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To that which you are you respond Amen (yes, it is true!) and by responding to it you assent to it. Djibouti, 6 March 1970 The fire of mercy has become for us a living sacrifice June 29, 2021 | Why did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist? 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. Timothy O'Malley on the meaning of Eucharistic coherence in the life of the Church. Theres no simple solution to this issue. 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. (or: Which Heresy Will You Give Up for Lent? But back in the West, where most of us at PT are from, the Church is struggling. 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. Communion in the hand is legitimate only where permitted, and it remains in the realm of a permission. Consider that you not only receive this gift in your hand, but that you also bring it up to your mouth, and keep your tongue clean of all disgraceful and outrageous words, blasphemy, perjury and all other sins of this sort. Space doesn't allow all the details, but the propaganda in the 1970s that was used to sell Communion in the hand to a trusting, vulnerable people was a campaign of calculated half-truths that didn't tell the whole story. All of us should receive with great reverence and respect. 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. (Catholic Encyclopedia: Genuflexion) Communion on the tongue is recommended and considered the most consonant way to receive the Eucharist, while Communion on the hand is permitted, provided that certain precautions are observed, such as checking to see if any fragments of the Host remain on the palm of the hand. 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. These practices have wide evidence of use and in some ways never died out completely. As with all historical practices, one must examine the context and circumstances which are usually not repeatable.. Holt Orders cannot sustain the Church, no matter how much traditionalists preach priests are of the utmost importance. In fact, however, this hymn is prayer, the corporate thanksgiving prayer of the members of Christ's Body, united with one another. 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. By this symbolic action, their denial would be clear to all. What a Priest Might Do If He Wants to Avoid It. The person distributing Communion says audibly to each person approaching, "The Body of Christ." To be honest, I dont really belong to either camp on this, and like you, I think the polarization on this issue is doing more harm than good. 4. Papua and New Guinea, 28 April 1976 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. We have no nets to cast deeply. If one is right handed the left hand should rest upon the right. It is also difficult to ensure that the person who receives Communion effectively consumes the host. With your hand hollowed, receive the Body of Christ and answer 'Amen'. However, he should not refuse to administer Communion to those faithful desirous of availing themselves of a legitimate authorization. But such as, instead of their hands, make vessels of gold or other materials for the reception of the divine gift, and by these receive the immaculate communion, we by no means allow to come, as preferring inanimate and inferior matter to the image of God.[24]. At the same time, it is not justified to claim that Communion in the hand is necessarily less reverent or inevitably leads to abuses. 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. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBs) mission is to encounter the mercy of Christ and to accompany His people with joy. can. His blood now flows through our veins. 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. R. E. Heine FotC 21 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1982). October 13, 2022. Fr. Since practices vary from one church to another, we hope these guidelines help you feel more at home. So they reintroduced the practice of Communion in the hand (it had been originally introduced as a widespread practice by the Arian heretics of the Fourth Century to deny that Jesus is God). On the other hand, if the sins are not so great that a person should be judged to deserve excommunication, he ought not to withdraw from the daily medicine of the Lords body.[26]. 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! 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. A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all. 47), and says of the Communion Chant that "its purpose [is] to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly the 'communitarian' character of the procession to receive the Eucharist" (no. As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. Many pathogens are transmitted through the hands. Reverence can be good if it opens us to God & neighbor and makes us more loving. [5] In Jerusalem, we have the mystagogical catecheses of Cyril of Jerusalem (or perhaps of his successor, John). What if our reception made us all more loving of one another, whatever our views on how to receive? 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. 5. Aaron, To fit our bodies for a glorious resurrection. 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. 896. United States, 17 June 1977 Maybe this is due to decades of poor or heterodox catechesis on the Sacraments. And why so? 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. All our lives we who believe in Christ are moving in time toward that moment when we will be taken by death from this world and enter into the joy of the Lord in the eternal Kingdom he has prepared for us. Pope Paul Vl calls attention to the purpose of the InstructionMemoriale Dominiof 29 May 1969, on retaining the traditional practice in use. As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes the whole of it. There is so much to 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. What is the proper way of receiving Communion in the hand? Most often when speaking of reverence, however, the Fathers emphasize two main things: 1) that every precaution should be taken lest the Eucharist fall to the ground and 2) that communicants should be from serious sin and quarrels with other Christians. Since Christ is really, substantially, sacramentally present but not physically, being OC over crumbs is not devotion. Australia, 26 September 1975 The faithful receive Communion kneeling or standing, as established by the episcopal conference. Later that year approval was given to Luxembourg, Scandinavia (Scandia), North Africa, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Monaco (see Notitiae v. 7 (1970), no. divine life. [8] John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians, Baptismal Instruction 12.1516, On the Incomprehensible Nature of God 6.36, and On the Priesthood 3.4. 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.. 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. Pope Benedict XVI 1927-2022 tribute page and access to resources here. Dear Patrick, 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. All the rites which use leavened bread are reverent but not obsessive. From these documents, we can deduce the following points. For the first few centuries of the Church, receiving Communion in the hand was a common practice. New Zealand, 24 April 1974 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. [23] John Chrysostom, hom. In the case of communion under both kinds by way of intinction, it is never permitted to place on the hand of the communicant the host that has been dipped in the Lords blood. 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? But to us our Lord has given both . So it is not just tiresome traditionalists who worry about particles. 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 similarly think Cardinal Sarahs frankly ridiculous comments about Lucifer are draining credibility from his cause (one that I admittedly align with sometimes), even if some of his proposals are good ones. 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. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment on another thread that this ongoing discussion is frivolous and is only causing needless division. 6. 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. 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 is not clear as to how widespread it was or if it was a regular practice. Look how military inspectors demand very high standards of care when inspecting barracks for cleanliness. 13.3, trans. As I read above article, I didnt found name of my country India in the list of countries which have Indult for communion in hand. 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? Some scholars claim that this part of the Mystical Catechesis is not originally from St. Cyril but a later interpolation into the text. On the one hand, I think this evidence precludes describing communion in the hand as intrinsically irreverent. 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 . [4] Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on John 6.1 and 12.1. I am a daily witness at the Basilique du Sacr-Cur de Montmartre (Paris).. Communion in the hand is no more hygienic than Communion in the mouth. 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. Confess it and move on. 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). 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. It is not solely the result of some weird medieval form of reverence. 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. When one receives from the chalice, the same proclamation is made by the person distributing Communion and the Communicant again responds, "Amen." It must be presumed that a priest has sufficient formation in moral principles so as to exclude an erroneous conscience in such matters. 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. 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. Now we feel our affluence threatened, and the Gospel gives no comfort on that front. Our souls ought to be purer than they, more holy, more brilliant. 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. Communion on the tongue remains the usual and common form of administering 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. We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. 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.