Like for example in dining, do we use our licking fingers or use fork and knives? Communion on the hand may seem less reverent than communion on the tongue, especially to the more traditionally minded Catholics; it is not a sacrilege. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. From that point on, Communion in the hand received a distinctly anti-Catholic significance. But the bishops, rather than do their duty and condemn the abuse, tolerated it. He died taking the Eucharist to the faithful who were held either in prisons for their faith or to homes of the faithful. Christians don't say that . The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of We were created with a built in desire and ability to. And in instructions of this nature, lack of precision gives rise to wide interpretation, and wide interpretation gives rise to the establishment of an abuse, of fidelity to Church regulations. But through that breaking we all who are in Him are made whole. There was a warning that any innovation could lead to irreverence and profanation of the Eucharist, as well as gradual erosion of correct doctrine., It must be asked, then, if this Instruction is on the books, why is Communion in the hand so prevalent? Although a layman, he was also an acolyte. Todays Eucharistic Ministers actually operate in defiance of existing Vatican norms. Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the What is Paul? Start every morning off the right way with God! Saint Thomas, who is the prince of theologians in the Catholic Church, who towers above all the rest, whose Summa Theologica was placed on the altar next to the Scriptures during the Council of Trent, and whose teaching Saint Pius X said was the remedy for Modernism Saint Thomas clearly teaches that it belongs to the priest and only to the priest to touch and administer the Sacred Host, that only that which is consecrated (the hands of the priest) should touch the Consecrated (the Sacred Host). His writings: give the reader the false impression that Vatican II provided a mandate for the abuse when, in fact, it is not hinted at in any Council documents. Video - Message from Our Lord Jesus Christ to Latin-American Mystic Lorena - Holy Communion in the Hand - February 16, 2022 - MaryRefugeOfSouls. Receive Jesus with these prayerswhen church is unavailable. With your hand hollowed, receive the Body of Christ and answer 'Amen'. The tragedy of it all is, if it is optional for the laity, in practice it is not optional for the clergy. This practice of receiving Holy Communion in the hand standing is wrong. If we The BC Catholic on July 28, 2019 published an article entitled Receiving Holy Communion: tongue or hand? Do we exercise ethics and right conduct? rev2023.5.1.43405. Father, Father Nicholas Gruner, born in Montreal (May 4, 1942), was ordained to, James Hanisch serves as a staff writer and author for The Fatima Center., James W. Bannister (B.A., LL.B) is a native of Toronto and has degrees, Joanna Swords is a long-time supporter of The Fatima Center, and one of, John Vennari was a writer, researcher, catechist, and editor (for more, Kennedy Hall is a Catholic High School teacher, rugby coach, and part, Matt Gaspers is the Managing Editor of Catholic Family News. But I tell This reverence shows that it is not a sharing in ordinary bread and wine that is involved, but in the Body and Blood of the Lord.. The Council of Trent (1545-1565), This method [on the tongue] must be retained. based on the Canadian bishops compromise, it was hardly surprising. Communion on the tongue remains the usual and common form of administering Holy Communion. But even taking this document at face value, it is difficult to envisage circumstances that would justify the use of Extraordinary Ministers outside of mission lands. This ruling too, has been completely ignored, We can only pray that our Church leaders will finally come to the realization that when it comes to the Blessed Sacrament, you dont. Browse other questions tagged, Like any library, Christianity Stack Exchange offers great information, but, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Why are you doing these things? Communion on the tongue displays a greater degree of reverence, and it is safer because it is less likely to result in the host, or a particle of the host falling to the floor. First of all, it is not an act of disloyalty or disobedience to question the wisdom of the document in the first place, particularly when this permission is a revolution against all the pre-Vatican II rubrics that existed for centuries rubrics that existed for reasons of reverence, to safeguard against desecration and that were a matter of Catholic common sense. Now some might say, Whats the big deal? After all, we are talking disciplines here and not unchangeable doctrines. Then having partaken of the Body of Christ, approach also the cup of His blood; not extending your hands, but bending low and saying in the way of worship and reverence, Amen, be you sanctified by partaking, also of the blood of Christ. Catechetical Lecture 5. So, whether they realized it or not, the bishops sabotaged their own pastoral letter, by giving a simultaneous red light and green light to rejection of the Papal Encyclical. OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF. Many insist that they feel equal reverence when receiving in the hand, and that the key is the attitude of the heart. Now, it is Catholic teaching that the Sacrament of Holy Orders gives a man a spiritual, sacramental power, it imprints an indelible mark on his soul and makes him fundamentally different from