} Actually it was a question always in my mind since when it was started receiving holy communion on hand. } content: none !important; width: 100% !important; Our Lord did not give us total immunity from diseases/other illnesses. .living-word .mc-field-group { } https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbcExJKdbjs. return null; Giving holy communion by the hand or any other way should be ceased until it is safe to do so. Asking us would at least have been worth a try, wouldn’t it? This receiving in the hand is no less reverential and has been done since ancient times,” said Father Dominic Gomes, the vicar- general of archdiocese of Calcutta in the video. window['__gaTracker'] = __gaTracker; We must also guard our Eucharistic Lord in our actions. } .sneeit-compact-menu ul.menu>li { } catch (ex) { color: white !important; KAMPALA — Kampala Catholic Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has directed that no Christian or practicing Catholic will be allowed to receive the Holy Communion by hand. In my parish I was publicly castigated by the priest for presenting for a blessing rather than Communion when the bar was first announced. img.emoji { 'unprm_r_border': '' } RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION Father William Saunders We have always been taught that when you receive holy Communion, we are to consume it all and not to break it. Pope Francis spoke to the faithful about the moment of Communion in the Holy … .fn-header-row-main-menu, .fn-main-menu-wrapper, .fn-header-row-logo, .fn-header-row-break, .fn-header-social-links, .fn-header-btn { But instead they chose – immediately and without consultation – to purport to exercise a right which frankly they know full well they do not have. Certainly, the risks presented by unhygienic hands has been one of the strongest public health messages our governments have put out in the last few months. I said, "The Body of Christ," and this person clearly did not know what to do. } ", Inspired by this text, our Holy Father in ("Dominicae Cenae," 1980) wrote, "Thus it is necessary for all of us who are ministers of the Eucharist to examine carefully our actions at the altar, in particular the way in which we handle that Food and Drink which are the Body and Blood of the Lord our God in our hands: the way in which we distribute holy Communion; the way in which we perform the purification.". pointer-events: none; } text-decoration: line-through; Father Gomes said there is etiquette involved in receiving the Communion, which is shown through some images. .fn-related-post-sidebar {display: none !important;} It breaks my heart of this unlawful protocol. Then after you have partaken of the Body of Christ, draw near also to the Cup of His Blood, not stretching forth your hands, but bending and saying with an air of worship and reverence, Amen. iframe[src*="youtu"] { @media only screen and (max-width: 480px) { .post-21723 .entry-feature-box-media img{display:none !important;} So } font-size: 13px; Film about legalised euthanasia provokes insightful discussion, Diocesan digital Renaissance in COVID world, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbcExJKdbjs, Moving in the Power of the Holy Spirit Seminar, Women Alive Monthly Meeting and Reflection, Man leaves fortune to town that saved him from the Nazis, Palliative care in crisis, key reports confirm, Equipping the future leaders of our Church, Youth Ministers ready to explore new frontiers, Students ‘Illuminate’ the Archdiocese, Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn. [CDATA[ */ In today’s general audience, the pontiff explains how we "become what we receive." return; } As Catholics, we firmly believe that the holy Eucharist truly is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and that Christ Himself is present in a real and substantial manner (Catechism, No. width: 1em !important; | Irondale, AL 35210 |. More than 50 people, including some medical personnel, attended a screening of the documentary film Fatal Flaws on Sunday August 18 at the Haydon Hall. Finally, we have this 2009 letter from the Vatican during the time of the Swine Flu epidemic that reaffirms a Catholic’s right to receive Communion on the tongue. You’ve also said that the “protocols for reception of Holy Communion that the Archdiocese has adopted are informed by the best medical expertise”, but you haven’t said where that expertise comes from or what the advice has been. I didn't know what to do. .g img { height:auto; } text-align: center; I thought that the Church in Australia had learnt the lessons of allowing bishops to think themselves above the law, but it seems we have not. Therefore we should do everything that we can to not spread it.