http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Missal/Resources/Communion.pdf wrote:A proportion of Ministers of Communion were never shown how to do some of the ‘movements’ — for example, the two different ways of handling the purificator — and may not even know that they exist.
I only know one method:
a) Hold the stem of the chalice in your nondominant hand (say the left, if you are right handed). b) Fold the top 1-2 cm of the doubled-up purificator over the rim of the chalice, holding it against the metal with your right thumb. c) Gently rotate the bowl of the chalice (taking care not to unscrew the stem from the bowl!) thus allowing the cloth to wipe the inner and outer rim of the chalice. d) Present the chalice to the next communicant a quarter-turn on from its previous position. e) Unfold the end of the purificator and adjust the place where it is doubled, so a fresh (or at least, less-recently-used) piece of cloth is in position for the next wipe.
Repeat until the end of communion.
Would anyone care to propose what the other method is?
(1) The still-folded purificator is looped around the fingertips and thumb and gradually drawn through them in order to present a fresh piece of cloth for each wiping. When the end of the cloth is reached, turn it over and start again on the other side. This method seems to be similar (but not identical) to what Fr Gareth is suggesting.
I do not advocate ever rotating the bowl of the chalice when wiping, for the reasons Fr Gareth states. The cloth should be rubbed back and forth along the stationary chalice.
(2) The purificator is fully shaken-out at the start, and the minister works her/his way along all four edges in turn, in order to present a fresh piece of cloth for each wiping. When the end of the fourth edge is reached, the minister then starts to work along the centre section(s) of the cloth.
This method is in fact preferable for several reasons: (a) It provides a much larger area of clean cloth for wiping than the first method. (b) It is possible to wipe more effectively by gripping the inside and outside of the chalice with index finger and thumb more firmly, because there is only one layer of cloth between fingertips and metal. (It should be possible for the minister to hold a full chalice suspended by the rim between just that thumb and forefinger for a considerable period of time without dropping it, so firm should the grip be.) (c) It is much easier to move along the purificator than with the first method.
Many ministers of Communion — I would say the majority — never move the purificator at all between communicants and so always use the same piece of cloth throughout (ugh!). They also never turn the chalice, since they have never been taught to do either of these things. If I see that happening as I approach, I always turn the chalice a quarter turn myself to ensure that I drink from a comparatively unsullied part of the rim.
