1. A Matter of Reverence
When we forgo the use of the common cup for individual plastic cups that resemble those use in medical practice, we lose a sense of reverence embodied in the ritual of the Sacrament. We are not treating the blood of Christ with the proper respect, and by using plastic cups we are treating the sacramental elements as if it were just wine and nothing more. The ritual of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper should emphasize that as a congregation we are coming into the very presence of God, and should come with a sense of awe and mystery, which in my opinion is broken by the use of individual plastic cups.
2. The loss of communion among the congregation
Taking the Lord's Supper as a congregation symbolizes the communion among us, our doctrinal unity and our union with Christ. As a poor use of adiaphora, individual cups are in danger of denying this reality and reducing the taking of the Lord's blood to an individualized event rather than one we all share in the Common cup. Furthermore it contradicts the practice of the Lord's Supper started by Christ during the last supper, as Jesus handed out one cup to be distributed among his disciples.
3. Treating the elements as something unhealthy
Finally, the use of the individual cups is a Protestant inheritance, from the idea that the use of the Common Cup is something that can make us unwell, as if the drinking of the Lord's blood is unhygienic and unsanitary. Of course all efforts should be made to keep the Common Cup clean but without resorting to a Protestant practice which inherently denies the real presence, and contradicts Jesus's use of a common cup to distribute the elements.
In the Catholic Seminary we had common Chalices..Very reverent daily liturgies.
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