Â. As the Father prepared the Blessed Virgin, in Her body and in Her soul, preserving Her from all sin and filling Her with the fullness of grace because She was going to be the receptacle of His divine Son, it is manifest that what is important to God is the purity of heart, of life, a sincere conversion, as the best daily preparation for a fruitful Communion… function gaOptout() { .view-all-events {  We do need to take extra precautions at this extraordinary time of Covid. position: relative; .fn-block .item-meta { if ( typeof f !== 'object' || f === null || typeof f.hitCallback !== 'function' ) { Well said Colliss. No. #gform_wrapper_8 { The person then steps to the side, faces the altar, and consumes the sacred Host. This is a risk at all times, but now the germs may be Pandemic related, and potentially fatal. 1373-1381). That doesn’t really seem to say that each bishop can do whatever he likes to the liturgical celebrations in his diocese, which after all would create disunity, not unity, between the faithful of Canberra-Goulburn and the faithful of, say, Broken Bay where the Bishop (a canon lawyer) has not prohibited communion on the tongue. function __gaTrackerOptout() { } Harry. It did not say at the discretion of the priest or the bishop. margin: 0; Likewise, the laity must also guard the Eucharist in their souls and actions. (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ } __gaTracker.create = function() { } All rights reserved. }; A passage from St. Cyril of Jerusalem is used to persuade Catholics that Communion in the hand is an ancient practice legitimately restored after Vatican II. background: #fff; If not, what is it about the pandemic that triggers this additional power in canon law to suspend a right recognised by Rome? .tribe-section-taxonomy{display: none !important;} .g { margin:0px; padding:0px; overflow:hidden; line-height:1; zoom:1; } For this reason, our Church has always had certain regulations concerning the reception of holy Communion, binding for all of the faithful. Those who receive Communion may receive either in the hand or on the tongue, and the decision should be that of the individual receiving, not of the person distributing Communion. If Communion is received in the hand, the hands .epyt-gallery-subscribe a.epyt-gallery-subbutton, .epyt-gallery-subscribe a.epyt-gallery-subbutton:hover { font-size: 195%; He too was calling for unity of practice. /* * { font-size: 18px; } } } var dFlipLocation = "https://www.catholicvoice.org.au/wp-content/plugins/3d-flipbook-dflip-lite/assets/"; var dFlipWPGlobal = {"text":{"toggleSound":"Turn on\/off Sound","toggleThumbnails":"Toggle Thumbnails","toggleOutline":"Toggle Outline\/Bookmark","previousPage":"Previous Page","nextPage":"Next Page","toggleFullscreen":"Toggle Fullscreen","zoomIn":"Zoom In","zoomOut":"Zoom Out","toggleHelp":"Toggle Help","singlePageMode":"Single Page Mode","doublePageMode":"Double Page Mode","downloadPDFFile":"Download PDF File","gotoFirstPage":"Goto First Page","gotoLastPage":"Goto Last Page","share":"Share","mailSubject":"I wanted you to see this FlipBook","mailBody":"Check out this site {{url}}","loading":"DearFlip: Loading "},"moreControls":"download,pageMode,startPage,endPage,sound","hideControls":"","scrollWheel":"true","backgroundColor":"#777","backgroundImage":"","height":"auto","paddingLeft":"20","paddingRight":"20","controlsPosition":"bottom","duration":800,"soundEnable":"true","enableDownload":"true","enableAnnotation":"false","enableAnalytics":"false","webgl":"true","hard":"none","maxTextureSize":"1600","rangeChunkSize":"524288","zoomRatio":1.5,"stiffness":3,"pageMode":"0","singlePageMode":"0","pageSize":"0","autoPlay":"false","autoPlayDuration":5000,"autoPlayStart":"false","linkTarget":"2","sharePrefix":"dearflip-"};.broken_link, a.broken_link { Can you help?—An eighth-grader at St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington. 8) The Elevator Communicant: He abruptly lifts his hand when receiving the Host causing an irreverent impact with the priest’s descending hand. .social-buttons a.instagram { He stated that the traditional way of receiving on the tongue was preferable, and then spelled out the threat to Holy Communion with very specific warnings: "A change in a matter of such moment, based on a most ancient and venerable tradition, does not merely affect discipline. Interestingly, during the Middle Ages, the reception of Holy Communion was restricted to "on the tongue" because of abuses. } The legitimacy of Communion in the hand is not in question. __gaTracker('create', 'UA-122463584-1', 'auto'); float: left; Abp Fisher highlights distancing and no singing. } Today I have got the answer. 