First of all, I did not catch that this discussion was limited to Roman Catholics. What I saw was a topic of great interest to all sacramental churches, e.g., Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican/Episcopalian, Eastern Orthodox.
Furthermore, I posted an elaborate defense of communion with the chalice, and against the meddling politician. I would think that would be received as a friendly post.
As far as pinging others, again, I did not realize this was a closed caucus.
Finally, if you or the mod has the content of my now deleted post, I would appreciate it if you could send it back to me via freepmail. I put a lot of thought and time into what I wrote.
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“Imagine if a publican said to four customers ‘I’m only going to pour one beer, so you’ll all have to sip from the one glass’. It just wouldn’t happen.”
Imagine if the Savior of the world, the Great Physician of body and soul, gave his disciples to drink all from the same cup, his cup, even though they each had their own cup in front of them at the table. That's what did happen:
"And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you. . . .'" —Matthew 26:27
"And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank from it." —Mark 14:23
If the one chalice ("common cup") is good enough for our Lord, it's good enough for me. And it's good enough for the Christian church, since that is the prevailing practice throughout the church throughout history. "Individual cups" are a recent innovation, and they do not derive from the catholic (in the best sense) tradition.
I have been a pastor (Lutheran) for over twenty years, and at the end of the distribution, after everyone else has communed, I consume what remains in the chalice. It has never caused me a problem. Indeed, the holy Blood of Christ is the medicine of immortality for both body and soul!
Besides which, even humanly speaking, the chalice is made of a noble metal, the alcohol has a disinfectant effect, and I wipe the chalice as we go. I think the little individual cups, made of plastic often, and handled on the edges by the Altar Guild, would be more likely to carry germs. And if you're concerned about where the most germs would be exchanged, that would be in the handshake line at the end of the service!
BTW, our parish also has the little individual cups on a tray, which I distribute after first going down the rail with the chalice. I don't make a battle out of chalice vs. individual cups, although in Bible class, etc., I have on occasion encouraged the use of the chalice, and have explained why.