The New Catholic Catechism treats the subject of Communion with the following comments and references:

    1376 ...the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of Christ, our Lord, and the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood;
    1377 Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ;
    1382 to receive Communion is to receive Christ Himself, who has offered Himself for us;
    1384 Take this and eat it, all of you. Unless you eat of my Body and drink of my Blood, you have no life within you;
    1385 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Body, eats and drinks judgment upon himself;
    1388 It is in keeping with the very meaning of Eucharist that the faithful, if rightfully disposed, receive Communion each time they participate at Mass;
    1390 Since Christ is sacramentally present under each species, Communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic Grace: -- But the sign of Communion is more complete when given under both species, since in that form, the sign of the Eucharistic Meal appears more fully;
    1391 He who eats and drinks (of my Body and Blood) abides in Me, and I in him;
    1393 The Blood which you drink, is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. For as often as we eat this Body and drink this Blood, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until You come in Glory.

The New Catechism definitively states that we are 'all' to eat of His Body and drink of His Blood. Although it also states that just receiving the Body of Christ in the form of bread, is to receive Christ fully because Christ is inseparable from Himself. Jesus went to very positive lengths to tell us that He was giving the gift of His Body and His Blood. "Take ye all and drink."

The renewed custom of the Church in the last 25 years of receiving the Eucharist under both species, bread and wine, offered to the faithful a deeper personal communion with Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Since Jesus has directed "All of you" to drink His Blood so that "we may be fully blessed and uplifted,” if one was uncomfortable with drinking from the Chalice, perhaps the reasons and/or attitudes should be examined. A reason advanced quite often is that a person feels unworthy to drink of the cup, sometimes, because that has always been the 'Priest' thing. Jesus did not make that kind of a distinction. If we were not worthy to drink from the cup, neither would we be worthy to eat of His Body.. Our Eucharistic prayer covers both species, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, only say the word and my soul shall be healed!" If it were a matter of sanitation, particularly being concerned of germs on the Chalice, some of those who do partake of the Cup, if this question should come to mind, might deal with it by applying Faith that the Blood of Christ is more powerful than any germ. Obviously, if one did have a severe cold or transmittable disease, their own love of neighbor and good sense would govern their actions. The Blood of Jesus is at the same time, Healing and Cleansing. Is there any among us who is totally whole and pure?

One last point. When Jesus told His disciples that unless they ate of His Body and drank of His Blood, that they would have no life within them, many said, "This is a hard saying," and they began to drift away. For one reason, to drink any blood was totally against Jewish law. Scripture has it that Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to abolish it. So, if He was just trying to be spiritual, rather than being literal, or if He thought that somehow they were misunderstanding Him, He would have simply called them back and given them an acceptable explanation. He did not! He turned to His apostles and asked, "Are you going to leave me, too?" Peter responded, "Lord, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life!"

All of this is to invite you to share in the fullness of the Eucharistic celebration when you participate at Mass by, 'Take you and eat', and, 'Take, all of you and drink.'

    Lord, we want all of You and everything You offer us to further our union with You!

See: "Are You In the Habit of Receiving Holy Communion When You Attend Mass?"

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