France, 6 June 1969 Will you not then much more carefully keep watch, that not a crumb fall from youSt. The Council was a start, but we have allowed ourselves to get sidetracked in silly and divisive banter. Copyright PrayTellBlog.com Archbishop Anthony Fisher, OP, of Sydney published an excellent paper on the topic of conscience and authority which can be found at:https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=7833or, in a slightly briefer form athttps://zenit.org/articles/bishop-fisher-on-conscience-and-authority/. 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. 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. Never receive Holy Communion in the hand when your hands are impeded; e.g., carrying a cane or some other walking-assistance device, carrying a child in your arms, carrying a purse, have a tissue or handkerchief in your hand, have a cast on your hand, etc. Think of what you receive in your hand and keep it clean of all greed and theft. Receiving Communion - Prayer & Spiritual Life - Greek Orthodox W.R., Goa, India. It describes one of the purposes of the opening song of the Mass as to "foster the unity of those who have been gathered" (no. And why so? Germany, 6 June 1969 "You're talking to someone who has only owned a smartphone for a yearI resisted," he said. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ's prayer for us "that they may all be one" (Jn 17:21). in Eph 3, trans. The two ways of receiving communion can without question take place during the same liturgical service. Their attitude of reverence must measure up to what they are doing. The people administering the sacrament are asked to use hand sanitizer immediately before. There is so much to Communion. To commemorate the death of Christ: "This do in remembrance of me." 2. . 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. 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 . 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. The General Instruction asks each country's Conference of Bishops to determine the posture to be used for the reception of Communion and the act of reverence to be made by each person as he or she receives Communion. It is always helpful to review instructions for receiving Communion. Under the moral aspect will be considered, in reference to Holy Communion: necessity; subject; dispositions. Rather maddeningly, it is the Anglicans who in the West have retained the practice as described by St. Cyril, while contemporary Latin-rite Catholics tend to consume the Host as if it were a potato chip., From the historical point of view, we can say that there is strong evidence that the practice existed in early centuries in some areas of the Church. I have come to realize in the last few weeks how many of my Roman Rite brethren are actually understanding the Eucharist in a heretical way. Fast forward to 2004, when The Congregation for Divine Worship in its new Instruction named Redemptionis Sacramentum, stated: "Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice, if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand the sacred host is to be administered . 284-287 is to be followed.. Our procession should move with dignity; our bearing should be that of those who know they have been redeemed by Christ and are coming to receive their God! [13] In the far-flung regions of the empireGaul (modern-day France and Spain) we have the witness of Caesarius of Arles[14] and the council of Auxerre,[15] and in England, we have the Venerable Bede. On this point, I will leave you with a beautiful exhortation from the Golden Tongue: Think of what you receive in your hand and never lift it to strike another and never disgrace with the sin of assault the hand that has been honored with so great a gift. Yugoslavia, 1971 By this symbolic action, their denial would be clear to all. If our reader had said that he believed that Communion in the hand was more prone to dangers of accidents and profanation, I would accept the argument. The history of the liturgy, however, makes clear that rather early on a . It must be presumed that a priest has sufficient formation in moral principles so as to exclude an erroneous conscience in such matters. 843 1; cf. Your email address will not be published. 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. 3. It is simply reading too much into this practice, and it is not correct to support something one favors by denigrating another practice. Not only was Communion in the hand started in disobedience, it was perpetuated by deceit. [27] John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instruction, 12.15-16, trans. 