{"id":247930,"date":"2016-05-13T14:27:03","date_gmt":"2016-05-13T19:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=247930"},"modified":"2016-05-13T17:06:39","modified_gmt":"2016-05-13T22:06:39","slug":"popular-misconception-about-the-catholic-mass-partii-communion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/popular-misconception-about-the-catholic-mass-partii-communion\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular Misconceptions About the Catholic Mass, Part III: Communion Reception"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe concept that communion in the hand is the only or preferred form of reception for Catholics since Vatican II is mistaken.\u201d<\/h3>\n
\"Pope

Pope Francis gives first Communion to a girl while celebrating Mass at Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah Parish on the outskirts of Rome May 26. The pope gave first Communion to 16 children at the parish. (CNS photo\/Paul Haring)<\/p><\/div>\n

Also in this series:
\nPopular Misconceptions about the Catholic Mass Part I: Music<\/a><\/strong>
\nPopular Misconceptions about the Catholic Mass Part II: Ad Orientem<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

With this third and final piece in our series on popular Mass misconceptions, we again approach a complex and somewhat heated topic for some: bodily posture for the reception of holy communion.\u00a0For Catholic Christians, everything in the life of the Church flows from, revolves around, and returns to the Eucharist \u2013 our God with us, our food for the journey, our foretaste of the heavenly banquet \u2013 or as Pope Francis has stated, “not a prize for the perfect… but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”\u00a0The greatest of the sacraments, holy communion is the focal point of all spiritual pursuits in the Christian life. As such, it is very important how we approach and receive this most precious gift, both inwardly in our minds and hearts, as well as externally with our bodies.\u00a0As with the previous topics regarding the use of Latin and chant in the Mass, and the use of ad orientem<\/em> posture of the presiding priest, we have considered how our prayers and actions reflect the heart of our worship. And like these topics,\u00a0the mention of communion on the tongue (sometimes kneeling) versus in the hand (usually standing) immediately stirs strong emotions for some about what is allowed or required since Vatican II, what is right, or what is best. In this final article we will attempt to outline the diversity of practices of communion reception with respect to both historical context and pastoral implications in the hopes of encouraging greater understanding and unity among the Catholic faithful.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h3>\n

During the 1970s, changes in practice began to take place within Catholic parishes and Catholic faithful in the United States in the physical manner of receiving communion \u2013 whether communicants receive the host in hand or on the tongue (whether standing or kneeling). Differences in practice remain to this day, and like certain other postures in the Mass that might differ from person to person or from place to place, these things can pose a risk of becoming an obstacle to the communion we should strive for \u2013 most especially while receiving holy communion!\u00a0Seeing actions of others that differ from our own can present the temptation to pass judgement on our brothers or sisters in Christ as being too casual or overly pious,\u00a0or perhaps too showy or too accident-prone.\u00a0Many of us lack the historical and liturgical expertise to know the ins and outs of how the Church views certain individual practices, and without complete information these reactions can cause us to quickly dismiss an entire group of people based simply on their liturgical preferences.<\/p>\n

History<\/h3>\n

Due to widespread change in practice, many Catholics today mistakenly assume that a change in posture for receiving holy communion was something that was changed by Vatican II.\u00a0It should be stated that the concept that communion in the hand is the only or preferred form of reception for Catholics since Vatican II is mistaken. Similarly, in the U.S. and other jurisdictions where reception of communion in the hand is approved,\u00a0communion on the tongue is not viewed as the more correct or preferred method.\u00a0Both forms of communion reception are allowed for Catholics in the U.S. with oversight from the bishop or ordinary, who retains ultimate authority over the practice. No preference in jurisdictions where this has been approved has been issued for Novus Ordo \/ Ordinary Form liturgies.<\/p>\n

So when did this change in practice arise in the U.S.?\u00a0The Congregation for Divine Worship under Pope Paul VI in the 1969Instruction Memoriale Domini<\/em><\/a>\u00a0granted permission to certain jurisdictions to allow reception of communion in the hand while standing (confirmed by U.S. bishops in 1977), with a list of qualifications to be met if bishops’ conferences did decide to implement this allowance in their respective countries. Some proponents of communion received on the tongue cite that this instruction was a compromise following a minority dissent with the then-current practice (of communion on the tongue while kneeling) which followed a universal survey of bishops. Paul VI discovered the majority of bishops felt the allowance should not be made, at least not universally. Indeed, the notes following the instruction list the actual numbers of votes and plainly state as much:<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the returns it is clear that the vast majority of bishops believe that the present discipline should not be changed, and that if it were, the change would be offensive to the sentiments and the spiritual culture of these bishops and of many of the faithful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, approval was granted with certain stipulations. Practice in different dioceses and parishes range in their faithfulness towards observation of these stipulations. The document is definitely worth the read and some prayerful consideration of the cautions cited by the Congregation when reflecting on our own individual disposition to reception of holy communion, particularly because Roman Catholics are afforded the option of both forms \u2013 in the hand or on the tongue. Memoriale Domini<\/em> is clear in underscoring the importance of the instruction and reverence towards the Blessed Sacrament that are paramount regardless of the manner of reception:<\/p>\n

\u201c…it is a matter of great concern to the Church that the Eucharist be celebrated and shared with the greatest dignity and fruitfulness. It preserves intact the already developed tradition which has come down to us, its riches having passed into the usage and the life of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cautions Against Assumptions<\/h3>\n

