After one recieves the host

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Lainey63

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what is the proper way to consume it? Do you let the Consecrated Host melt on your tongue then swallow or do you chew the Host? Is this even an issue or just a matter of preference? I went to Catholic school 1-8–but it was so long ago…but I am almost sure that I was taught I was to let the host melt on my tongue. I’m not trying to start any trouble but I think somewhere along the line I was taught that only the priest chews the Consecrated Host for obvious reasons-because his was the largest and the rest of us are to let the Consecrated Host melt on our tongues…am I correct? :confused: This is one of those questions that I’ve been wondering about for quite some time and quited frankly it only pops into my mind when I see someone chewing the Consecrated Host…then its forgotten…except for today:shrug:
 
Lainey63 said:
what is the proper way to consume it? Do you let the Consecrated Host melt on your tongue then swallow or do you chew the Host? Is this even an issue or just a matter of preference? I went to Catholic school 1-8–but it was so long ago…but I am almost sure that I was taught I was to let the host melt on my tongue. I’m not trying to start any trouble but I think somewhere along the line I was taught that only the priest chews the Consecrated Host for obvious reasons-because his was the largest and the rest of us are to let the Consecrated Host melt on our tongues…am I correct? :confused: This is one of those questions that I’ve been wondering about for quite some time and quited frankly it only pops into my mind when I see someone chewing the Consecrated Host…then its forgotten…except for today:shrug:
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Well, Christ said literally to chew His Body. 🙂

The whole “let it melt” thing was just a pious, if misguided, practice that was encouraged by teachers (especially nuns) in recent history. In our Melkite Church we can’t simply let the Host dissolve, since it is a rather large piece of leavened bread dipped in the Blood, and would take quite some time to break down completely.

So I recommend doing as Christ commanded and chewing away. 👍

Merry Christmas!
 
I was also taught to “just let it melt.” However, the word in the Gospel that Jesus used was “chew” and since many hosts are made thicker now, I, for one, don’t produce enough saliva to “let it melt.” That is no longer taught, either, that I’ve heard recently.
 
Just make sure you don’t look like a cow chewing its cud.
🙂 (Sorry, I’m from Nebraska)😛
Some people overdue the chew. We tell the RCIA people to gently chew.
 
I was taught to let it melt. Chewing was considered disrespectful and cruel. If i chewed on Jesus it would hurt Him. All I could picture was Jesus screaming in agony as I chewed on His Body.

Those dear Josephites. The things they told us.
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But I would teach children to chew with their mouth closed.  We don't want Jesus falling on the floor. :)

Another question that comes to mind.  What do you do after you receive the Host?  Run for the door/ Read the bulletin/ Sit and scold children/Wait anxiously for the blessing????

 I was taught to go back and kneel.  With my hands folded you offer up what you just received, the Body of Christ, for prayer intentions.  To help maintain focus, we said a Hail Mary and an Our Father.  We remained kneeling until the tabernacle doors were closed.
 
I go back to my pew, kneel and pray - thanking Him, over and over. Rome has said that what people do at that point is their own choice and priests, laity, bishops are not to say otherwise.
 
The nuns told us to let It melt so no particles would be left between the teeth.
 
Nope not at all.
Letting it melt is making it lose its form of bread (salive denatures it) at which it ceases to be the Body and Blood of Christ.

You can chew, though it is not recomended, it could (excuse the description but it is neccesary) stick to your mouth in side, which is not exactly a nice thing for obvious reasons.
If you can, try to break it with your tougue or swallow it directly, even use your teeth to break it in two, but not chew it continually.

Though most altar breads are small and super thin. This means that the Real Presence lasts less with in us. Not that you get "more " of God. A small particle contains Him. What changes is how long we have Him in us.

And that is something we should want to last forever!
 
Pro_Domina said:
Nope not at all.
Letting it melt is making it lose its form of bread (salive denatures it) at which it ceases to be the Body and Blood of Christ.

You can chew, though it is not recomended, it could (excuse the description but it is neccesary) stick to your mouth in side, which is not exactly a nice thing for obvious reasons.
If you can, try to break it with your tougue or swallow it directly, even use your teeth to break it in two, but not chew it continually.

Though most altar breads are small and super thin. This means that the Real Presence lasts less with in us. Not that you get "more " of God. A small particle contains Him. What changes is how long we have Him in us.

And that is something we should want to last forever!
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Not recommended by whom?

Christ actually says to chew in the Scriptures.

While the Eucharist is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, it is not His physical body.

And as pointed out, some hosts are thicker than others, some people have issues with saliva, and then when you throw in the Eastern Churches who used leavened bread, it is necessary for some to chew.
 
It is very unpleasant to speak about the Eucharist this way but there is not other way:

When you chew it thoroughly, it tends to get stuck in parts of the mouth, and remain there till who knows when.

I have been to many eastern rite masses. I know what it is like.

It does not require to chew it thoroughly, but just like the Latin rites, your tongue to push or crack it back and at make a bite.

There is already another post where people speak their opinion.

What is certain is that dissolving it is wrong, as it denatures it before its time, and technically is not receiving Our Lord since it requires you swallow while the Real Presence is there, which ceases to be upon denature, which occurs in presence of liquids, saliva especially.
 
ByzCath said:
Not recommended by whom?

Christ actually says to chew in the Scriptures.

While the Eucharist is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, it is not His physical body.

