7 rules for receiving communion in the hand
vehementer hortatur retention of current practice while invoking the common good of the Church. With regard to the second, we have many early witnesses including Paul (see 1 Cor 11:27) and the Didache (seechapter 14). Holt Orders cannot sustain the Church, no matter how much traditionalists preach priests are of the utmost importance. Hard to believe that Catechesis has never been better if that fundamental is misunderstood. 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. For this is what it is to receive unworthily: if one receives at that time when he ought to be doing penance. The elements were placed in the hands (not in the mouth) of each communicant by the clergy who were present, or, according to Justin, by the deacons alone, amid singing of psalms by the congregation (Psalm 34), with the words: The body of Christ; The blood of Christ, the cup of life; to each of which the recipient responded Amen. (eminent Church historian Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church: Ante-Nicene Christianity: A.D. 100-325 [Vol. 91). Yugoslavia, 1971 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. 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. 6. 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. Maybe this is part of a grand conspiracy by . The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Roland Teske (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001). [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. In North Africa (including Egypt) the practice is mentioned by Tertullian,[1] Cyprian,[2] Augustine,[3] Cyril of Alexandria,[4] and John Climacus. I make no judgment about who is guilty of this- I dont know most of the people by far and am in no position to judge. The guidelines recommend against serving Communion until gatherings of more than 50 people are allowed. All of us are only grasping a hint of it. Because, he says, one should choose the days on which one lives with more purity and self-control in order to approach so great a sacrament worthily. [8] John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians, Baptismal Instruction 12.1516, On the Incomprehensible Nature of God 6.36, and On the Priesthood 3.4. To increase sanctifying grace and all virtues in our soul. 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. Please remember that there is no "right" way to receive. The communicant should audibly respond, "Amen," indicating by that response his or her belief that this small wafer of bread, the wine in this chalice are in reality the body and blood of Christ the Lord. However, since it is a permission, it does not generate an absolute right, and the pastors can rescind the permission, either generally or in particular circumstances if objective motives exist for doing so. [20] Cyril of Jerusalem, myst. 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. We have no nets to cast deeply. Devotion and reverence toward the Eucharist in the case of communion in the hand. Im not aware of that limitation and would like to see proper documentation. As seen above, the U.S. bishops were not among the first to permit Communion in the hand. While we have the option of receiving holy Communion either on the tongue or on the hand, we must always be mindful of receiving our Lord respectfully. It is always helpful to review instructions for receiving 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. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment on another thread that this ongoing discussion is frivolous and is only causing needless division. It is still the practice of millions of committed Latin-rite Catholics all over the world and of many Eastern Churches who administer the Eucharist under both species on the tongue. 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. 896. A Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, by Elizabeth Klein Pope Paul Vl approved this Instruction, confirmed it with his authority, and ordered its publication, setting the day of publication as its effective date. are on the side of Lucifer. Therefore, it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ's faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing" (Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. The causes are myriad and often interconnected. The rationale for Communion on the hands being an ancient practice is from St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Communion in the hand is allowed in the United States by decision of the American Bishops. For Catholics: As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. [19] This list is by no means exhaustive, and it would be tedious to cite all of these references as a catalog, but let us turn to a few of them to see what the Fathers have to say about the meaning of this practice. 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. Reverence can be good if it opens us to God & neighbor and makes us more loving. [6] Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Catecheses 5.13. From the point of view of liturgical law, the relevant documents are the following. Just look at what making donating money an indulgence-eligible corporal work of mercy resulted in during the Renaissance. In fact, however, this hymn is prayer, the corporate thanksgiving prayer of the members of Christ's Body, united with one another. The problem is a lack of intentionality across the board, starting with the laity. If Communion is received in the hand, the hands should first of all be clean. 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. Papua and New Guinea, 28 April 1976 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. [5] John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent 28. The following norms must, therefore, be respected. The Church understands the Communion Procession, in fact every procession in liturgy, as a sign of the pilgrim Church, the body of those who believe in Christ, on their way to the Heavenly Jerusalem. 