The host and the chalice are consecrated as holy to the Lord from the moment they are placed on the altar.
I would argue with my friend, Jonathan, only on this point. The Paten and Chalice (I assume he means Paten by 'the host', since the host remains mere bread until the Words of Consecration, just as the wine remains wine until transubstantiated into the Precious Blood) are consecrated before use. Here is the Rite of Consecration of a Paten and Chalice from the Rituale Romanum, 1962, normally reserved to a Bishop. Scroll down to number 2 on the page.
CONSECRATION OF A PATEN AND A CHALICE
The article:
Holiness is a topic about which ignorance abounds and concerning which not much Catholic ink is spilled. It’s also one of the most critical to understand if we’re to have a clear idea of what it means to be Christian.
Holiness is typically taken as a synonym for moral goodness. However, this is only one sense of the word.
Holiness may be understood in three sharply distinct senses: the ontological, the moral, and the ritual. The one definition that is critical to all three is this: holiness is the clear distinction of one from many. To be holy is to be unique, to be set apart from what is common, imperfect, or wicked.
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