Thank you for giving me advices. It may be embarrassing to have such little knowledge about our faith at this age; I haven’t even been confirmed. One more question : Should we receive the Eucharist in some certain ways such as receiving by tounge and bowing down or we are free to receive the way we think that it’s appropriate?
As a priest, I just want to chime in.
You did the matter quite well in going to confession first and then receiving the Eucharist.
As Thistle evokes, Canon 912 of the Code of Canon Law is clear:
Any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion.
A baptised Catholic who is in the state of grace, is beyond the age of first communion, and is not canonically debarred from receiving the Eucharist may indeed do so, provided s/he has the most rudimentary knowledge that s/he is receiving Christ really and truly in what appears to be bread and/or wine consecrated at the Eucharistic liturgy.
One should also know that reception of the Eucharist is at once a sign expressing, as well as the source of, our Communion with the Church and the teachings she proposes. Thus, we are receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord and we are expressing thereby that we are one mind and one heart with the Church and what she teaches.
If one were, for example, living in a marital or marital like relationship without the benefit of being married in the Church, that would be an occasion to refrain from receiving the sacraments until the matter can be brought to the parish priest.
Please know that dioceses have programs for Catholics who are just in your situation…often there are special classes for persons who missed Confirmation, for whatever reason, and you can inquire at your parish about what the procedure is in your diocese. You will find many others like yourself being confirmed with you.
As others have already said, you would benefit from participating in adult education opportunities regarding the faith…they would help you to better understand your faith.
As for the mechanics of Communion…the normative posture in the United States is that communicants receive standing in a line that is actually a procession. (There is provision to kneel but that is not the normative posture, liturgically.)
The prescription, indeed, is to bow…which one typically does as the person just ahead of you is in the act of receiving. Many, sadly, do not make this prescribed reverence, so you are ahead of the game by doing so.
From there, it is you choice. You may receive on the tongue. Or you may receive in the hand, with the dominant hand placed beneath the other hand and the dominant hand then used to pick up the Host and convey It to your mouth.
