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Martha in VA
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A friend sent me this article today and as a new Catholic, I found it very interesting.
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2009/06/that-nothing- may-be-lost
Martha in VA
Sorry, I should have made it a link. Here 'ya go:
First Things article about receiving on the tongue
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SusanMc
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After reading this article and the comments that follow I have to wonder if I've been shocking the Extraordinary Ministers by receiving on the tongue most of the time. These days with either a wriggling toddler or a babe in arms it is a matter of practicality to receive on the tongue but it is my general preference. 
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MarilynW
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Martha - here is something to make you think:
"Not very long ago I said Mass and preached for their Mother, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and after breakfast we spent quite a long time talking in a little room. Suddenly, I found myself asking her -- don't know why -- 'Mother, what do you think is the worst problem in the world today?' She more than anyone could name any number of candidates: famine, plague, disease, the breakdown of the family, rebellion against God, the corruption of the media, world debt, nuclear threat, and so on.
"Without pausing a second she said, 'Wherever I go in the whole world, the thing that makes me the saddest is watching people receive Communion in the hand.'"
- Father George William Rutler, Good Friday, 1989 in St. Agnes Church, New York City (a precise transcript taken from a tape of his talk available from St. Agnes Church)
There is also some information on this threadI started.
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Michaela
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MarilynW wrote:
| "Without pausing a second she said, 'Wherever I go in the whole world, the thing that makes me the saddest is watching people receive Communion in the hand.'" |
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Not to detracted from the thread, but that's an interesting quote.
Last week, I came across this picture of Mother Teresa receiving Communion in her hand(s).
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MarilynW
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Just to add - I go to a parish that encourages receiving in the hand - but dh and I are pondering the subject right now.
I have a good friend on these forums who is very informed and passionate about this - i am going to call her and ask her to join the discussion.
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MarilynW
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Michaela - that is interesting given her quote.
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LisaR
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Michaela wrote:
| [QUOTE=MarilynW] "Without pausing a second she said, 'Wherever I go in the whole world, the thing that makes me the saddest is watching people receive Communion in the hand.'" |
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I had heard years ago that this was a misquote by Fr Rutler , but I can't recall any of the specifics.
I receive about 80% of the time on the tongue, however, I have to admit that I have had many instances with Priests and lay ministers alike, where in retrospect i've felt it would have been more reverent to have received in the hand. (near drops, getting their fingers in my mouth, etc)
Our kids have all made their First Communions on the tongue, but we have told them they can receive either way. I have one son who only receives on tongue, and the other two receive about 50% either way.
MY pet peeve, more than how people receive, is the side-step after receiveing and the sign of the cross towards the EMPTY tabernacle. Our bodies are the tabernacle after receiveing!
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MaryM
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It was an interesting article, Martha. First Things always makes a reader think, doesn't it?
I would venture to make the leap and say that our Catholic members here have a tremendous love and awe of the mystery of the Eucharist, whether they have a preference to receive by tongue or hand. Both are currently permitted. Thanks Marilyn for linking to the thread from last week - the specifics from the GIRM and and Redemptionis Sacramentum instruction are linked and quoted there.
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Cay Gibson
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I have a good friend who suffers tremendously with
TMJ. She was very relieved when the church allowed the faithful to receive in the hand.
And, though I think receiving on the tongue is a worthy way to receive (and I love the analogy of the mother bird (ie:Mother Church) feeding her children, I have also been reminded that at the last supper Christ did not feed his apostles on the tongue but gave the bread to them. All the gospel readings support this: "Take and eat..." (Matthew), "Take it..." (Mark), "Take this and share..." (Luke), and most exacting (John) " 'It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.' So he dipped the morsel and handed it..."
We can be passionate about how "we" choose to receive the body of Christ but let's remember that the church has approved receiving the precious body in the hand. Those who choose to do so are doing nothing wrong or irreverent. They might even have medical reasons for doing so.
Honestly, I think it's important before and after communion to have our head down in prayer. It's tempting to watch others receive communion, but it isn't sanctifying.
LisaR wrote:
| MY pet peeve, more than how people receive, is the side-step after receiveing and the sign of the cross towards the EMPTY tabernacle. Our bodies are the tabernacle after receiveing! |
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I do this...mainly to give the person behind me (usually my husband  ) access to the host and I do it as a sign of reverence and gratitude...as I also make the sign of the cross when I pass a Catholic Church. I never thought of it as anything more...or less.
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Martha in VA
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Thank you all for such informative and gracious discussion. That's what I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about this board - that in the face of a potentially controversial topic, grace abounds. I love this topic so much because I love the Eucharist. Like you, Mary M., I believe our love and awe of the Eucharist is really what it comes down to.
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JodieLyn
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LisaR wrote:
MY pet peeve, more than how people receive, is the side-step after receiveing and the sign of the cross towards the EMPTY tabernacle. Our bodies are the tabernacle after receiveing! |
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Is it the empty tabernacle or while viewing the crusifix? I know many who look UP at the crusifix here.. and it's above the empty tabernacle.. but we sit at the side and can often see that they're looking up at the image of Christ.
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LisaR
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LisaR wrote:
MY pet peeve, more than how people receive, is the side-step after receiveing and the sign of the cross towards the EMPTY tabernacle. Our bodies are the tabernacle after receiveing
I do this...mainly to give the person behind me (usually my husband ) access to the host and I do it as a sign of reverence and gratitude...as I also make the sign of the cross when I pass a Catholic Church. I never thought of it as anything more...or less. |
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and to clarify, I make a sign of the cross right after receiving, but it is as I am walking away, not deliberately a certain step and directly facing the open and empty tabernacle.
another good example of how I need to keep my eyes down/closed durign the Eucharistic portion of the Mass!
making the sign of the cross when passing any Catholic Church is a great tradition we practice, and one that I hope "sticks" with my kids!! 
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MaryM
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Martha in VA wrote:
| Thank you all for such informative and gracious discussion. That's what I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about this board - that in the face of a potentially controversial topic, grace abounds. I love this topic so much because I love the Eucharist. |
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And it is good to discuss this topic and graciously, too, as you mention - this is a conversation that is coming to the forefront in many circles in recent years since our Holy Father is emphasizing a reverence for the Eucharist and has shown a preference for receiving on the tongue while kneeling.
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Barbara C.
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The old nun in third grade told us to sidestep, put our left hand over our heart, and make the sign of the cross. I don't know if she intended for us to look towards the Crucifix or Tabernacle, as both were in the same direction at that church. I've always faced the Crucifix, though.
I've been intrigued lately with taking it on the tongue, but I've taken it by hand for 25 years now (as I was taught)and I feel more confident doing so. I'm scared that if I switched I might have a klutz moment and drop it out of my mouth or cause the minister to drop it.
One of our priests actually addressed the proper ways to receive communion during the Homily a few weeks ago. It was the first time I remember hearing a truly instructional homily in my entire life. I just hope people didn't automatically tune him out because they didn't want to have to overcome his Polish accent.
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Mary Chris
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Barbara C. wrote:
I've been intrigued lately with taking it on the tongue, but I've taken it by hand for 25 years now (as I was taught)and I feel more confident doing so. I'm scared that if I switched I might have a klutz moment and drop it out of my mouth or cause the minister to drop it.
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Me too. I have actually started receiving by mouth the past few months. It is easier than I thought and I feel comfortable with it. My ds9 has always received by mouth, for a while he was the only one in the family. He inspired me to try. My other two still receive by hand.
When I was doing FHC prep, I always had the children practice both ways of receiving. I was kinda pushy about it.
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Cay Gibson wrote:
| And, though I think receiving on the tongue is a worthy way to receive (and I love the analogy of the mother bird (ie:Mother Church) feeding her children, I have also been reminded that at the last supper Christ did not feed his apostles on the tongue but gave the bread to them. All the gospel readings support this: "Take and eat..." (Matthew), "Take it..." (Mark), "Take this and share..." (Luke), and most exacting (John) " 'It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.' So he dipped the morsel and handed it..." |
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Just wanted to mention that I think these passages can be understood in light of the fact that this is when the apostles were made priests, and priests self-communicate.
I avoid Communion in the hand simply because many have shown that particles of the Host remain on the communicant's hand before he places it in his mouth. That is why in the traditional form of the Mass, the priest keeps his pointer fingers and thumbs together from the time he first touches the Host until they are rinsed into the chalice.
It is also easier for me to receive on the tongue, as I am usually carrying a wiggly baby!
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Michaela
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DominaCaeli wrote:
| this is when the apostles were made priests, and priests self-communicate. |
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Forgive my ignorance, but what does this mean? 
self-communicate ? = talk to themselves
Would you mind clarifying for me please?
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Michaela wrote:
DominaCaeli wrote:
| this is when the apostles were made priests, and priests self-communicate. |
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Forgive my ignorance, but what does this mean?
self-communicate ? = talk to themselves
Would you mind clarifying for me please? |
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It means receive communion without the assistance of a minister. here
This technically means picking the host up by oneself and receiving. Only the priest is allowed to do that. If you watch, the extraordinary Eucharist ministers don't self-communicate -- they receive communion, whether by hand or tongue, from the priest.
The Catholic Church wrote:
| “Communion is a gift of the Lord, given to the faithful through the minister appointed for this purpose. It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice; still less that they should hand them from one to another” (ID, no. 9). |
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What I understand Celeste to be saying is that the scriptures about the Last Supper with apostles are talking about priests, not laypersons.
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Willa
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What happened to the lady who wrote the article happened to my family too. During the swine flu scare some of the bishops would not permit reception on the tongue, and ours was one of them.
We researched and found that while bishops may recommend reception on the hand, they are not within their authority to mandate it. Communion on the tongue is the "norm". It doesn't go the other way, I understand. Communion on the hand may be disallowed by a bishop. It's a variant, an "indult".
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DominaCaeli
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Willa wrote:
| What I understand Celeste to be saying is that the scriptures about the Last Supper with apostles are talking about priests, not laypersons. |
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Yes--thank you, Willa! I should have been clearer.
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Receiving on the tongue vs. hand
