7 rules for receiving communion in the hand7 rules for receiving communion in the hand

Care must also be taken that the communicants have clean hands and that their comportment is becoming and in keeping with the practices of the different peoples. Therefore I stand by what I wrote in the original: In this context I think it is fair to say that the present practice of Communion in the hand is not a simple restoration of a historical custom but rather introduced a new practice in new circumstances which, while it has some historical justification, is essentially motivated by current pastoral concerns in some parts of the world.. So then after having carefully hallowed your eyes by the touch of the Holy Body, partake of it; giving heed lest you lose any portion thereof; for whatever you lose, is evidently a loss to you as it were from one of your own members. 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. Indonesia, 27 March 1971 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. 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. And of course Pope Paul VI was adamant that all the reforms carried out under him were faithful to the Second Vatican Council. This would be done especially if it is very difficult or impossible to fulfill the necessary conditions as outlined in the documents above. 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. [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. 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. From the point of view of liturgical law, the relevant documents are the following. 6. 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. With regard to the second, we have many early witnesses including Paul (see 1 Cor 11:27) and the Didache (seechapter 14). Mingle and flow into the palms of his disciples![22]. Guidelines for Receiving Holy Communion - Catholic News Agency The Council was a start, but we have allowed ourselves to get sidetracked in silly and divisive banter. FYI, the announcement that approval for Communion in the Hand was given (in 1969) to Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, and Chad appeared in Notitiae in v. 6 (1969), no. It seems appropriate to conclude this reflection on the Communion Procession and the reception of Communion with a quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. Over the years I have read a multitude of opinions for and against, and occasionally perceived false arguments. 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. 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. I think youre right that, without an explicitly limiting clause, there is no canonically binding restriction to those countries, and that the subsequent granting of dispensation ultimately belied such restriction. (I dont direct this at you, I mean it to everyone on all sides.). 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. 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. [] It is not permitted for the faithful to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them on from one to another among themselves. Ever since the InstructionMemoriale Dominithree years ago, some of the conferences of bishops have been requesting the Apostolic See for the faculty to allow ministers distributing communion to place the eucharistic bread in the hand of the faithful. 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/. Councils establish principles (and rarely go into specific points) and then leave it to a commission to carry out the detailed work after the Council. Just look at what making donating money an indulgence-eligible corporal work of mercy resulted in during the Renaissance. Now we feel our affluence threatened, and the Gospel gives no comfort on that front. Chad, 18 September 1969 Finally, the fact that the Communion Procession is a profoundly religious action tells us something about the way in which we should participate in this procession. 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. Fire consumed the offering The person distributing Communion says audibly to each person approaching, "The Body of Christ." A letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship to presidents of bishops conferences on May 29, 1969: AAS 61 (1969) 546-547; Notitiae 5 (1969) 351-353: In reply to the request of your conference of bishops regarding permission to give communion by placing the host on the hand of the faithful, I wish to communicate the following. Bishop Athanasius Schneider argued along the same lines at the end of February. A Journal of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, by Elizabeth Klein 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. These need to be taken seriously if one wants to effectively engage in these discussions with the likes of Cardinal Sarah and others. [4] Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John 6.1 and 12.1. Whether to receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue are liturgical disciplines, not dogmas. awr. [10] See John Damascene, On the Orthodox Faith, 4.13. This practice has been requested by individual episcopal conferences and has received approval from the Apostolic See. 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. [21] Theodore of Mopsuestia, catech. Since practices vary from one church to another, we hope these guidelines help you feel more at home. http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2014/03/truth-about-communion-in-hand-while.html#.Wpa2wdIUnGg. Maybe this is due to decades of poor or heterodox catechesis on the Sacraments. To increase sanctifying grace and all virtues in our soul. In fact, each time we move forward together to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord, we join the countless ranks of all the baptized who have gone before us, our loved ones, the canonized and uncanonized saints down through the ages, who at their time in history formed a part of this mighty stream of believers. Middle Africa, 3 February 1970 vehementer hortatur retention of current practice while invoking the common good 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. 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. 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. For Catholics: As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. Alphonse Mingana (Gorgias Press: Piscataway, NJ, 2009 [1933]). 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. I did an internet search about the history of communion in the hand in the U.S. and the only thing I found was an article by the NLM. PDF Instructions on Receiving Holy Communion with Proper Reverence Do we accept an experience of the Real Presence only when the externals and the lingo of 1950 are seen and heard? A. 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. These views are sometimes strongly held. From a hygienic point of view, the hand carries a huge amount of bacteria. In reply to the request of your conference of bishops regarding permission to give communion by placing the host on the hand of the faithful, I wish to communicate the following. Nor did the Vatican interpret it that way, near as I can tell. [16] Liturgical evidence from Rome is always sparser than one would like, but Eusebius preserves a mention of communion in the hand in a letter written from Dionysius of Alexandria to Sixtus I, bishop of Rome,[17] and in a letter of Cornelius, bishop of Rome. 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. 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. I think proponents of tongue/kneeling will get a better hearing if they uphold all aspects of Communion. The condition is the complete avoidance of any cause for the faithful to be shocked and any danger of irreverence toward the Eucharist. There is so much to Communion. Its just BREAD!!. 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. It was designed: 1. Receiving the Host in the Hand | Franciscan Media To fit our bodies for a glorious resurrection. How to Properly Receive Communion on the Hands - catholiclegion Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA. Please take responsibility for the lies, the bile, and the sinful stuff. Click herefor a handout that can be placed in your bulletin for your parishioner. 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. It should be noted that it is never permissible for a person to dip the host he or she has received into the chalice. 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. Because those vessels are made so for our sakes. On the one hand, I think this evidence precludes describing communion in the hand as intrinsically irreverent. When receiving in the hand, the communicant should be guided by the words of St. Cyril of Jerusalem . All rights reserved. Dear Patrick, 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. When the bishops reassembled, Cardinal John Carberry of St. Louis, a determined opponent of Communion in the hand, was quick to get up to set things straight. For the first few centuries of the Church, receiving Communion in the hand was a common practice. The Controversy of Communion in the Hand Catholic Insight Q. And why so? 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 now August 2020 and I can say that you have been proven wrong. 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 any danger or hint of danger of profaning the Eucharist. What if we were passionate about all that? Who holds the wind in the palm of his hand? However, when they receive Communion standing, it is recommended that the faithful make appropriate reverence, according to the norms established, before receiving the Sacrament. Zambia, 11 March 1974 LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Catholics want to know if it is allowed for their bishops and priests to require Communion be received only on in the hand instead of on the tongue. 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 bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 2023 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In North Africa (including Egypt) the practice is mentioned by Tertullian,[1] Cyprian,[2] Augustine,[3] Cyril of Alexandria,[4] and John Climacus. 13.3, trans. If he is a religious priest, what actions can a legitimate superior take as regards the member who denies Communion in the hand? No wonder so many people there have given up on Christianity. awr. How to Receive the Eucharist | Catholic Answers [23], The great and divine Apostle Paul with loud voice calls man created in the image of God, the body and temple of Christ. Is the Catholic Church ever going to bring back communion wine? [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. A parish priest, or the rector of a sanctuary, might have objective reasons for not applying the permission if there is any danger of profanation or lack of respect. 915). They partake not of Him that is in them, they perceive Him not. Australia, 26 September 1975 O Solomon, the thing which the Lord of your father The Netherlands, 18 September 1969 The Truth About Communion in the Hand | The Fatima Center I dont read any statement with canonical force saying that only those countries may apply for an indult. Whatever procedure is adopted, care must be taken not to allow particles of the eucharistic bread to fall or be scattered.