Their attitude of reverence must measure up to what they are doing. Reverence can be good if it opens us to God & neighbor and makes us more loving. When we move in procession, particularly the procession to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Communion, we are a sign, a symbol of that pilgrim Church "on the way.". Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church: Receiving Communion If one is left-handed this is reversed. It was proved that belief in the Real Presence is abysmal. Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. This is the reason why you say after him: Amen.[21]. Today, both manners of receiving Communion are worthy and licit. Communion on the Tongue Is an Apostolic Tradition The two ways of receiving communion can without question take place during the same liturgical service. With your hand hollowed, receive the Body of Christ and answer 'Amen'. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family. 86). Sacrilege is at an all-time high, yet use of the Sacrament of Confession is at an all-time low. The Truth About Communion in the Hand | The Fatima Center O Solomon, the thing which the Lord of your father If we follow the example of the Fathers, we will prioritize practices that prevent the dropping of the Eucharist and catechizing communicants not to receive in a state of mortal sin. Communion in the hand is allowed in the United States by decision of the American Bishops. This helps explain why this line of thought isnt gaining much traction except on the right fringe. Hence any baptized Catholic who is not prevented by law must be admitted to Holy Communion. A situation that, in the US certainly, was not necessarily governed by external uniformity (given the varieties of ethnic piety and cultural practices). Guidelines for the Reception of Communion | USCCB The legitimacy of Communion in the hand is not in question. Unless there is a sense of discipleship rooted in baptism. Your fire, O, Our Lord we have eaten in your offering As further documentation,Pray Tell provides this excerpt from the 2002General Instruction of the Roman Missal in Latin and English on the reception of Communion. Look how military inspectors demand very high standards of care when inspecting barracks for cleanliness. There is also evidence that this was a contested subject (i.e., about what sins prevent someone from receiving), as it would continue to be throughout the history of the Church. Another will say the opposite; he says, On the contrary, if the wound of sin and the attack of the disease is in fact so great that such medicines need to be postponed, one ought to be removed from the altar by the authority of the bishop in order to do penance, and one ought to be reconciled by the same authority. Per The Baltimore Catechism: It should be noted that it is never permissible for a person to dip the host he or she has received into the chalice. It preserves us from mortal sin by exciting us to greater fervor and strengthening us against temptation. Receiving Communion The Sacrament of Holy Communion (also known as The Lord's Supper or Eucharist) has been precious and life-giving to Christians for 2,000 years. And having hollowed your palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying over it, Amen. It is simply reading too much into this practice, and it is not correct to support something one favors by denigrating another practice. 3. Madagascar 2 March 1970 Communion in the hand is legitimate only where permitted, and it remains in the realm of a permission. Pandemic will affect Communion rituals for U.S. Christians Receiving communion in the hand was the common practice of the Church in both East and West for the first 800 years of Christianity, and it was certainly considered reverent by the Fathers. The wind has left our sails and many of us are adrift on uncertain seas. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. [9] Theodore of Mopsuestia, Catechetical Homilies 6. Pope Benedict was asked why he chose to distribute Communion only to those kneeling and on the tongue and he responded, because it highlights "the truth of the real presence [of Christ] in the Eucharist, helps the devotion . Who holds the wind in the palm of his hand? The question has been asked for a long time since the Church has often allowed both methods of reception. As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes the whole of it. Maybe this is due to its similarity to practices in most Protestant churches, many of which (Anglicans and Lutherans notwithstanding) fundamentally dont believe in a sacramental Communion substance. These considerations can perhaps help balance our perspective (whether in favor or against the practice of communion in the hand), and alert us to the fact that reverence is a complex phenomenon that, of course, does involve postures of the body, but most importantly, the attitude of the heart. The author claims that Communion in the hand could only be authorized in countries where it was an established practice but doesnt give a citation. 4. In this he shows a great fear, and since the hand that is stretched out holds a higher rank, it is the one that is extended for receiving the body of the King, and the other hand bears and brings its sister hand, while not thinking that it is playing the role of a servant, as it is equal with it in honour, on account of the bread of the King, which is also borne by it. The history of the liturgy, however, makes clear that rather early on a . Cardinals Thorne (Peru) and Caffarra (Bologna) have banned Communion in the hand, citing reasons of abuse and disrespect. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. The Holy Eucharist remits venial sins by disposing us to perform acts of love and contrition. The cultural backing. A. