Ablutions

The Ablutions are the part of Mass wherein the sacred vessels are purified, any leftover Eucharist is reposed in the Tabernacle, and the Altar is cleared.

Roman Rite

In the [[Roman Rite]], the Ablutions occur immediately after Communion is distributed to the People.

If there is no Deacon

All Servers stand, get into Standby Formation and work out of it for the duration of the Ablutions¹. Cue: The Celebrant returns to the Sanctuary after distributing Communion.

• An Acolyte brings the water Cruet to the Altar. Depending on the Celebrant's preference:
  • Acolyte pours water over the Celebrant's fingers and into the Chalice until the Celebrant indicates he should stop, by saying so or raising the Chalice.
  • Acolyte gives the Celebrant the water Cruet and stays near the Altar until the Celebrant returns it.
  • Acolyte pours water into vessels as indicated by the Celebrant.
  • More than one of the above.
  • When finished, the Acolyte returns the water Cruet to the Credence Table.
• If there are items on the Credence Table that need to be returned to the Altar, such as a Chalice Veil, an Acolyte places them on the Northeast corner of the Altar.
• The Celebrant indicates that items are purified by placing them on the Northeast corner of the Altar. These include Ciboria, Pyxes, and Personal Chalices. The Acolytes take turns taking purified items from the Northeast corner of the Altar and returning them to the Credence Table.
  • If the Celebrant places a folded Corporal on the corner of the Altar, the Acolyte brings an empty Burse from the Credence Table to the Altar, places the Corporal in the Burse, and returns both to the Credence Table. The Acolytes should anticipate this by noting if the Celebrant is folding an extra Corporal.
• The Book Bearer retrieves the Missal and Stand and returns them to their place.
  • Cue: The Celebrant drinks the Ablutions from the Chalice.
• The last item the Acolyte should take is the Chalice Stack. When everything is taken from the Altar, all Servers return to their seats. The Book Bearer should take the most convenient position for the Postcommunion Prayer.

If there is a Deacon

If there is a Deacon, he will perform some or all of the duties of the Celebrant for the Ablutions. This is the Celebrant's preference; the Celebrant may sit down to let the Deacon perform the Ablutions, or move to the Altar to do them himself.

If a Deacon is present and performing the Ablutions himself, the Servers do as usual, attending to the Deacon instead of the Celebrant.

Whether the Deacon or the Celebrant performs the Ablutions, allow the Deacon to return the Chalice Stack to the Credence Table, as it is properly his role to do so. If the Deacon leaves the Altar without taking the Chalice Stack, only then should an Acolyte retrieve it.

Be mindful of the Eucharist

If there are leftover Eucharist hosts, the Celebrant, Deacon, or another Minister will either consume them, or consolidate them into a Ciborium and repose them in the Tabernacle. All Servers should be mindful of this.

If the Eucharist will be reposed, Servers should Genuflect when the Minister carrying the Eucharist passes them. If the Server is at the Altar when the Minister takes the Eucharist from it, he should Genuflect in sync with any Ministers at the Altar.

If Exposition follows Mass, a Minister will bring the Luna from the Tabernacle to the Altar. Similarly, the Servers should be aware of this and Genuflect as the Eucharist passes them.

Sung and Low Mass

For Roman Rite Sung Mass and Roman Rite Low Mass, the rubrics are identical, except:

• One Server must take on the role of both Acolytes and the Book Bearer.
• Be mindful of the Celebrant's preferences:
  • If the Celebrant prefers to pray the Postcommunion Prayer and Dismissal at the Altar, do not remove the Missal.
  • If the Celebrant prefers, do not remove the Chalice Stack from the Altar.

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1. See: GIRM > par. 163, 192. The latter says that only an instituted Acolyte may assist with the Ablutions. It seems that this is in the context of actually purifying the vessels. Since we only assist with the water cruet, and the Celebrant or Deacon purifies the vessels, this is okay. ↩