laymen. The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers us a number of images from our tradition to refer to this most sacred reality: Eucharistic assembly (synaxis), action of thanksgiving, breaking of the bread, memorial, holy sacrifice, Lord's Supper, holy and divine Liturgy, Holy Communion, and Holy Mass.7 The eucharistic species of bread and wine derive from the work of human hands. It is a pattern we see over and over again in the modern Church: Lets violate the law, and in the end well have the violation established as local custom., This unlawful abuse is so well established as local custom that even Pope John Paul II, who made at least a paper attempt to curb the abuse, was completely unsuccessful. Deep reverence for its own past and for the wisdom of its ancestry and the pride therein were the very soul of the Old Paganism; that is why it formed so solid a foundation on which to build the Catholic Church, and that is also why it offered so long a determined resistance to the growth of the Catholic Church. Even the most ordinary parents are smart enough not to give their children the option to accept or reject parental commands. It only takes a minute to sign up. At other times Christians gathered together openly in each others homes or in house churches for the Eucharist though Mass was not celebrated publicly as it is in our own time. The history of the liturgy, however, makes clear that rather early on a . For whoever eats and drinks without crowds, to offer sacrifice. Which was the first Sci-Fi story to predict obnoxious "robo calls"? The teaching that only the priests may touch the Sacred Host, that the priests hands are consecrated for this purpose, and that no precaution was too great to safeguard reverence and prevent desecration had been incorporated into the Liturgy of the Church; that is, the Old Latin Mass. Each and every priest in the Roman Rite had to follow them with unyielding precision. A quote, purported to be from St. Cyril of Jerusalem (around AD 350), is often given in support of reception in the hand: placing thy left hand as a throne for thy right, which is to receive so great a King receive the body of Christ. But scholars now tell us that this quote was likely not written by St. Cyril at all, and several ancient manuscripts attest to this. There is truth in this too. "Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own Whereas in 1985, Communion in the hand was granted by virtue of an indult received in 1977, in the Roman Missal, Third Edition, Communion in the hand is now ordinary liturgical law for the United States, though every communicant retains the equal right of receiving on . And once a fad like Extraordinary Ministers becomes widespread, and everybodys doing it simply because everybodys doing it, then who even pays attention to existing guidelines anyway? For the first three centuries the Eucharist was celebrated in the houses and homes of Christians. For example, the ordinary minister of Confirmation in the Roman Rite is the bishop, and the extraordinary minister is the priest, specifically delegated by the bishop in extraordinary circumstances. First of all, it is not an act of disloyalty or disobedience to question the wisdom of the document in the first place, particularly when this permission is a revolution against all the pre-Vatican II rubrics that existed for centuries rubrics that existed for reasons of reverence, to safeguard against desecration and that were a matter of Catholic common sense. The Apostolic See therefore strongly urges bishops, priests and people to observe zealously this law.. The document had that ambiguity, imprecision and elasticity that has characterized many of the Vatican II and post-Vatican II documents. Because the sense of the sacred is not lost, we know exactly where it is, and it could be recovered in every single parish church on earth tomorrow. After the Second Vatican Council, a very wise Archbishop shrewdly observed that the masterstroke of satan was to sow disobedience to Catholic tradition through obedience. Instead, we engage in useless and endless dialogue in which Catholicism always comes out the loser because such dialogue gives the unmistakable impression that Catholicism no longer believes it is the sole possessor of theological truth. Others maintain that it was never a Catholic custom, but if Communion in the hand was practiced in some limited way in the early Church, it was institutionalized and made widespread by the Arians as a sign of their disbelief in the Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is especially dangerous, claiming millions of lives, and causing significant illness in many millions more. As parish churches reopen and Communion becomes available, many bishops prefer, for the safety of parishioners and clergy alike, that the faithful accept Communion in the hand. For many Americans, Mass and Communion have been inaccessible due to restrictions in many places. (1 Corinthians 3:5-7). Repeating instructions given by St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) to newly baptized catechumens, the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship stated that the faithful should extend both hands making with "the left hand a throne for the right hand, which . So, then, neither the one But even taking this document at face value, it is difficult to envisage circumstances that would justify the use of Extraordinary Ministers, of mission lands. The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their Our fathers told us this because it was the truth. In the new mass, this has been changed, Catholics no