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If somebody goes to have the holy communion and it fall out of their mouth what does it mean? And can you be forgiven?
Answer to Question 268
When you say that the Holy Communion fell out of their mouth, how exactly did it fall? Are you talking about yourself or a child or an elderly person? The priest places the spoon in the person’s mouth and the person closes his mouth and the priest removes the spoon. For the Holy Communion to fall out it means that the person didn’t close his mouth or the priest wasn’t careful enough when placing the spoon into the recipients mouth.
The red cloth used at communion called the "Maktron" is used to wipe the lips of the communicants after communion, but this is its secondary use and not always necessary. I have seen helpers wipe the lips of the communicants with such force that they actually pulled out the Gifts from their mouths. The priest places the Holy Gifts in the person's mouth and not on his/her lips so no wiping should be necessary unless the person is handicapped and drools.
The main use of the maktron is to act as a net to catch the Holy Gifts if by chance they spill from the spoon. Preferably it should be held by the helper and the person communing making sure that it is placed under the chin and opened wide enough to be a net. Many people hold the maktron at a distance and only bring it to their mouth to wipe their lips after communion. The priest is obliged to teach his helpers and his congregation how to hold the maktron properly. If it is not held under their chin and opened as a net then he should wait until everything is in "safe-mode". If the priest accidentally spills the Gifts from the spoon then they should fall safely onto the maktron. From there he can pick up with the spoon or his mouth any parts of the Precious Body, but the Blood will have been absorbed by the cloth which as already said is its main purpose.
If the Holy Communion fell to the floor then there is a procedure that the priest should have followed to retrieve it and make sure that no one stepped near the place until he has cleaned the area.
If the person did not intentionally let the Holy Communion fall then it was an accident and we are not punished for accidents, accidents happen and there is nothing we can do about them other than learn from them so that it doesn’t happen again. That is all it was and you shouldn’t read anything more into it and there is nothing to be forgiven. Let it serve as a lesson to be more careful next time.
Same member This is happened to a 70 year old woman and the holy communion it’s gone from her mouth to the floor. The person it’s well and fit . Hasn’t got a problem with her mouth. This actually made her really upset.
Reply If she held the cloth properly then it would have fallen on the cloth and not the floor. But the priest is also to blame for not making sure the cloth was properly placed before giving her Communion.
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