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. [2] Cyprian, On the Good of Patience 14, On the Lapsed 16 and 26,and Letter 55.9. For real reception of the Blessed Eucharist it is required that the sacred species be received into the stomach. What's at Stake in the Debates Swirling Around Eucharistic Coherence. Above all, it is necessary to have the introduction of the rite preceded by an effective catechesis so that the people will clearly understand the meaning of receiving in the hand and will practice it with the reverence owed to the sacrament. 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. Eccl., VII, ix). Required fields are marked *. 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). In order to be properly disposed to . It is simply reading too much into this practice, and it is not correct to support something one favors by denigrating another practice. That rhetorical flow and its further implicit objections (i.e., take care lest XYZ) *could* be a setup for a generous grant of indults, but given the overall negative tone I dont think it accidental or inconsequential that the prospect of permission is only mentioned in these cases where contrary practice already prevails. Unless there is a sense of discipleship rooted in baptism. 6. 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. Will you not then much more carefully keep watch, that not a crumb fall from youSt. 1396: In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. 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. After stipulating the historical practice of Communion in the hand, Memoriale Domini: defends the development of discipline that led to Communion on the tongue Elizabeth Klein is an Assistant Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute. 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. If one is right handed the left hand should rest upon the right. A. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist: | Irondale, AL 35210 |. [27] John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instruction, 12.15-16, trans. 1. 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. It is also difficult to ensure that the person who receives Communion effectively consumes the host. What if our way of calling our fellow Christians to a higher way were based on loving example and not polemics? 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. In the United States, the body of Bishops has determined that "[t]he norm is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling"and that a bow is the act of reverence made by those receiving (no. What is the proper way of receiving Communion in the hand? According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of Communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 3). Blog Staff and Editorial Advisory Committee, http://www.kathpedia.com/index.php?title=Handkommunion, http://www.cultodivino.va/content/cultodivino/it/rivista-notitiae/indici-annate.html, From the Wires: U.S. Catholic Priests Are Increasingly Conservative as Faithful Grow More Liberal, Yale Organ Week: Now Accepting Applications, The North American Academy of Liturgy, 2023, New Open-Access, Ecumenical Journal Powered by the University of Vienna, Is the Eucharistic Revival a Liturgical Revival (Part 2), What Did Jesus Know? In such cases, episcopal conferences should examine matters carefully and should make whatever decisions, by a secret vote and with a two-thirds majority, are needed to regulate matters. Other way round, it was in the hand and changed to the tongue circa 900 in the west. 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. The bishop, however, might sometimes deal with the religious priest through his superior in these matters. England and Wales, 6 March 1976 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 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 sad fact that in recent years hosts consecrated by a Pope have been offered for sale on the Internet further motivates this precautionary measure. From these documents, we can deduce the following points. Todd, yes, the Church as a whole is growing thanks to the great efforts of missionaries in Africa and Asia (many are now coming back here), and yes, more people are receiving the Sacraments now than ever. Australia, 26 September 1975 Alphonse Mingana (Gorgias Press: Piscataway, NJ, 2009 [1933]). Liturgical Press | School of Theology Seminary | Saint John's Abbey | Comments Policy | Contact Us The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. Communion received on the tongue and while kneeling. In the light of the above, we can come to the heart of the matter as to whether a priest may invoke the question of conscience in order to refuse to distribute Communion in the hand. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. First, Chrysostom in one of his Homilies on Ephesians: What, do you not see the holy vessels so thoroughly cleansed all over, so resplendent? Because those vessels are made so for our sakes. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. North Africa,October 15 1969 [9] Theodore of Mopsuestia, Catechetical Homilies 6. So whats missing? If Communion is received in the hand, the hands should first of all be clean. 6. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (canon 916). If you are the body and members of Christ, then it is your sacrament that is placed on the table of the Lord; it is your sacrament that you receive. In this ordinance Christ ratifies his promises to his people, and they on their part solemnly consecrate themselves to him and to his entire service. 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. To be a pledge of everlasting life. Middle Africa, 3 February 1970
