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Greetings and sorry for the delay and length, but this is a serious issue!

I wrote inquiring about gluten free (not low gluten) communion wafers and how to access the archives.  I received many wonderful responses (27) and I thank all of you very much for your effort and support. 

First, to summarize the response to my easier question about the archives: go to the website
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/celiac.html and click on "Search the Archives".  I tried this and it works!

Second,  twenty people said that for gluten free communion wafers, Ener-G Foods is the place to go.  They are in Seattle. The general website is www.ener-g.com and the more specific website is
 http://www.ener-g.com/store/detail.aspx?sn=BreadProducts&cat-15&id=21 The phone number is 1-800-331-5222. This company was the only one mentioned that has rice flour and zero wheat. The communion wafers are sold  in a package of fifty.  The item number is 7058.  The cost is $7.99.  

Two respondents said they got theirs from The Gluten Free Trading Co. and one mentioned The Gluten Free Pantry, but didn't seem positive.  One Celiac in VA noted she had a receipe that worked great. (I'm not a baker, so I didn't ask.)  One respondent said she/he bought them for a daughter and that they're kept at the church where they can be shared by anyone else needing a gluten free host. (I thought that was great!) One respondent really touched my heart by saying she'd been able to find a Catholic priest who'd consecrate a rice host and that he'd said, "Jesus can come anywhere he wants to, any way he wants to." Another respondent said she bought them and kept them in the freezer, taking one to church wrapped in a small piece of Saran Wrap, and it's placed on top of the other wafers, but still wrapped. All the priests in her parish know her and she sits near the front for expedience.  Another respondent who'd found an amenable priest said the
host was placed in a pyx (you can buy it at a Catholic Religious Store) prior to mass and placed in the ciborium (chalice). One suggested taking a baggie of gluten free rice crackers (purchased at H.E. B. stores for about $2.00 a box) to church (she'd spoken to a Methodist pastor about it) and expressed how awkward and left out she felt just holding the host and being unable to consume it. 

Two people had bad news for Catholics.  The Roman Catholic Church will not consecrate a host unless it has a small amount of wheat.  This is Canon Law (canon 924.2). While some priests will consecrate a gluten free host, it's often done very quietly/secretly/privately in church or by a priest member of the family at a home mass. As one upset Celiac in Illinois put it, "technically, no wheat, no sacrament." This person questioned why an alcoholic can receive grape juice as the blood of Christ, whereas a Celiac can't receive the gluten free host as the body of Christ.  (good question!)  This person plans on fighting the Catholic Church somehow.This person says Ener-G makes a low gluten host his daughter's doctor has advised against due to her super sensitivity. (I hope this person will note that Ener-g does make a zero gluten host. ) 

Some good news from a posting is The Paulist Center in Boston provides gluten free hosts and also keeps separate wine for celiacs so that it won't be contaminated by the lips of someone who's received a wheat host. It's described as "a warm parish that welcomes Celiacs." 

One respondent pointed out that the Benedictine Sisters in Missouri make a "low gluten host" that has been approved by the American Synod of Bishops.  The phone number is 1-800-223-2772. Her  parish priest is ordering it.  The e-mail is [log in to unmask]" target="_blank">http:[log in to unmask]. She thinks this is safer than trusting that the wine isn't contaminated. (I've been having wine in a separate chalice by personal arrangement.)

This is a confusing, disturbing issue for Catholic Celiacs.  Should we go for the approved low gluten hosts or try to arrange something with an agreeable priest to receive the no gluten Ener-g hosts or home made ones or try for wine in a separate chalice, or ---?  For all of you out there with this issue, there's an excellent must read article by Sister Jeanne Crowe and editorial  by Ann Whelan in the most recent Gluten Free Living.  The article says Celiac experts are saying the new low gluten hosts by these Sisters are safe.  The bottom line is I and you must choose what we feel comfortable with. 

Again, many thanks for the suggestions and especially for the "God Blesses"!

Kathie-Ann
Celiac in NH

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