And as pointed out, some hosts are thicker than others, some people have issues with saliva, and then when you throw in the Eastern Churches who used leavened bread, it is necessary for some to chew.
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Excuse me? The Eucharist is His physical body (under the accidents of bread and wine).
Earlier I mentioned confusion among Catholics about the implications of Christ’s Eucharistic presence, and I posed the question: Do we receive (for instance) Christ’s head and arms and feet? Many today would be uncomfortable with an affirmative answer, which would savor, to them, of a grossly materialistic view of the Real Presence. Yet it is the right answer. Suppose we didn’t receive those parts: then the same would have to be said of all the other parts of his body. So there’d be nothing left! We would not be receiving his body. As the Catechism of the Council of Trent says, in this sacrament are contained “. . . all the constituents of a true body, such as bones and sinews. . . .”
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Not only that, but exploration of the doctrine makes it more real to us. We realize more clearly that the physical body and blood of Jesus Christ are as truly present as they are in heaven, or as they were when he labored in his workshop in Nazareth. While that realization is dominant, every genuflection will be a conscious act of adoration of the Incarnate God; the Consecration will always absorb our attention; we will never want to hurry out of church as soon as Mass is over.
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Jesus comes to us physically because of his great love for us. Anyone who loves wants to be physically close to the one who is loved, but it is sometimes impossible. It is not impossible for God. Divine power changes bread and wine into the real body and blood of Christ, and he dwells physically on earth in every tabernacle, and comes physically into us in Holy Communion.
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catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=2578&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=376660
 
I was taught to let it melt as well, and that’s what I do. I remember trying to chew it once when I was a little kid and it got stuck on the roof of my mouth, and no amount of poking with my tongue would dislodge it. So I don’t do that anymore. 😛 I just let it melt and swallow it almost whole.
 
Pro_Domina said:
It is very unpleasant to speak about the Eucharist this way but there is not other way:

When you chew it thoroughly, it tends to get stuck in parts of the mouth, and remain there till who knows when.

I have been to many eastern rite masses. I know what it is like.

It does not require to chew it thoroughly, but just like the Latin rites, your tongue to push or crack it back and at make a bite.
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There is no such thing as an easter rite mass. It is call the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite, the other rites have their own names.

I do not know where you were receiving but I have to say in my experience, as a Byzantine Catholic, you are wrong.
There is already another post where people speak their opinion.
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Which is all this is, even your opinion, as the Church has not spoken on this matter.

I am still waiting to hear from you as to who recommends your opinion.
What is certain is that dissolving it is wrong, as it denatures it before its time, and technically is not receiving Our Lord since it requires you swallow while the Real Presence is there, which ceases to be upon denature, which occurs in presence of liquids, saliva especially.
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Well then chewing it is no problem because if any of it gets stuck in your teeth, which I doubt is a big problem as I have never had such an issue.
 
Regardless, one should swallow it as soon as possible. There’s a quote in the Baltimore C but I’m too tired to find it.
 
“Take this all of you and EAT it”
I suppose if you have no teeth you don’t have a chose, but again its the consumption that is important, not how.😃
 
My bigger concern is why so many posters misspell “receive”. 🙂

As the nuns taught us, “I before E except after C”.

Of course, those same nuns taught us not to chew the Body of Christ as we would a stick of gum, so what do they know. 😃
 
ByzCath said:
There is no such thing as an Eastern rite mass. It is call the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite, the other rites have their own names.

I do not know where you were receiving but I have to say in my experience, as a Byzantine Catholic, you are wrong.

Which is all this is, even your opinion, as the Church has not spoken on this matter.

I am still waiting to hear from you as to who recommends your opinion.

Well then chewing it is no problem because if any of it gets stuck in your teeth, which I doubt is a big problem as I have never had such an issue.
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I know that you guys don’t call it the mass, so don’t flout that response with such pride. It is still the mass for the purpose of speaking like a Latin rite Catholic. Another thing is that it is still correct to refer to the other rites the eastern rites because they are from the East and unless you want me to use the word oriental, which will make most think that there is some sort of Chinese mass. So don’t be rude and haughty, because that is what cause many divisions to begin with, on both sides. 👍
And I don’t need to cite and have everyone I deal with sign a letter and send it to you. There are somethings that fall under the category of a logical argument, and some even under a pseudonym called common sense, because unfortunately common sense is the least common of the senses.

Again, you must consume the host while it still has the appearances of bread, because upon ceasing to, it ceases to be the Eucharist. Saliva denatures the bread quite fast, more than water. And food is meant to be swallowed, not to sit on your tongue. Therefore, you should not allow it to melt or chew it excessively as to dissolve it before it is swallowed.
 
Ghosty said:
Well, Christ said literally to chew His Body. 🙂

The whole “let it melt” thing was just a pious, if misguided, practice that was encouraged by teachers (especially nuns) in recent history. In our Melkite Church we can’t simply let the Host dissolve, since it is a rather large piece of leavened bread dipped in the Blood, and would take quite some time to break down completely.

So I recommend doing as Christ commanded and chewing away. 👍

Merry Christmas!
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Having received ‘real’ bread in the Latin Rite, undipped in the Precious Blood, I know that the only way to consume it is to chew. I watched older people than I trying to honor that teaching and choke. That’s when I realized that the nuns’ teaching of ‘never let your teeth touch the Host’ might have been a pious practice but didn’t make sense. Several priests I asked, confirmed my realization and told me that there had never been a ‘do not chew’ rule.
 
Pro Domina, what dribble. I was taught to let the host melt in my mouth; but what I do is to use my tongue to make it easier to swallow it quickly. But, I do not for one minute believe that if I let it melt on my tongue I would not be receiving the True Presence of our Dear Lord. 😦

I return to my pew and bow my head in thanksgiving and I remain kneeling until the tabernacle door has been closed.:crossrc:
 
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