longer kneel down and take communion in tongue. Where Communion on the hand prevails, bishops could request an indult to continue this practice, and Rome would consider it. All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another. Humanae Vitae rightly reaffirmed the Churchs teaching against contraception. And it must be noted that at this time, the abuse was limited to a few European countries. From the moment that the words of consecration over the Sacred Host are uttered by the priest, he keeps his forefinger and thumb together, and whether he elevates the chalice, turns the pages of the Missal or opens the tabernacle, his thumb and forefinger touch nothing but the Sacred Host. So how did it happen that some countries were eventually allowed the indult of reception in the hand as well? And it can be argued that the risk is quite minimal. But now, lay people administering the Blessed Sacrament is an ordinary sight in the average. which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. St. People! But unfortunately, this is precisely what happened with the supposedly anti-Communion in the hand document of 1969. Out of reverence towards this sacrament [the Holy Eucharist], nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this sacrament. While communion on the hand is forbidden in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and is given while kneeling only, unless prohibited due to physical illness. In The Theology of Kneeling, an excerpt from his book The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000), Cardinal Ratzinger highlights this truth: the bodily gesture itself is the bearer of the spiritual meaning when someone tries to take worship back into the purely spiritual realm and refuses to give it embodied form, the act of worship evaporates. Later, as Pope Benedict XVI, in continuity with St. John Paul II, he gave Communion to the faithful on the tongue while they knelt. many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. The primary driver of concern is COVID. But ask they did. Lay people started reading the Epistle, and the new responsorial psalms. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. A law without a penalty is not a law, its a suggestion. Lycaonian language, The gods have come down to us in human form! To conclude, communion in tongue is the proper reverence to God and communion in hand must only practice in certain extra ordinary circumstances. Some see these prophetic warnings against profanation as a form of scrupulosity, a rigidity that is over-the-top in its concern for the Eucharist. When vast numbers of Catholics, then, rejected Humanae Vitae based on the Canadian bishops compromise, it was hardly surprising. (Acts 3:12 CSB), "When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and this movement of Catholics becoming more buddy-buddy and huggy-huggy with other religions, and especially with Protestants. While the church is partly built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone, Ephesians 2:19), the apostles and prophets serve as foundational stones, not due to an inherent holiness or sanctity unattainable for "ordinary" Christians but due to the authority given to them by Christ to receive the Holy Spirit who guided them into all truth (John 16:13), a truth which they faithfully proclaimed and recorded in the Scriptures, but which has been twisted and distorted by more than 19 centuries of the inventions and fables of men. Though Communion in the hand was not mandated by the Second Vatican Council, what was canonized by Vatican II was Ecumenism this false spirit of counterfeit unity that had been previously condemned by the Church, particularly by Pope Pius XI in his 1928 encyclical Mortalium Animos this movement of Catholics becoming more buddy-buddy and huggy-huggy with other religions, and especially with Protestants. Communion in the hand was introduced under a false ecumenism, allowed to grow due to weakness in authority, approved through compromise and a false sense of toleration, and has led to profound irreverence and indifference toward the Blessed Sacrament as the commonplace liturgical abuse and the disgrace of our age. that day when I drink it new with you in my Fathers kingdom." It is obvious that no priest can be lawfully forced to administer Communion in the hand, and we must pray that more priests will have the courage to safeguard the reverence due to this Sacrament, and not be trapped into a false obedience that causes them to cooperate in the degradation of Christ in the Eucharist. In all sixteen documents of Vatican II, there is no mention of Communion in the hand, nor was it mentioned during any of the debates during the Council. Each and every priest in the Roman Rite had to follow them with unyielding precision. The office of Eucharistic minister is therefore the illegitimate offspring from the union of the New Liturgys lay involvement and Communion in the hand living together in the modern Church. Similarly, the Synod of Rouen (AD 650) decreed: "Do not put the Eucharist in the hands of any layman or laywoman . It was a recognizably anti-Catholic practice rooted in disbelief in the real Presence of Christ and the priesthood. Bishop Sheen once wrote that both men and women are slaves to fashion, but with this difference he said if women are slaves to fashions of clothing, men are slaves to fashions of thought. These countries hadnt been given permission to even ask for this indult. So, since it is obvious that the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest treasure the Church possesses, then It must be treated with all the