Pope Benedict XVI 1927-2022 tribute page and access to resources here. Those who receive Communion may receive either in the hand or on the tongue, and the decision should be that of the individual receiving, not of the person distributing Communion. But we doyes, verily. awr. Ive updated the post. All of us should receive with great reverence and respect. For Catholics: As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. Featured Image: Rossano Gospels, Last Supper, 6th c.; Source: Wikimedia Commons, PD-Old-100. Paraguay, 27 September 1971 What if our reception made us all more loving of one another, whatever our views on how to receive? For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. As to the way to carry out the new rite: one possible model is the traditional usage, which expresses the ministerial functions, by having the priest or deacon place the host in the hand of the communicant . ), Pray Tell: An open forum on faith in South Texas. 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.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Holy Communion - New Advent This is the reason why you say after him: Amen.[21]. Others claim that in the context of the discourse St. Cyril was referring to the clergy and not to the faithful. 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. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. The person distributing Communion says audibly to each person approaching, "The Body of Christ." The General Instruction of the Roman Missal takes this hymn very seriously, mandating that it should begin at the Communion of the priest and extend until the last person has received Communion. The history of the liturgy, however, makes clear that rather early on a . Whether to receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue are liturgical disciplines, not dogmas. To unite us to Himself and to nourish our soul with His Timothy O'Malley, Copyright 2023 Germany, 6 June 1969 Your fire, O, Our Lord we have eaten in your offering
How should this evidence be brought to bear on the modern conversation? But is the impression they give generally correct? 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. This reply aged like Milk (currently January 2022). [17] See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 7.9.4. I honestly get sick of it too. Australia, 26 September 1975
John Paul II and Mother Theresa on Communion in the Hand [T]hose who restrict communicants to receive Holy Communion only in the hands are acting against the norms, as are those who refuse to Christ's faithful [the right] to receive Communion in the hand in dioceses that enjoy this indult. COVID-19 Additional Questions for Catholic Schools, COVID-19 Finance FAQ for Catholic Schools, COVID-19 Personnel FAQ for Catholic Schools, COVID-19 Remote Learning FAQ for Catholic Schools, COVID-19 International Students FAQ for Catholic Schools, Forming a New Prayer and Intercessory Team at Your Parish, Resources for Existing Intercessory Prayer Teams, Mooney Real Estate Holding Company and Parish Incorporations, Stewards for Tomorrow/Archdiocese of Detroit Endowment Foundation. The divine coal is a common image of the Eucharist in Syrian theology. 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. Your email address will not be published. I quite deliberately eschewed entering the historical argument as it would have digressed from the main point of that article. It is simply reading too much into this practice, and it is not correct to support something one favors by denigrating another practice. A situation that, in the US certainly, was not necessarily governed by external uniformity (given the varieties of ethnic piety and cultural practices). On reverence for the Eucharist and belief in the Real Presence among Catholic laity has greatly declined I dont think this has ever been proven. The Council of Saragossa (380): Excommunicated anyone who dared continue . This helps explain why this line of thought isnt gaining much traction except on the right fringe. Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. To be a pledge of everlasting life. I beg to differ. To signify, seal, and apply to believers all the benefits of the new covenant. Personally, I think that when a priest with the care of souls holds the view that Communion on the tongue is preferable to the alternative practice, then the best thing he can do is inform the faithful of the bishops permission. Its just BREAD!!. As to the way to carry out the new rite: one possible model is the traditional usage, which expresses the ministerial functions, by having the priest or deacon place the host in the hand of the communicant. All the rites which use leavened bread are reverent but not obsessive. The legitimacy of Communion in the hand is not in question. There is so much to Communion. Q. For example, although Communion in the hand is generally permitted at the Vatican, in recent years ministers administrating Communion at large at papal Masses have been enjoined to distribute Communion only on the tongue. Unless there is a sense of discipleship rooted in baptism. I dont read any statement with canonical force saying that only those countries may apply for an indult. From the point of view of liturgical law, the relevant documents are the following. are on the side of Lucifer. Some scholars claim that this part of the Mystical Catechesis is not originally from St. Cyril but a later interpolation into the text. Many pathogens are transmitted through the hands. Communion in the hand is legitimate only where permitted, and it remains in the realm of a permission. The Pope grants that throughout the territory of your conference, each bishop may, according to his prudent judgment and conscience, authorize in his diocese the introduction of the new rite for giving communion. Some may choose to receive the Lord on the tongue while others choose to receive in the hand. In 1980 St. John Paul II wrote in the apostolic letterDominicae Cenae: In some countries, the practice of receiving Communion in the hand has been introduced. 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. Since Christ is really, substantially, sacramentally present but not physically, being OC over crumbs is not devotion. The liturgical renewal of St. Pius X which promoted the frequent reception of Communion were still quite young.
