Blessing instead of Communion?

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fenderstrokes

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Since I have been trying to live right…I decided not to recieve Communion since I am not in a state of Grace. My wife is a fairly recent convert and would not go to Communion unless I went (she gets scared). I went up to the Priest and folded my arms for a blessing. I felt a little stupid…is this only for children and non-Catholics or did I do the right thing?

Hope this isn’t a dumb question.

Dan
 
I do it when I am not in a state of grace.
though you gotta make sure you are in the preist’s line, as an EHMC cant give blessings (or at least that kind).
 
We have been told by the pastor not to come up for a blessing. And those who do go up with arms crossed do get blessed and get a scowl. But its very rare now that anybody goes up for a blessing. Usually it is a visitor.
 
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Brain:
I do it when I am not in a state of grace.
though you gotta make sure you are in the preist’s line, as an EHMC cant give blessings (or at least that kind).
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fenderstrokes:
Since I have been trying to live right…I decided not to recieve Communion since I am not in a state of Grace. My wife is a fairly recent convert and would not go to Communion unless I went (she gets scared). I went up to the Priest and folded my arms for a blessing. I felt a little stupid…is this only for children and non-Catholics or did I do the right thing?

Hope this isn’t a dumb question.

Dan
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Nope it is not a dumb question and no, it is NOT just for children and non-Catholics. I too do this when I am unable to receive Holy Communion, as do many other Catholics. You absolutely did the right thing! 🙂 Now, my question is why is it that when I go to Confession (every 2 weeks) there is never a line of more than 4 or 5, yet every Holy Communion line I stand in at Mass has 50+ (regardless which service I attend)? Those that might look at you and snicker should in fact look at themselves and seriously consider whether they too should not be walking forward folded arms. God bless.
 
hilde the dog:
We have been told by the pastor not to come up for a blessing. And those who do go up with arms crossed do get blessed and get a scowl. But its very rare now that anybody goes up for a blessing. Usually it is a visitor.
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How very sad 😦
 
hilde the dog:
We have been told by the pastor not to come up for a blessing. And those who do go up with arms crossed do get blessed and get a scowl. But its very rare now that anybody goes up for a blessing. Usually it is a visitor.
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Your priest is definitely old-school.

The traditional practice is for those folks who are not receiving communion to stay in the pews.
 
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Kielbasi:
Your priest is definitely old-school.

The traditional practice is for those folks who are not receiving communion to stay in the pews.
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It’s supposed to be the current practice too, but then people will do what they want I guess.

jimmyakin.org/2006/03/a_reader_writes_1.html

I am just now going to sit back and wait for the first “It’s not prohibited so it is ok - post”
 
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gelsbern:
It’s supposed to be the current practice too, but then people will do what they want I guess.

jimmyakin.org/2006/03/a_reader_writes_1.html

I am just now going to sit back and wait for the first “It’s not prohibited so it is ok - post”
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I read through a lot of that article, and now I’m not quite so sure. I know at our parish the Priest welcomes people to come up for a blessing.

I know for me, personally, I would hate for this practice to be taken away, if only for my own selfish reasons. I am not Catholic, yet, and being able to place myself so close to the Blessed Sacrament, to be that close to my Jesus!! Half the time I don’t even hear the Priest giving the blessing- I am simply in awe to be so close to My Lord. I think it is the only thing that keeps me sane- I don’t know if I would be able to stand it if I had to sit in the pew watching everyone recieve Communion- it’s painful enough as it is… But to approach My Lord, even if only for a few seconds… I can’t explain what happiness that brings me.
 
