Minor Tweaks & Shifts: 
 Starting in September there will be no daily Mass or confessions on Mondays as it is will be my day of. Per diocesan policy priests are granted 1 day of a week (compared to two for the rest of the working world.) 

Although I am still getting a sense of how the Sacrament of Reconciliation is being utilized, from what I’m experiencing there is sufficient numbers celebrating on the Monday evening hour of confessions that I plan to shift that to Thursday evenings at the same time 5:30-6:30. 

The main chalice used by the presider and deacon will now be one of the cups used for distribution of Precious Blood to the congregation. Liturgical norms allow for the use of extra cups of the Blood when warranted by practical necessities. At the same time, the sharing of the ‘one cup’ [as much as practical and possible] has always been a symbolic focus from the time of the last supper. This is the reason why the Catholic Church has not gone the route of individual sanitary cups for everyone as some other Christian denominations have done. I think that it is important that main chalice be included in the distribution of the precious blood to maintain that one cup symbolism. This does not change anything in how we will distribute the precious blood, but this is just a heads up in case anyone notices the change and wonders why. 

However there is a detail for folks to know. The main chalice has a crumb of the host broken during the fraction rite (performed during the singing/recite the Lamb of God). This is part of our tradition dating back to the early Church. So if this crumb encountered, note that it is there on purpose and is not someone’s backwash. The crumb of the Body of Christ in the chalice will be consumed at some point as the Precious Blood is consumed. It might be the priest, or the last person receiving precious blood, or anyone in between. So if it happens to be you, take it in stride. This is not a new thing, as this has been part of liturgy since Vatican Council II promoting regular reception of Precious Blood by the faithful, and something cleric have been familiar with for centuries before. 

** Folks who are gluten intolerant may want to keep in mind that this porton of the host that is not a low gluten host, and may choose to receive precious blood from another cup. **