Is it okay to recieve Communion in the hand? - Catholic Online For this reason, since the question of Communion in the hand is not a question of faith as such, and it has been approved by the legitimate authority, I do not believe that a priest can invoke conscience as a motive for refusing to apply a legitimate law. [5] John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent 28. If one is left-handed this is reversed. It is adoration of Christ, meal of fellowship, union with other communicants (hence the Church wants us to sing during reception), sharing in Christs self-sacrifice, mystical union with angels & saints, sharing even now in the heavenly banquet, having the life of the Risen Christ in oneself, a call to charity and works of justice and making real on earth the peace foreshadowed in Communion, etc. Copyright PrayTellBlog.com Their attitude of reverence must measure up to what they are doing. Jesus wants to use our hands, which have now become His hands, to help those in need. One could have perfect adoration of Real Presence in humble posture and, at least in theory, miss the point of Communion. Instead of receiving in my hand, thinking "the other way is better," and quickly gobbling up the Eucharist, I took the "popular way," as a gift: I put my left hand on top of my right . Elizabeth Klein is an Assistant Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute. Take this from someone who receives in the hand sometimes, I would never do it if I thought it was enabling Lucifer to corrupt my soul. Take a step or two to the side to make way for the next communicant, then receive our Lord. Particularly in regard to this way of receiving communion, experience suggests certain matters requiring careful attention. awr. Hence, my theory is that the wide granting of the indult exceeded its initially intended scope as continued prompting from advisors and larger-than-anticipated requests from conferences overcame the popes reluctance. So when received unworthily, it is not only useless, but it is harmful to oneself (a lifestyle of sin continues), our neighbors (increase of violence, arson, looting, murders), and society in general (take a look at the condition of our country), and is extremely offensive to God (hence the wide-spread suffering). And having hollowed your palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying over it, Amen. Cyril of Jerusalem and Theodore of Mopsuestia liken the practice to that of receiving a king, and both of them note the method of reception was in joined hands (also described in other sources as hands in the form of a cross). The very idea of people regularly receiving Communion (and even receiving Communion as part of the liturgy to the Eucharist itself) were relatively new ideas at the time of the Council. They should be grave and objective questions related to good and evil. What if our way of calling our fellow Christians to a higher way were based on loving example and not polemics? I mean WHAT SPECIFIC REASONS were given for requesting it in the first place? Copyright 2023 Eternal Word Television Network, Inc. Irondale, Alabama. It should be noted that it is never permissible for a person to dip the host he or she has received into the chalice. What is the proper way of receiving Communion in the hand? 5. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment on another thread that this ongoing discussion is frivolous and is only causing needless division. . SACRED CONGREGATION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP, Letter En reponse a la demande, to presidents of those conferences of bishops petitioning the indult for communion in the hand, 29 May 1969: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 61 (1969) 546-547; Notitiae 5 (1969) 351-353. Dear Patrick, Still, while not the direction eventually taken, I believe restriction to be the more natural reading of the Vaticans intent at that moment in time.