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. [2] Cyprian, On the Good of Patience 14, On the Lapsed 16 and 26,and Letter 55.9. But whatever the case, it is the Pope who decides to authorize it for countries, and it is indisputable that he did so. We have no nets to cast deeply. As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes the whole of it. [10] See John Damascene, On the Orthodox Faith, 4.13. From the point of view of liturgical law, the relevant documents are the following. Church Life Journal A. It is not appropriate to reach out with the fingers and take the host from the person distributing. These need to be taken seriously if one wants to effectively engage in these discussions with the likes of Cardinal Sarah and others. Aaron, this describes what the countries are to do where Communion in the hand was being practiced. Since Christ is really, substantially, sacramentally present but not physically, being OC over crumbs is not devotion. My sense is that if theres something demonic in all this it is the Galatians moment in which many Catholics find themselves, especially those on the traditional side. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. It should be noted that it is never permissible for a person to dip the host he or she has received into the chalice. Who holds the wind in the palm of his hand? God has come to live in us. So Indian Bishop conference have not got any Indult for communion in hand? I happen to accept the role of darkness within the Church, but it strikes me as being perpetrated all too often by those who style themselves the most faithful or loyal to God. [26] Augustine, Letter 54.3.4, trans. 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). Is it okay to recieve Communion in the hand? - Catholic Online I wholeheartedly agree with your comment on another thread that this ongoing discussion is frivolous and is only causing needless division. The [Seraph] did not hold it, and [Isaiah] did not eat it 3. The True Story of Communion in the Hand Revealed - OnePeterFive Churches are closing, priests are dying off, masses young people are dropping their faith, and the Church is slowly slipping into obscurity in its own homeland. 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. Other way round, it was in the hand and changed to the tongue circa 900 in the west. To increase sanctifying grace and all virtues in our soul. 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). It is not solely the result of some weird medieval form of reverence. Father, as to the limitation on what regions might request this indult, Memoriale Domini stipulated that Where a contrary usage, that of placing holy communion on the hand, prevails, the Holy See [] lays on those conferences the task of weighing carefully whatever special circumstances may exist there []. The Holy Eucharist remits venial sins by disposing us to perform acts of love and contrition. Today, both manners of receiving Communion are worthy and licit. 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. First, Chrysostom in one of his Homilies on Ephesians: What, do you not see the holy vessels so thoroughly cleansed all over, so resplendent? 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. It is now August 2020 and I can say that you have been proven wrong. Or is there more context that is missing? But as time passed it became the practice to receive Communion directly on the tongue in order to assure that the Host was received reverently. So it is not just tiresome traditionalists who worry about particles. What if our way of calling our fellow Christians to a higher way were based on loving example and not polemics? [20] Cyril of Jerusalem, myst. Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church: Receiving Communion For tell me, if any one gave you grains of gold, would you not hold them with all carefulness, being on your guard against losing any of them, and suffering loss? Why did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist? Bishops who have been permitted to introduce the new rite of communion are asked to send a report to the congregation, six months hence, on the outcome. 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. Fire consumed the offering The Netherlands, 18 September 1969 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. 6. I dont think reception in the hand is destroying the Church like what some prominent leaders in the Church have implied, but this practice has still had wide ranging [and not entirely positive] ramifications in the Church over the last half century, far beyond the obvious choice of the individual communicant. Instead this option must increase in them a consciousness of the dignity of the members of Christs Mystical Body, into which they are incorporated by baptism and by the grace of the Eucharist. Middle Africa, 3 February 1970 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. Permission for administering Communion in the hand was granted by the Holy See to the United States on June 17, 1977 and has since become almost the universal norm in the Ordinary Form. This would be done especially if it is very difficult or impossible to fulfill the necessary conditions as outlined in the documents above. Dear Patrick, Reverence for the Most Blessed Sacrament | The Fatima Center On the one hand, I think this evidence precludes describing communion in the hand as intrinsically irreverent. [2] 2 Accept Communion in a state of grace. 13.3, trans. 