Altar Rail Puts Communicants on Right Track

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7_Sorrows said:
The last time I had Holy Communion in an Episcopal church, about 16 years ago, you could dip the host in the wine or take them separately.
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I think that is a relatively modern Episcopalian practice. I believe I read that some episcopal churches adopted that method for hygienic reasons due to the SARS or AIDS pandemics.
 
In any event concerning what Episcopalians do, it is not allowed in the Catholic Church. If a Catholic receives the Host in the hand, they are not allowed to intinct it in the Cup. And due to the possibility of spillage or the Host falling apart once it has been dipped, it requires at a minimum a paten be available - which is not available to an EMHC or a deacon, normally if they are presenting the Cup.
 
Francis Cardinal Arinze said that the people should be able to receive standing, or kneeling, in the hand or on the tongue. But he seemed to prefer kneeling and said–and hopefuly my paraphrase is close:
"If you believe you are in the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, why wouldn’t you kneel? Why wouldn’t you crawl??!
 
Never mind. Blah 16 characters…
 
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Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, my only experience with the altar rail was at the church I attended while in grad school in the early 90s. Being a left-brained person, I found that the flow of the procession down the aisle, to the rail and back to seats worked out well. The one thing I do not remember is how people in wheelchairs received. As a dad to a teenaged boy who is a full time wheelchair user, it bothers me when some people are made to feel they are not part of the community - especially at Communion.

As I think back to all of the Masses I have attended in the many churches I have been to over the years, the one thing that grated my left-brained sensibilities was Communion time at the church my wife grew up at. When it was time for Communion, everyone just jammed into the center aisle. There were no ushers and no order. I’m not sure how I ever made it back to my pew.
 
I’m not sure that’s an accurate analogy. The majority of the people I know wanting to return to older traditions tend to be in their late teens and 20s. Most of the people at the Latin Mass I attend are 30 and younger.
 
otjm said:
Actually, it is based on the GIRM; it may well be that the USCCB requested that as the norm, but the norm is set for the US by Rome when they wrote the latest edition of the GIRM.
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And the norm INCLUDES what you call ‘the exception’, the norm does not stop and the word ‘unless’.
 
JanSobieskiIII said:
Most of the people at the Latin Mass I attend are 30 and younger.
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That’s in your location, is it the same in other dioceses?

If there are a lot of younger people in a lot of places- especially younger people with families- that’s a favorable sign for its future.
 
I have no idea from firsthand experience. I’ve only been to my own parish Latin mass. But there is a growing online presence on Facebook that seems to support evidence that more and more young folks are interested in the older ways of doing things.
 
Every Cardinal and Bishop is welcome to have a personal opinion. Rome has provided a rule, and has given bishops the ability to determine what is best for their congregations.

I am not sure that Cardinal Arinze was the one who said that (not that it was siad, but rather who said it).

Cardinal Arinze has been replaces; I don’t track certain positions, but last I saw something (a while ago) Cardinal Sarah was in that position., and my recollection is that he has said several things based on his personal opinion, and Pope Francis had a chat with him and “walked him back”.

I am not taking sides on the matter. But too often we have some people who do not like the choice of their bishop. I understand personal feelings; I am inclined to think that personal feelings are not wrong, per se, but following the bishop is certainly encouraged, particularly when they operate within the liturgical law, and have ore training than most of us in the pews.
 
There have been numerous threads on this matter. There are approximately 17,290 parishes, a point that is often overlooked, and provides a different perspective.
 
Actually, I think I was pretty close, vis-a-vis Cardinal Arinze’s words. 😌 You can see for yourself, starting at about 2: 10. Better yet, why not watch the whole thing?

 
Cardinal Arinze has been one of my favorites. His comment really came out of the question of not kneeling during the Consecration.

There is an old saying: “When in Rome, do what the Romans do” and there is much merit in the saying.

I don’t think any priest is going to refuse Communion in a parish where all receive standing, should the individual decide to kneel. That, however, has been a battle cry among some who put their own personal feelings of piety over what the bishop has requested, and it appears to speak for itself.

If I go to a parish in which all are receiving standing, I stand. If they all kneel, I kneel. It really isn’t all that hard. Communion is one of the greatest signs of unity; which is why those who are not Catholic are requested to refrain. And while unity is different from uniformity, uniformity has its place.

I noted that he spoke about the altar rails being removed. I would also note that Rome has had something between 40 and 50 years to remark (let alone legislate) about the matter. The silence has been deafening. Whether or not I agree with it, a non-response to a matter which is widely known is a response. They choose to not address it. The presumption that Rome legislates every last thing is thus disproved. So also his comments toward the end, concerning posture after receiving Communion.

Thanks for posting that. 🙂
 
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Surely. And it occurred to me that, where altar rails are present, why not distribute the Eucharist to standees first, then invite kneelers to come forward and receive? That way no one is suddenly kneeling in line, causing the person behind them to stumble, then a domino effect, etc.
Just a thought. 😁
 
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But then you get the awkward “going through the pew while people are sitting down” thing, which is never fun… : /
 
Oh, for starters, because they dont reserve pews for one or the other - how could you ever get one group up to Communion without them crawling over all the others who prefer something different?

If altar rails are there and used, then those who prefer standing should get over their feelings and do as everyone else is doing.
 
From the GIRM: 160. The Priest then takes the paten or ciborium and approaches the communicants, who usually come up in procession.

It is not permitted for the faithful to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them on from one to another among themselves. The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, March 25, 2004, no. 91).

An individual doing differently than the norm is not a norm, nor is it part of the norm. It is an exception.

You need to learn how to read law.
 
otjm said:
The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling
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And the norm is…standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive kneeling.

You are only looking at the first clause of the norm, not the norm in its entirely. The Norm includes the conditional clause (unless an individual member). That is no less a part of the norm than the first clause.
 
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