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist: The host will then be laid in the palm of the left hand and then taken by the right hand to the mouth. A passage from St. Cyril of Jerusalem is used to persuade Catholics that Communion in the hand is an ancient practice legitimately restored after Vatican II. The option must not turn out to be the occasion for regarding it as ordinary bread or as just another religious article., I feel this is a underrated point in recent discussions on the reception of Holy Communion, both here on PT and elsewhere. What if we were passionate about all that? It is a matter of particular seriousness that in places where the new practice is lawfully permitted every one of the faithful have the option of receiving communion on the tongue and even when other persons are receiving communion in the hand. Phillip Schaff (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889). Receiving Communion - Prayer & Spiritual Life - Greek Orthodox In North Africa (including Egypt) the practice is mentioned by Tertullian,[1] Cyprian,[2] Augustine,[3] Cyril of Alexandria,[4] and John Climacus. Whatever procedure is adopted, care must be taken not to allow particles of the eucharistic bread to fall or be scattered. Communion on Tongue vs. Hand? The Most Important Thing to Know: Hold I honestly get sick of it too. 161. Timothy O'Malley on the meaning of Eucharistic coherence in the life of the Church. The rite of communion in the hand must not be put into practice indiscriminately. July 2, 2020 ( LifeSiteNews) Many bishops around the world are attempting to compel Catholics, who are in the right dispositions to approach the Holy Eucharist, to receive Our Lord in the. (Original Latin text here, see pp. Communion in the hand was officially permitted in the United States in 1977, following an indult that is, special permission given by the Congregation for Divine Sacraments in 1969. The guidelines, which are to be included in missalettes and other participation aids published in the United States, seek to remind all those who may attend Catholic liturgies of the present discipline of the Church with regard to the sharing of Eucharistic Communion. I think proponents of tongue/kneeling will get a better hearing if they uphold all aspects of Communion. The faithful must be taught that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and that therefore the worship of latria or adoration belonging to God is owed to Christ present in this sacrament. So the authors claim that he is exactly Vatican II is doubtful. By this symbolic action, their denial would be clear to all. The congregation returned to this issue in the instructionImmensae Caritatis,January 29, 1973: AAS 65 (1973) 264-271; Notitiae 9 (1973) 157-164: Part 4. 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Paul VI had a measure of it in 1974, and we hav emostly missed the wisdom of Evangelii Nuntiandi. Your email address will not be published. 915). Over and over again the prayers of the liturgy and the norms of the General Instruction emphasize this fundamental concept of the unity of the baptized, stressing that when we come together to participate in the Eucharistic celebration we come, not as individuals, but as united members of Christ's Body. To signify, seal, and apply to believers all the benefits of the new covenant. Im skeptical of the claim that collecting absentee ballots for bishops conference votes is unlawful. Cdl. McElroy doubles down on heresy, pushes Communion for 'sexually With regard to the first precept, Origen of Alexandria cautions, You who are accustomed to take part in divine mysteries know, when you receive the body of the Lord, how you protect it with all caution and veneration lest any small part fall from it, lest anything of the consecrated gift be lost. Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS) TOP Why did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist? [23] John Chrysostom, hom. If, for some reason, the communicant is not able or willing to drink from the cup then that person should receive only under the form of bread. At the same time he has taken into account the reasons given to support your request and the outcome of the vote taken on this matter. Indeed, it can be dangerous for contagion. Since Christ is really, substantially, sacramentally present but not physically, being OC over crumbs is not devotion. 5. It also happens, on occasion, that the free choice of those who prefer to continue the practice of receiving the Eucharist on the tongue is not taken into account in those places where the distribution of Communion in the hand has been authorized. Instruction on the Manner of Distributing Holy Communion For this alone is the eating referred to by our Lord ( John 6:58 ). A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all. can. [27] John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instruction, 12.15-16, trans. In the early Church, the faithful stood when receiving into their hands the consecrated particle can hardly be questioned. St. Dionysius of Alexandria [d. 265], writing to one of the popes of his time, speaks emphatically of one who has stood by the table and has extended his hand to receive the Holy Food (Eusebius [263-339], Hist. They are also to be instructed not to omit after communion the sincere and appropriate thanksgiving that is in keeping with their individual capacities, state, and occupation. Think of what you receive in your hand and keep it clean of all greed and theft. Roland Teske (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001). R. E. Heine FotC 21 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1982). Hard to believe that Catechesis has never been better if that fundamental is misunderstood. The Reception of Holy Communion at Mass | USCCB There are particles, and there are particles. The condition is the complete avoidance of any cause for the faithful to be shocked and any danger of irreverence toward the Eucharist. What a Priest Might Do If He Wants to Avoid It. The Eucharist fulfills this call: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? Others claim that in the context of the discourse St. Cyril was referring to the clergy and not to the faithful. But "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly." This is the usual form of receiving communion in the Eastern rites. 