1396: In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. At Christ's invitation, extended by the priest acting in Christ's person: "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb," the members of the community move forward to share in the sacred meal, to receive the Body and Blood of Christ which is the sign and the source of their unity. In comparing the indult list provided in this post with the brief history of Fr. 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. To continue the sacrifice of the Cross in His Church. Nowhere in this article did I see what the CHURCH says about Holy Communion, only the writers opinion. 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. The symptoms are myriadI certainly would assent to much of what you cite. Thanks for this, Dennis. [6] In Syria (what we now call Turkey and surrounding regions) it is witnessed by Basil the Great,[7] John Chrysostom,[8] Theodore of Mopsuestia,[9] John Damascene[10] and the Council of Constantinople in Trullo (also called the Quinisext council). Alternatively, it is permissible to adopt a simpler procedure, namely, allowing the faithful themselves to take the host from the ciborium or paten. When the communion is distributed under both kinds, it is never permitted to place in the hands of the communicants hosts which have first been placed in the Blood of the Lord. 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. (or: Which Heresy Will You Give Up for Lent? O Solomon, the thing which the Lord of your father CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Holy Communion - New Advent Their attitude of reverence must measure up to what they are doing. Indeed, it can be dangerous for contagion. One said: When [the practice was] introduced in the U.S. Cyril of Jerusalem was quoted make your hands a throne for the King, take and eat.Is anyone denying the quote?, Concerning Communion in the hand, please consult the Mystical Catechesis of St. Cyril of Jerusalem for a description of the practice around A.D. 345. For it is a deed fraught with destruction to take the tongue which serve such awesome mysteries, which has become purpled with a blood so precious, which has become a sword of gold and to change its course to abuse, insolence and ribald jests. It is reported that a bishop shouted out, On the tongue or in the hand?. Some may choose to receive the Lord on the tongue while others choose to receive in the hand. The rite of communion in the hand must not be put into practice indiscriminately. The way you put it, it doesnt sound obsessive-compulsive but salutary. And some who do have lost their strength or nerve. The Eucharist fulfills this call: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? To fit our bodies for a glorious resurrection. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. St. You should thus draw near with great awe and love, according to the greatness of that which is given: with awe, because of the greatness of (its) honour; and with love, because of (its) grace. Ireland, 4 September 1976 Basil the Great considered Communion in the hand so irregular that he did not hesitate to consider it a grave fault. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. Permission for administering Communion in the hand was granted by the Holy See to the following countries and regions under Pope Paul VI:[UPDATED 3-2-18], Belgium, 31 May 1969 3. I dont read any statement with canonical force saying that only those countries may apply for an indult. The guidelines recommend against serving Communion until gatherings of more than 50 people are allowed. cites vote tallies to defend a claim that a large majority (longe plurimos) of bishops not only oppose introducing Communion in the hand but consider it tum sensui tum spirituali cultui [] offensioni Timothy O'Malley on the meaning of Eucharistic coherence in the life of the Church. This is more a question of moral theology than of liturgy. For some, however, the singing of this hymn is perceived as an intrusion on their own prayer, their private thanksgiving after Communion. The faithful should consume the host before returning to their place; the ministers part will be brought out by use of the usual formulary, The body of Christ, to which the communicant replies: Amen. This formula should not be altered, as it is a proclamation which calls for a response of faith on the part of the one who receives. awr. Chad, 18 September 1969 John Paul II and Mother Theresa on Communion in the Hand Maybe this is part of a grand conspiracy by . Australia, 26 September 1975 [17] See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 7.9.4. 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. 160). The option offered to the faithful of receiving the Eucharistic bread in their hand and putting it into their own mouth must not turn out to be the occasion for regarding it as ordinary bread or as just another religious article. Objecting to Communion in the Hand | EWTN All of us should receive with great reverence and respect. If Communion is received in the hand, the hands should first of all be clean. 