One should be careful not to assume that in places where the exception is allowed, such as the U.S.,\u00a0that communion on the tongue while kneeling remains preferred simply because it was previously normative and remains so elsewhere. The document cites that even when looking to our past for direction, prior practice has varied as well:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pages of history show that the celebration and the receptions of the Eucharist have taken various forms. In our own day the rites for the celebration of the Eucharist have been changed in many and important ways, bringing them more into line with modern man’s spiritual and psychological needs. […]\u00a0It is certainly true that ancient usage once allowed the faithful to take this divine food in their hands and to place it in their mouths themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conversely, one should also be careful not to assume that because communion in the hand while standing is the practical norm in many areas of the U.S. that it is somehow preferred or that it disallows the former practice. Again,\u00a0Memoriale Domini<\/em>\u00a0spells this out very clearly:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis method of distributing holy communion [on the tongue]\u00a0must be retained, taking the present situation of the Church in the entire world into account, not merely because it has many centuries of-tradition behind it, but especially because it expresses the faithful’s reverence for the Eucharist. […]\u00a0This reverence shows that it is not a sharing in ‘ordinary bread and wine’\u00a0that is involved, but in the Body and Blood of the Lord, through which ‘The people of God share the benefits of the Paschal Sacrifice, renew the New Covenant which God has made with man once for all through the Blood of Christ, and in faith and hope foreshadow and anticipate the eschatological banquet in the kingdom of the Father.’\u00a0[…]\u00a0Further, the practice which must be considered traditional ensures, more effectively, that holy communion is distributed with the proper respect, decorum and dignity. It removes the danger of profanation of the sacred species, in which ‘in a unique way, Christ, God and man, is present whole and entire, substantially and continually.’\u00a0Lastly, it ensures that diligent carefulness about the fragments of consecrated bread which the Church has always recommended: ‘What you have allowed to drop, think of it as though you had lost one of your own members.’\u201d\u00a0(citing Justin Martyr’s\u00a0Apology<\/a>,\u00a0Eucharisticum Mysterium<\/a>, and Cyril of Jerusalem’s Mystagogical Catechesis<\/a>)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Pastoral Considerations<\/h3>\n

An accompanying letter that was issued with the Instructions states “The new method of administering communion should not be imposed in a way that would exclude the traditional usage…” There is concern that by some reports, certain pastors have illicitly banned the optional reception of communion on the tongue and refuse to distribute communion to persons wishing to receive in this manner. In addition, casual or even careless practices in distribution and purification during and after communion are frequently observed, typically from a lack of proper teaching \u2013\u00a0something Paul VI and the Congregation for Divine Worship clearly feared and vocally warned against.<\/p>\n

Some parishes have retained or even built communion rails to allow or encourage the practice of receiving communion on the tongue while kneeling. Perhaps in combination with, or instead of a communion rail, some parishes have retained the custom of acolytes extending the communion plate below the mouth or hands of the recipient to protect against the loss of communion fragments \u2013 a practice instructed by Redemptionis Sacramentum (93)<\/a>\u00a0and mentioned in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (118)<\/a>\u00a0as well. In other parishes, the absence of these elements and practices, along with very narrow aisles for communion distribution seems to discourage the practices of kneeling or receiving on the tongue. Advocates of communion on the tongue might contend that in addition to reducing the risk of fragments being dropped, the nature of the action of receiving is more evident \u00a0in receiving communion on the tongue rather than in the hand, which then requires communicants to place the host in one’s own mouth.<\/p>\n

In accord with Memoriale Domini, o<\/em>ther documents such as Eucharisticum Mysterium (Instruction on Eucharistic Worship, 1967)<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0\u00a0Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass (1973)<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>Saint Pope John Paul II’s 2003 EncyclicalEucharistia Ecclesia<\/a><\/em>, and Redemptionis Sacramentum (2004)<\/em><\/a>\u00a0strongly urge any effort to foster recognition of Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist and a devotion to worship of the sacrament (also known as latria<\/em>) as an expression of this understanding. While all of these cite Eucharistic adoration as the supreme means of achieving both, could greater catechesis and instruction result in a more reverent reception of Holy Communion, whether on the tongue or in the hand?Memoriale Domini <\/em>certainly says as much, and we do well to remember that this responsibility came as a necessary condition to the allowance of the change in practice in the first place. Perhaps this desire to catechize and encourage the faithful is why, as many have noticed, Pope Francis continues to practice many of the liturgical observances of his predecessor Benedict XVI \u2013 including a standing instruction (no pun intended)\u00a0for Vatican Masses that communion is to be given on the tongue. All the while, Francis continues to urge Christian unity and promote a culture of life, authentic love, radical discipleship, equity,\u00a0justice,\u00a0and mercy \u2013 concepts that, despite the media’s frequently misunderstanding, are entirely aligned with \u2013 and in fact are fruits of \u2013 the source and summit of life in Christ: the eucharist.<\/p>\n

\n

Continue Reading at Jackson Galloway<\/a>\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe concept that communion in the hand is the only or preferred form of reception for Catholics since Vatican II is mistaken.\u201d Also in this series: Popular Misconceptions about the Catholic Mass Part I: Music Popular Misconceptions about the Catholic Mass Part II: Ad Orientem With this third and final piece in our series on… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90],"tags":[386,132,45,131],"class_list":["post-247930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-faith-blog","tag-communion","tag-eucharist","tag-liturgy","tag-mass","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t