9) The Swing Low Sweet Chariot Communicant: This communicant does not raise his hands to receive Communion but lowers them—sometimes as low as his knees, expecting the priest to bend and stretch. When I approached her after Mass, she took the Host from her pocket. I believe that having regard to our cleanliness has always been a concern when approaching the altar, even pre-Christ. To my knowledge, Jesus handed the bead, his body, to the Apostles at the last supper, He did not put it into their mouths. } var noopfn = function() { } var __gaTracker = function() { (window.gaDevIds=window.gaDevIds||[]).push("dZGIzZG"); background: #1da1f2; Receive the Body of Christ, saying over it, Amen. Given this perhaps lengthy foundation, we see what happens when we drop our guard and become lax. Receive the Body of Christ, saying over it, Amen. } .living-word { align-items: stretch; return new Tracker(); padding: 16px; And if the idea is that the bishop can do what he likes to the liturgy to foster unity of the holy people, is it true then that the bishop could prohibit communion on the tongue even outside a time of pandemic, if his goal is to foster unity? The COVID-19 virus has sparked intense debate among Catholics about receiving Holy Communion in the hand instead of on the tongue. There is no validity whatsoever for this unlawful “protocol”. padding: 10px 20px 25px 30px; } SINCE the gradual re-opening in many regions of Masses this week, several readers have asked me to comment on the restriction several bishops are putting into place that Holy Communion must be received “in the hand.” One man said that he and his wife have received Communion “on the tongue” for fifty years, and […] display: none !important; border: none; /* Disable tracking if the opt-out cookie exists. .pagers { It is also surprising given, as others have commented, Rome has specifically weighed in more than once to protect the right of the faithful to receive on the tongue, and hasn’t said anything to the contrary during the pandemic despite ample opportunity to do so. body > a.scroll-up { Second, the lady in question may think it "nice" or "meaningful" for her child to receive the Host. We often talk about the hand of God as being the strong and loving presence of Our Lord, not something that is ‘not good enough’. console.log( 'Not running function __gaTracker(' + arguments[0] + " ....) because you are not being tracked. " .g-col:first-child { margin-left: 0; } } I remember once I was distributing holy Communion and a person approached. If Archbishop says you can have communion by putting the host in your ear you would be wise to do it. .tribe-events-list-widget-events .tribe-event-title { What makes our mouth holier than our hand. } } margin: 10px 0 !important; (a.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",n,!1),e.addEventListener("load",n,!1)):(e.attachEvent("onload",n),a.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function(){"complete"===a.readyState&&t.readyCallback()})),(n=t.source||{}).concatemoji?c(n.concatemoji):n.wpemoji&&n.twemoji&&(c(n.twemoji),c(n.wpemoji)))}(window,document,window._wpemojiSettings); However, I also know people in poor health, and others seemingly in reasonable health, who are so concerned about transmission of the virus that they no longer go to Mass, let alone receive communion. font-size: 0 !important; display: flex; Don’t be bullied into receiving Holy Communion in the hand. .fn-top-menu-wrapper, .fn-top-menu{ width: 100%; max-width: 100%;} margin-bottom: 20px !important; }.fn-block .item-categories { Also, the universal law of the Latin Rite is that we receive communion in the tongue. __gaTracker.getByName = noopnullfn; -webkit-transition-duration: .5s; Unless the priest is able to wash his hands after each such communicant it should not be practised. San Luis 1997 Holiness should be the best disposition for reception of the Eucharist. In singing droplets travel 5m. .epyt-gallery-thumb { Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Consequences of Communion in the Hand... "Communion in the hand has not been, and will not be accepted by Heaven. Thank you! Not to do so reminds me a little, rightly or wrongly, of those punctilious people whom Christ mentioned who insisted they could not support their aged parents because their wealth was committed to the Temple (sorry, I am no good at Chapter and Verse). }; var f = arguments[len-1]; background: #cd201f; But I have a couple of questions. Pedantry and perfectionism are often indicators of approaching mental illness. } The sensitive issue of asking all members of the faithful to receive Holy Communion in the hand – and not on the tongue – is in accord with sound reason, unity in our communities and the good of the faithful – in this case their physical health. After saying ”Amen” in response to the minister of Holy Communion… With that in mind, if you’re telling us circumstances are too dangerous for communion on the tongue, shouldn’t we conclude they’re also too dangerous for communion in the hand? And having The practice of receiving Holy Communion in the hand first began to spread in Catholic circles during the early 1960s, primarily in Holland. if ( 'undefined' === typeof gaOptout ) { .span-reading-time, .rt-reading-time { Thank you, Fr Percy, for offering some explanation of