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. I honestly get sick of it too. I have celebrated Mass in places where there is no Communion in the hand and yet have observed some people approach the Eucharist in a slovenly and distracted manner with nary a trace of reverence in sight. There are particles, and there are particles. Catechesis has been virtually non-existent or flat-out heretical for the last 50 years. Djibouti, 6 March 1970 Paraguay, 27 September 1971 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. Whether to receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue are liturgical disciplines, not dogmas. United States, 17 June 1977 The recent survey asking Catholics about Holy Communion indicates that 70% DO NOT BELIEVE that Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus. Q: When the bishop in a diocese allows the faithful to receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue, can a priest, who objects on the grounds of conscience, refuse to give the faithful holy Communion in the hand? 6. Their decisions should be sent to Rome to receive the necessary confirmation, []. The document does not have numbered paragraphs to cite, but youll find it a few paragraphs after the tabulation of votes collected from bishops. Do we accept an experience of the Real Presence only when the externals and the lingo of 1950 are seen and heard? The oldest reference to the Eucharist in the New Testament occurs in chapters 11 and 12 of the First Letter to the Corinthians, which has no reference to receiving Holy Communion on the tongue. divine life. In defending his push to give Communion to grave sinners, McElroy reiterated his belief that conscience has the "privileged place" over doctrine in decision-making and suggested that it can . 2. Hence any baptized Catholic who is not prevented by law must be admitted to Holy Communion. [1] This RCIA Process is the way in which you are prepared to be formally received by the Church; this is necessary before you can take Communion. Others claim that in the context of the discourse St. Cyril was referring to the clergy and not to the faithful. Papua and New Guinea, 28 April 1976 This article has been selected from the ZENIT Daily Dispatch Innovative Media, Inc. ZENIT International News Agency Via della Stazione di Ottavia, 95 00165 Rome, Italywww.zenit.org, To subscribe http://www.zenit.org/english/subscribe.html or email: english-request@zenit.org with SUBSCRIBE in the "subject" field, Provided Courtesy of: Eternal Word Television Network 5817 Old Leeds Road Irondale, AL 35210www.ewtn.com, HOME - EWTNews - FAITH - TELEVISION - RADIO - LIBRARY - MULTIMEDIAWHAT'S NEW - GENERAL - RELIGIOUS CATALOGUE - PILGRIMAGES - ESPAOL, EWTN | 5817 Old Leeds Rd. To be a pledge of everlasting life. The Holy See has made it abundantly clear that both manners of reception of Communion - on the tongue and in the hand - are permitted, that Communion should be received reverently, and that the manner of reception should not become an occasion of division in the church. Receiving the host in one's hand has been an option in the United States since the bishops authorized this in May 1977 and the Holy See confirmed it. These practices have wide evidence of use and in some ways never died out completely. 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. Your fire, O, Our Lord we have eaten in your offering Since the question involves human attitudes, this mode of communion is bound up with the perceptiveness and preparation of the one receiving. 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. vehementer hortatur retention of current practice while invoking the common good of the Church. 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. As a scholar of the early Church, I was surprised to learn that the practice of communion in the hand is such a hotly debated topic; it came to my attention during the early days of the pandemic, when many dioceses required communicants to receive in this way. ODonaghues post, I note with interest that the countries in which Communion in the hand is alleged to have been most prevalent either did not apply for or at any rate receive an indult in these first 8 years of results. Sure, Ill go along with that. All of us are only grasping a hint of it. The Reception of Holy Communion at Mass | USCCB Madagascar 2 March 1970 Finally, to the end that their coming to this heavenly table may be completely worthy and fruitful, the faithful should be instructed on its benefits and effects, for both the individual and society, so that their familial relationship to the Father who gives us our daily bread, may reflect the highest reverence for him, nurture love, and lead to a living bond with Christ, in whose flesh and blood we share. Some scholars claim that this part of the Mystical Catechesis is not originally from St. Cyril but a later interpolation into the text. Pray Tell here documents two statements of the Congregation for Divine Worship issued under Pope Paul VI. When the priest gives it he says: The body of Christ. He teaches you by this word not to look at that which is visible, but to picture in your mind the nature of this oblation, which, by the coming of the Holy Spirit, is the body of Christ. [24] Trans. Receiving Holy Communion | EWTN