reverence and homage It deserves. In fact, the first Martyr of the Eucharist was a young boy of the age of 12. Can this manner of receiving Communion be required of the faithful who prefer to receive Christ on the tongue? If it were sacrileges, the present teaching do not reflect that to be the case. He said, We have used ambiguous phrases during the Council and we (the liberal theologians) know how we shall interpret them after., The main ambiguity which probably gave rise to todays proliferation of Extraordinary Ministers was the justification of their use if Mass would be (what was called) unduly prolonged. They were not just silly scruples, but showed the Church believed with certainty that at Mass, the bread and wine truly become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, and that no pains were too great to make sure that Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament was treated with all the reverence and homage that His Majesty deserves. Because the sense of the sacred is not, where it is, and it could be recovered in every single parish church on earth tomorrow. "Is it a sacrilege to take communion in hand?" We cannot be certain precisely how Jesus distributed His Body to the Apostles, but it seems likely if He were to distribute the Sacrament exclusively on the tongue then a detail of such importance would be carefully recorded. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thanks for the detail, though I suspect that the second qoute could be trimmed somewhat. This movement supposedly plays up those things we have in common with other creeds, and hush-hushes those things that divide us; to celebrate our shared values. From that point on, Communion in the hand received a distinctly anti-Catholic significance. , James W. Demers said, Of those responsible for the lack of beauty in the Church, no one is more culpable than todays lay ministers. The latter receive the host in one hand and raise it to the mouth by the fingers of the other. It is also worth noting that there was no leaving the Sacred Host upon the altar to walk up and down the aisles (especially before his fingers have been purified), shaking peoples hands in an awkward display of forced friendliness. In summary, the letters (which can be found in Michael Davies Privilege of the Ordained) stated that Rome has received many complaints of abuses regarding Extraordinary Ministers. This phrase gives the impression that there could be room for Catholics to legitimately reject, So, whether they realized it or not, the bishops sabotaged their own pastoral letter, by giving a simultaneous red light and green light to rejection of the Papal Encyclical. All Christians are equal sharers in that one bread, the body of Christ. There is also the concern that some people will not consume the host if it is placed in their hand, or they will not treat the Sacrament with all the respect that is due. But as Christ consecrated His Body at the (Last) Supper, so also He gave It to others to be partaken of by them. ]; b) second, to increase among the faithful devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist., It then mandated that this method of distributing Holy Communion [on the tongue] must be retained and emphatically urged bishops, priests and laity to obey carefully the law which is still valid and which has again been confirmed by the majority of Catholic bishops.. In his letter, of February 24, 1980, the Pope restated the Churchs teaching that. In times of persecution these celebrations would have been in secret, in catacombs and other hidden spots. They are as ordinary and partnparcel of the modern Church as missalettes and collection baskets. He said, We have used ambiguous phrases during the Council and we (the liberal theologians) know how we shall interpret them after., The main ambiguity which probably gave rise to todays proliferation of Extraordinary Ministers was the justification of their use if Mass would be (what was called) unduly prolonged. Pope John Paul II - Dominicae Cenae, 11. How to force Unity Editor/TestRunner to run at full speed when in background? you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until However, in an October 6 statement, the bishops "recalled that people who, for. Priests were trained in the Old Latin Mass to celebrate Mass with precise rubrics that safeguarded the reverence the Blessed Sacrament deserves. Communion on the hand may possibly been an Apostolic Tradition. In actuality, there is no such terminology as Eucharistic minister, the proper term is Extraordinary minister. Christ? administer Communion in the hand, whether they like it or not, to anyone who requests it, thereby throwing many good priests into an agonizing crisis of conscience. So what have they done? It seems most probable that, when he speaks of partaking of the Supper in an unworthy manner, Paul is telling . Father Edward Schillebeeckx, an influential liberal theologian at Vatican II, admitted that placing deliberate ambiguity in the Council documents was a key strategy of the progressives. Jesus gave some rather interesting instructions to the disciples before sending them out in his name, but some of these make many Christians uncomfortable (or we just chose to ignore Jesus). In his 1931 essay on The New Paganism, the great Catholic historian Hilaire Belloc warned of the post-Christian Paganism that was to come. Controversy surrounds the claim that Communion in the hand was practiced in the early Church. Earlier this week, Catholic commentator John-Henry Westen, co-founder and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews, detailed five reasons why Catholics should only receive Holy Communion on the tongue. who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives It is well balance and not one sided. 