No, the Catholic Church does NOT distribute take-home communion shots.
In a viral video posted on June 29, Instagram influencer Julesifornia told followers that she received “take-home communion,” implying that it came from a Catholic Church.
The first part of the video shows someone reaching into a basket with the caption, “I thought these were mini espresso shots.”
She later explains to viewers that it’s actually a grape juice shot with a communion wafer taped to the top.
“The innovations in the church field these days,” Julesifornia begins as she shows her audience the grape juice packet with the communion wafer. “This is communion.”
“Just my little take-home communion. My Catholic family would roll over in its grave.”
“I had to. I don’t even know if this is allowed,” she continues. “I really want to dip it. But that doesn’t feel right.”
Julesifornia then takes the shot and realizes it’s actually grape juice.
“Oh, it’s grape juice. Not wine. I thought this would be wine.”
Here’s the video below:
Instagram user saintwave.33ad said, “[I am] 100% positive that this is not Catholic. If it were, it would be all over the Catholic news circuit and the pastor of this parish would face intense scrutiny from his diocese for desecration. Dollars to donuts that this is a non-denominational church.”
Jacob Stein of Cruxstationalis also debunked the woman’s claims.
“Well don’t worry. It’s not the Eucharist,” Stein wrote in a comment that generated over 2,200 likes and several responses.
“She compares it to the Eucharist — as she appears to be a former Catholic. So I’m informing her not to worry [about] the irreverence, because it doesn’t offend a Catholic — it’s NOT the Real Presence of Christ — if it offended anybody, it would have to be fellow Protestants — who think the Eucharist shall be simply a symbol,” Stein explains.
“So in that case, the objection could be ‘how well is this symbol being maintained?’ — nonetheless, it’s still not obeying Christ who asked us to ‘do THIS in memory of me.'”
An Instagram account dedicated to Padre Pio added that “this is not communion” and “not the Eucharist.”
“This is NOT communion. This is NOT the Eucharist. This is NOT a consecrated host,” the user said. “This is NOT the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord. This is a NON-CONSECRATED HOST. So you are eating just a cookie and certainly, you are not having communion.”