the decision. .social-buttons a.youtube { For example, pastors and parents, in accord with norms established by the bishop, must insure that children who have reached the age of reason are properly prepared for first penance and holy Eucharist (Code of Canon Law, No. function __gaTrackerIsOptedOut() { background: #3b5998; .living-word input { But I believe they are saying that not placing the host on the tongue, is considered best medical practice at this time, to save the priests hand being breathed on before gathering a new host with the same hand and then placing it on the next tongue. /* */ } f.hitCallback(); The Vatican promotes communion on the tongue not only for its long tradition but because it expresses the faithful’s reverence for the Eucharist and removes the DANGER of profanation of the Sacred Species. Receiving the Sacred Host on the tongue is the normative way of receiving Holy Communion in the Latin Rite. margin: 0; [CDATA[ */ .entry-body dd::before { I gave her a blessing and said, "Please see me after Mass." I am not a Dr either, so this is just my opinion. padding: .5em 0; Or, find a priest right away, so he can deal with the matter. I agree with your point, but would like to widen the issue on a number of fronts. The Church, therefore, must always cherish and guard this great gift of our Lord. /* https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/ */ __gaTracker.remove = noopfn; if ( len === 0 ) { Saunders is president of the Notre Dame Institute and associate pastor at Queen of Apostles Parish, both in Alexandria. body > a {  As in Matthew 7:9 God does not wish to give us harmful things. } .fn-block-title { Courtesy of the "Arlington Catholic Herald" diocesan newspaper of the Arlington (VA) diocese. EWTN | 5817 Old Leeds Rd. 777 and 914). Sincerely looking forward to your further guidance, margin-top: -4px; Before addressing what you should have done, I think it is best to preface my response by reviewing the importance of the holy Eucharist and the regulations for receiving holy Communion. text-align: left !important; .fn-header-banner-desktop { transition-duration: .5s; box-shadow: none !important; __gaTracker('require', 'displayfeatures'); img.wp-smiley, /* TEMPORARY FIX FOR CALENDAR TOOLTIP SIZE -Jasper*/ } width: 25%; background-color: #d12e2e; But there is more to the story. /* ]]> */ return []; She said, "No, but I always take one of those when I come here" --well, not that time. “What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?”  Jesus is telling us that God wants to give us good spiritual gifts but he bases it upon the expectation that we would not give each other bad things. As a priest and as a pastor, I am asked, not infrequently, what I think about widespread practice of receiving Holy Communion on the hand. max-width: unset; To be forced to receive Holy Communion in the hand is an abuse of the Bishops’authority and trivializes the Sacrament. Mommy has no right to usurp the authority of the Church in deciding who receives and who does not, no matter how nice or sensitive we may want to be. .fn-primary{width:1070px}.fn-content{width:68.224299065421%}.fn-main-sidebar{width:28.03738317757%}.fn-header, .fn-header-row-inner{width:1130px}.fn-footer, .fn-footer-row-inner{width:1130px}*{max-width: 100%;}img{height: auto;} display:block; width: 33.333%; From the earliest of times, the Church has always honoured our Eucharistic Lord with deep, and somewhat graphic faith, combined with practical piety. While we have the option of receiving holy Communion either on the tongue or on the hand, we must always be mindful of receiving our Lord respectfully. Your email address will not be published. if ( __gaTrackerIsOptedOut() ) { Know what you are doing, and imitate the mystery you celebrate: Model your life on the mystery of the Lord's cross. But all too often, it has become a way, on both sides, of … Therefore He would not want to give us Covid. .g-col:last-child { margin-right: 0; } If it was to be received on the tongue, the Priest would have to sanitise after every parishioner receives the host. }; In the book he doesn’t take a firm stance on hand vs tongue, but he does remind us that the tongue is often no more “clean” than our hand, and that our tongue … .g-1 { margin:0px; width:100%; max-width:296px; height:100%; max-height:210px; } padding: 15px; No. console.log( "" ); Could we not hear from them? margin-top: 10px; } } I was denied a few times communion on the tongue. Priests in particular must be guardians of the holy Eucharist. var Tracker = function() { I believe this would be a very risky and likely way to transmit germs from one person to another. This is the quote that is always used: “make your left hand a throne for the right, as for that which is to receive a King. It is a fair point. .post-27381 .entry-feature-box-media img.wp-post-image { padding: 0 !important; background-color: #f0f0f0; /*