5.21, trans. How to Receive the Eucharist | Catholic Answers I quite deliberately eschewed entering the historical argument as it would have digressed from the main point of that article. This is the quote that is always used: " make your left hand a throne for the right, as for that which is to receive a King. vehementer hortatur retention of current practice while invoking the common good of the Church. Australia, 26 September 1975 Copyright 2023 Eternal Word Television Network, Inc. Irondale, Alabama. My overarching point in all this (as someone who receives comfortably in both manners) is that I dont think common concerns with reception in the hand have been treated with adequate seriousness by many its defenders. It is difficult for some of us to embrace this emphasis on Mass as the action of a community rather than an individual act of my own faith and piety, but it is important that we make every effort to do so. Catholics use birth control, get divorced and fornicate at the same rate as society in general, with the sin of using birth control rarely confessed. For whatever reason, reception on the hand does not appear to convey the same level of reverence in the public consciousness as reception on the tongue. St. Cyril of Jerusalem in 348 gave this instruction to his congregation: "When you approach Holy Communion, make the left hand into a throne for the right, which will receive the King. Henry Percival and ed. Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread (1 Cor 10:16-17). 95% of parishes shrinking, seminaries empty, young people disengaged: it will happen in Africa and Asia too when the culture of the secular West overwhelms the Third World. Even if we presume the authenticity of the text we still do not know how long the practice lasted, whether leavened or unleavened bread was used and whether the practice was exclusive to the Church of Jerusalem. (I dont direct this at you, I mean it to everyone on all sides.). This catechesis must succeed in excluding any suggestion that in the mind of the Church there is a lessening of faith in the Eucharistic presence and in excluding as well as any danger or hint of danger of profaning the Eucharist. That the conference had voted twice but failed to approve the practice and then only won the third vote by gathering absentee votes which is the article claims was unlawful? The communicant replies, Amen, and receives the Sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is allowed, in the hand, the choice lying with the communicant. Yet even here, the experts sometimes forgot the unrepeatable reality of original circumstances so that restoration is never quite the same. I dont read any statement with canonical force saying that only those countries may apply for an indult. This norm is supported by an Instruction by the Holy See regarding the Eucharist: "In distributing Holy Communion it is to be remembered that 'sacred ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who seek them in a reasonable manner, are rightly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them'(Code of Canon Law, can. The fire of mercy has become for us a living sacrifice As seen above, the U.S. bishops were not among the first to permit Communion in the hand. What if our reception made us all more loving of one another, whatever our views on how to receive? Zambia, 11 March 1974 With your hand hollowed, receive the Body of Christ and answer Amen. The life of Christ, the Holy Spirit, animates each of us individually, and all of us corporately and guides us together in our efforts to become one in Christ. The [Seraph] did not hold it, and [Isaiah] did not eat it The left hand is extended, with the right hand under the left in support (left handed persons may wish to . For you believe, and correctly, that you are answerable if anything falls from there by neglect.[25]. Required fields are marked *. Elizabeth Klein is an Assistant Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute. The bishop, however, might sometimes deal with the religious priest through his superior in these matters. The missal of 1570 eliminated almost all sequences and moved the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar to the beginning of the Order of Mass though the Council of Trent never said a word about either. There is a twofold purpose here: that none will find in the new rite anything disturbing to personal devotion toward the Eucharist; that this sacrament, the source and cause of unity by its very nature, will not become an occasion of discord between members of the faithful. However, when they receive Communion standing, it is recommended that the faithful make appropriate reverence, according to the norms established, before receiving the Sacrament. To that which you are you respond Amen (yes, it is true!) and by responding to it you assent to it. My simple point is that the individual ways our Church evolves over history have a significant impact on its life thereafter, often in ways we dont expect. It is not appropriate to reach out with the fingers and take the host from the person distributing. divine life. Paul W. Harkins ACW 31 (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1963).