Running out of the Mysteries

[Specs]

What happens if the Mysteries are insufficient for the number of communicants?

[PeterTheAleut]

What happens if the Mysteries are insufficient for the number of communicants?

Not enough bread, or not enough wine?  I'm not sure what happens if the bread runs out.  Judging from what I've seen at my church, though, if the wine runs out my priest will simply pour more wine into the Chalice on the understanding that the newly added wine will become the Blood of Christ by contact with His Body, the consecrated bread.  Thus he needs not reread the epiclesis prayers over the wine as he pours it into the Chalice.

[LizaSymonenko]

At our parish, Confession is a prerequisite to partaking of Holy Communion.  One must admit to God their sins and repent, aiding them in preparation to approach the Holy Mysteries. 

I know...I know....not everyone does this.  Holy Communion and Holy Confession are two separate and unlinked Sacraments.  I've heard it all before.  However, I personally, am not so proud, that I can't humble myself before the Lord and admit my mistakes to Him, in the presence of my Confessor, before daring to walk up to the Holy Mysteries.

That's a completely different topic. However, that's the way we do it.

As such, our priest keeps count of the Confessions he hears.  He has a small prayer book lying next to him, and with each Confession he turns a page.  This gives him a rather good idea of how many people will approach for Holy Communion (with a few extra on account of youngsters). 

[pensateomnia]

What PetertheAleut said is common practice if a priest starts to run low on wine. One caveat: In seminary, we were taught to add extra wine BEFORE you totally ran out. That way, the wine could co-mingle. So, I would say the most natural theological explanation (if there is any!) is that one can't really distinguish between the previously consecrated molecules of wine and the newly added -- they're all mixed together -- so it's all good. Or, you could say, like PetertheAleut, that the new stuff gets blessed by association. (Let's leave it to scholastics to figure out which is the best theological explanation.)

If one starts to run low on bread, one just starts giving out tiny, tiny little specs of crumbs. Pretty easy to control portion size with the spoon. If the priest starts running low on mini-crumbs, then he can always go back into the altar, take some of the reserve sacrament (already consecrated dried bread in the Tabernacle on the Holy Table), and add that to the chalice. Seen that done a dozen or so times.

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