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. and defied the liturgical law of the Church, this rebellion would not only be tolerated, but eventually legalized. A closer reading of the text will reveal they were but disciples at this point, as are we all. No longer do we try to convert non-Catholics. How can one say it is a sacrilege to receive the Lord on our hands as children carried it in the Early Church. He was, Matthew Plese is a traditional Catholic convert, and Dominican tertiary, Melissa is a happily married, homeschooling mom to 8 children, who, Monsignor Patrick Perez has been a good friend to Father Gruner and Our, Peter Mackin is a Traditional Catholic and Dominican Tertiary. Does Catholic Church acknowledge St. Paul the Apostle as consecrated Bishop during Apostolic times? Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. The Pope then promulgated the May 28, 1969 Instruction, The bishops of the world were overwhelmingly, This manner of distributing Holy Communion (that is, the priest placing the Host on the tongue of the communicants) must be observed.. These meticulous rubrics were carved in stone and were not optional. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Even once they became apostles sent out into the world after having received power from on high (Acts 2), they shuddered at the idea of being revered more than any other men. 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. parish church, and most Catholics think nothing of it proving that men can become desensitized to desecration. Lay ministers of the Blessed Sacrament would not have been possible without the revolution in rubrics that preceded it: the practice and widespread acceptance of lay-people receiving the Holy Eucharist in their palms. Prudence and judgement are key in this discussion. It seems like they came from nowhere. As for Communion on the hand, the account of the Last Supper strongly suggests Jesus distributed His Body in this way. Though Ecumenism will not be treated within this article (see The Problem with Modern Ecumenism, Catholic Family News March 1995 Issue), suffice it to say that this novel ecumenical spirit which Deitrich von Hildebrand called ECUMANIA became rampant during and after Vatican II. In summary, the document states: The document further says the Supreme Pontiff judged that the long received manner of ministering Holy Communion to the Faithful should not be changed. To do so would be a clear sign of weak and vacillating leadership. He explains: The dispensing of Christs Body belongs to the priest for three reasons. (1 Corinthians 11:27-32 CSB). It is a love-child of the 1960s revolution. What is the proper way of receiving Communion in the hand? And this 23-year-old letter of Pope John Paul II has been taken as an unwelcome and unheeded suggestion by the hierarchy and clergy of Western countries. for what our fathers taught us and obvious contempt for the Blessed Sacrament Itself. 13). Historically, Communion on the tongue is greatly preferred and is has been the usual method thoughout most of history. Space doesnt 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 didnt tell the whole story. It was the indignation of large numbers of the Faithful which prompted Pope Paul VI to take some action. It has some merit to it! do not tell the reader that the practice was started by clergymen in defiance of established liturgical law but make it sound as if it were a request from the laity. And once a fad like Extraordinary Ministers becomes widespread, and everybodys doing it simply because everybodys doing it, then who even pays attention to existing guidelines anyway? According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of Communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 3). Throughout the centuries, our fathers have told us about our Faith and about the Blessed Sacrament. An illustration can be given by the story of the Canadian bishops response to Humanae Vitae. This document does not grant some revolutionary indult for any and every parish to permit lay-people to administer Communion; it authorizes the use of extraordinary ministers in cases of genuine necessity , which are listed as: When there is no priest, deacon or acolyte. It is obvious that no priest can be lawfully forced to administer Communion in the hand, and we must pray that more priests will have the courage to safeguard the reverence due to this Sacrament, and not be trapped into a false obedience that causes them to cooperate in the degradation of Christ in the Eucharist. reverence for the Blessed Sacrament is put into practice of paramount importance. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. It appears that many have forgotten that Our Lord is "present whole and entire in the smallest portion of the Holy Eucharist" (Baltimore Catechism, Lesson 22 ). While pandemics have raged before, and other diseases exist, COVID is unique in our time. Our fathers told us these things not just for the sake of handing down a venerable but groundless tradition, they have told us these things through word and example to show fidelity to the Catholic Faith and reverence toward the Blessed Sacrament. Priests are falsely instructed that they must administer Communion in the hand, whether they like it or not, to anyone who requests it, thereby throwing many good priests into an agonizing crisis of conscience.
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