Have you every had the Joy of giving communion out at church?

[goldent]

10. The plate is called a paten

and I think they were also meant to catch "crumbs" as the priest would sort of "dust" them off into a chalice after communion. I was an alter server for quite a bit, but never had the opportunity to catch a host (that I remember). I got to admit I often thought of the idea of giving someone a chop to the throat but never had any desire to do so.

I have not seen patens used in a very long time - they were mostly symbolic (IMO) and since most people receive communion in their hand, their usage really doesn't make much sense.

As alter boys we weren't always on our best behavior when getting ready for mass, but we (nearly) always managed to straighten up when it was time to go on. It was a great experience, learning about participating in public ceremony, and I have a lot of pleasant memories of those days.