprobated, therefore, is any practice of using for the celebration of Mass common vessels, or others lacking in quality, or devoid of all artistic merit or which are mere containers, as also other vessels made from glass, earthenware, clay, or other materials that break easily. This norm is to be applied even as regards metals and other materials that easily rust or deteriorate.”
“Reprobate” means it is strongly condemned, forbidden. Glass, even Waterford, pottery, and the like may not be used for the Holy Eucharist.
So, Brody, you could ask for the Waterford chalice back, but if it has been used for Mass, then it may not be used for any other purpose once you retrieve it.
There is no ill will on the part of the priest in refusing to use inappropriate vessels. Rather, he is doing what he was ordained to do: to offer the Sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood in the most sacred way possible.