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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
The Elijah Cup	Charley	Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Question: Have you heard of this that I understand some priests are doing? There is a church in my city where a former auxiliary Bishop consecrated a chalice and then every week a parish family is allowed to take the chalice home and pray for vocations. I find this rather disturbing as I thought once a chalice was consecrated it could be used for only one purpose only. I know a Consecrated Chalice that is used to hold the Precious Blood of our Lord should be treated and handled with utmost respect and care. There are so many unknowns that can happen a home. Kids playing around and knocking it down on the floor, or maybe even the cat. It can be stolen. Some child not knowing the proper reverence may use it to serve themselves milk, or juice or whatever, and throw it in the sink with dirty dishes, etc. These are just a few and I know we can come up with long lists of how the chalice can be desecrated. Why would a bishop allow this?
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), CCL, LTh, DD, LNDC Dear Charley: Sorry for the delay in answering. According to one parish site the "mission of this new ministry The Elijah Cup will focus on praying for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood, Deaconate and Religious Life. Parishioners who sign up to participate are presented, at the end of Mass, with “The Elijah Cup” (a consecrated Chalice used at the Mass) and a Prayer Basket, which contains a Prayer Journal, Bible, Rosary beads, reading material on the religious life and several prayers. The cup is kept for one week in their home while they pray for an increase in vocations. Because the “Elijah Cup” has been blessed and dedicated to be exclusively used for holding the Precious Blood of Christ, it would never be used outside of Mass for any other purpose other than being a focal point of prayer in the home." I agree with you. This is not the same thing as a blessed painting or statue of our Blessed Mother that travels around to people's home. This is a sacred vessel. It is not, in my opinion, proper to send a sacred vessel home with people. You are absolutely correct that there are many unknowns that could contaminate this sacred vessel or otherwise place in in situations that violate its sacred nature. The idea of the Elijah’s Cup and Miriam’s Cup comes from Jewish tradition. It is a fine tradition, but the cup used should not be a chalice consecrated and used in the Holy Mass. Rather, another cup not used in Mass may be specially blessed and used for this purpose. From your description it sounds like the bishop blessed the chalice and then it was used immediately for the Elijah cup tradition. At least in your sentence it does not appear that the chalice was actually used in the Holy Mass. In my opinion, a chalice blessed for the purpose of the Elijah Cup tradition is fine, but not using a chalice that is actually used in the Holy Mass. I am not suggesting any untoward motivations here. I am sure everyone is well intentioned, but in this day in age when the nature of the sacred is almost non-existent, especially in the United States, it probably does not occur to anyone, even bishops, that using a chalice actually used in the Holy Mass should not really be used for this extra-Mass activity. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below: Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum. Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

The Elijah Cup

Charley

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Question:

Have you heard of this that I understand some priests are doing? There is a church in my city where a former auxiliary Bishop consecrated a chalice and then every week a parish family is allowed to take the chalice home and pray for vocations. I find this rather disturbing as I thought once a chalice was consecrated it could be used for only one purpose only. I know a Consecrated Chalice that is used to hold the Precious Blood of our Lord should be treated and handled with utmost respect and care. There are so many unknowns that can happen a home. Kids playing around and knocking it down on the floor, or maybe even the cat. It can be stolen. Some child not knowing the proper reverence may use it to serve themselves milk, or juice or whatever, and throw it in the sink with dirty dishes, etc. These are just a few and I know we can come up with long lists of how the chalice can be desecrated. Why would a bishop allow this?

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r), CCL, LTh, DD, LNDC

Dear Charley:

Sorry for the delay in answering.

According to one parish site the "mission of this new ministry The Elijah Cup will focus on praying for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood, Deaconate and Religious Life. Parishioners who sign up to participate are presented, at the end of Mass, with “The Elijah Cup” (a consecrated Chalice used at the Mass) and a Prayer Basket, which contains a Prayer Journal, Bible, Rosary beads, reading material on the religious life and several prayers. The cup is kept for one week in their home while they pray for an increase in vocations. Because the “Elijah Cup” has been blessed and dedicated to be exclusively used for holding the Precious Blood of Christ, it would never be used outside of Mass for any other purpose other than being a focal point of prayer in the home."

I agree with you. This is not the same thing as a blessed painting or statue of our Blessed Mother that travels around to people's home. This is a sacred vessel. It is not, in my opinion, proper to send a sacred vessel home with people. You are absolutely correct that there are many unknowns that could contaminate this sacred vessel or otherwise place in in situations that violate its sacred nature.

The idea of the Elijah’s Cup and Miriam’s Cup comes from Jewish tradition. It is a fine tradition, but the cup used should not be a chalice consecrated and used in the Holy Mass. Rather, another cup not used in Mass may be specially blessed and used for this purpose.

From your description it sounds like the bishop blessed the chalice and then it was used immediately for the Elijah cup tradition. At least in your sentence it does not appear that the chalice was actually used in the Holy Mass.

In my opinion, a chalice blessed for the purpose of the Elijah Cup tradition is fine, but not using a chalice that is actually used in the Holy Mass.

I am not suggesting any untoward motivations here. I am sure everyone is well intentioned, but in this day in age when the nature of the sacred is almost non-existent, especially in the United States, it probably does not occur to anyone, even bishops, that using a chalice actually used in the Holy Mass should not really be used for this extra-Mass activity.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below:
Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum.
Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum
Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum
Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum
Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum