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Matilda
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| Posted: Jan 05 2009 at 11:15am | IP Logged
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My youngest daughter who made her First Holy Communion back in November has just told me that she has been gagging multiple times after every time she had received Communion. She has never thrown up, just fights it until the host has dissolved. I watched her recently and saw this happening. She said she was afraid to tell me because she thought it would mean that she couldn't receive Communion anymore. Husband told her this past Sunday to go ahead and try chewing instead of dissolving/swallowing and I made sure she had a little sip of water right before receiving. She said she only gagged once doing it that way instead of multiple times. I am at a loss. I don't know if she just has a very sensitive gag reflex or what. I know that she is one of my pickiest eaters and seems to have more problems with texture rather than just taste. do you think she will just outgrow this reflex? Any ideas to help in the meantime?
*I wasn't sure what forum this should go in so feel free to move it.
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Sarah in SC
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Hi Matilda! My oldest had a similar problem when he was making first communion. We discovered that he was gagging because his mouth was just so little that even that small host hit the back of his throat & "activated" that gag reflex.
Our priest suggested that he break the host in two and then put it in his mouth. (He received in the hand, for this reason.) That seemed to do the trick. He has since outgrown this--I suppose as his mouth grew, it was no longer an issue.
Hope that helps any!
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Rachel May
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I had the same thing during one of my pregnancies. I asked the priest if I could have just a piece of a host and that worked perfectly.
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Matilda
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| Posted: Jan 06 2009 at 7:29am | IP Logged
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It seems to happen whether we are at a church that uses the larger sized hosts or the smaller ones. Since she is only 8, I don't know that she would be comfortable enough to ask for a small piece but maybe there is a way we could figure that out. Thanks for the help!
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Charlotte (Matilda)
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sarahb
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| Posted: Jan 06 2009 at 10:14am | IP Logged
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My oldest (11 yo) has this problem sometimes. He goes out to the water fountain in the hall way after communion when this happens and that helps.
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Leonie
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One of mine had that problem. He has always been my most sensitive child...Basically we talked him through how to receive, often with little reminders...Just ways to make this seem more comfrtable...And he did eventually outgrow this gagging!
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Anne McD
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When I was little, my mother told me not to chew the Host, but rather, to roll it over on my tounge and swallow it whole. Needless to say, I nearly choked the following Sunday! When I recieve, I try to gently break the Host up with my tounge before swallowing. Making sure she's had some water to drink just before Mass might help also-- I find my mouth dries out and the Host can stick to my mouth or throat.
Good luck!
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Barbara C.
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Is there anything in the Catechism that forbids one from chewing the Sacred Host? I did a search and could not find anything. On a Catholic Answers forum someone noted that the unleavened breads used by Early Christians for the Eucharist did not dissolve much on their own so chewing would have been necessary.
I have a very small mouth, so I tend to break the Sacred Host in two with my teeth.
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hylabrook1
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I don't know about any actual prohibition against chewing the host. I do remember that during my First Communion preparation (in 1962) Sister told us that we must not chew the host, and backed that up with a story of someone who had bitten into a host and ended up with a mouthful of blood. Not that the person had bitten his tongue, but that, having received the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, that Body would bleed if bitten. That was SOOOO scary to me at age 8. The first few times I received, I felt nauseous from fear that I would somehow stab Him on a tooth. Is it possible that some gagginess could be from being overwhelmed by a sense of the enormity of the Eucharist?
Just a random thought.
Peace,
Nancy
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sarahb
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| Posted: Jan 09 2009 at 5:28pm | IP Logged
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hylabrook1 wrote:
I don't know about any actual prohibition against chewing the host. I do remember that during my First Communion preparation (in 1962) Sister told us that we must not chew the host, and backed that up with a story of someone who had bitten into a host and ended up with a mouthful of blood. Not that the person had bitten his tongue, but that, having received the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, that Body would bleed if bitten. That was SOOOO scary to me at age 8. The first few times I received, I felt nauseous from fear that I would somehow stab Him on a tooth. Is it possible that some gagginess could be from being overwhelmed by a sense of the enormity of the Eucharist?
Just a random thought.
Peace,
Nancy |
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This is both a hilarious and horrible story. You poor thing!
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MrsM
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I've heard Scott Hahn say that the word Our Lord used for "eat" when he said to "eat my body" meant "to chew, to gnaw." Very strong imagery, and one reason why the disciples began to grumble. So I wouldn't worry (if anyone was) about biting down on the Host. 
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Child gagging when receiving Communion