The Priest actually spoke of this to my Lady Friends RCIA Class recently…he explained that while it shouldn’t be overly discouraged, and isn’t at our Parish, it wasn’t really necessary either, since everybody gets a blessing just before the “Ita Missa Est”
 
I just feel that it lowers the importance on receiving the blessed sacrament, almost as if people are saying a blessing and receiving our Lord are equal. The liturgy of the eucharist is a time set aside specifically for receiving the sacrament, why cheapen it to run up for a blessing?
 
hilde the dog:
We have been told by the pastor not to come up for a blessing. And those who do go up with arms crossed do get blessed and get a scowl. But its very rare now that anybody goes up for a blessing. Usually it is a visitor.
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I have had this same thought before too… Is recieving a blessing in the communion line an actual part of the Mass rite or is that some new innovation of the US Catholics so that they don’t have to “exclude” anyone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything written by the chruch on this but every Church seems to do this…

Anyone know any actual official teaching on this practice?
 
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matthias:
I have had this same thought before too… Is recieving a blessing in the communion line an actual part of the Mass rite or is that some new innovation of the US Catholics so that they don’t have to “exclude” anyone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything written by the chruch on this but every Church seems to do this…

Anyone know any actual official teaching on this practice?
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I think its an imitation of the Protestant practice, at least those Protestants who serve communion at the communion rail (as opposed to those who serve communion in the pews).

I seen it first in an Episcopalian church back in the 60s.

Of course, in the distant past(the 60s), most Catholics at mass stayed in the pews during communion, so it was not an issue of "excluding " anyone. When it became standard practice that virtually everyone came forward at communion (like the protestants) by the 1980s, the protestant originated practice for the remaining few migrated across the Tiber.

Or at least thats my interpretation of communion line blessings.
 
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matthias:
I have had this same thought before too… Is recieving a blessing in the communion line an actual part of the Mass rite or is that some new innovation of the US Catholics so that they don’t have to “exclude” anyone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything written by the chruch on this but every Church seems to do this…

Anyone know any actual official teaching on this practice?
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There is no official teaching, and therein lies the problem–everyone is “doing what is right in his own eyes.”

I ran into this problem in Jan 2004, 5 months before I made the decision to come into the Catholic Church. I was doing a 3-day private retreat at the Benedictine monastery in town, and I noticed some of the other retreatants going up with arms crossed to get a blessing from the abbot, who was presiding at Mass that day. I asked one of them, and she explained the procedure. So, I went up the next day at Mass, only it wasn’t the abbot presiding, it was an elderly priest in the community. He looked at me like a calf looking at a new gate and muttered “God bless you,” and I went back to my seat feeling about 2 cm high.

As it happened, the very next day I turned my truck radio on and happened to come in on Catholic Answers just as someone was asking a question about this very topic. The answer was, as I stated above, that there is no definitive teaching on this subject.

I stayed in my seat from then on until the day of my First Communion, Easter Vigil last year.

On the other hand, when our 8-year-old granddaughter is staying with us, we have taught her to go up with her arms crossed, and she gets a very nice blessing, cheerfully given, from the deacon (our priest does not distribute Holy Communion; it is very difficult for him to stand).

DaveBj
 
Kielbasa

Our paster as I recall added that the bishop or was it himself did not want people coming up for blessing…three and a half years ago. I remember because the week before he said that I went up for a blessing and had just started RCIA. Guess I ruined it for every body else 😃

Yeh our diocese just started to allow for altergirls, patens came back last year…we’re very traditional. No dancing , screens, drums.
 
I’m not going to say it’s wrong…more that I just choose not to participate in this practice (and I’m not Catholic yet either). I’ve done it a couple of times; once because it was a really crowded Mass and felt it would be disruptive if I didn’t go forward, and whenever we’re in Mass with RCIA…it’s highly recommended that we go forward for a blessing. However, I also found that asking for a blessing disrupts the flow of the Communion line (at least that was my impression-I can’t speak for everyone though). Also, I think that when we sit out, it makes the divisions within Christianity more obvious, and maybe it will encourage more people to pray for Christian unity.
 
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fenderstrokes:
I went up to the Priest and folded my arms for a blessing. I felt a little stupid…is this only for children and non-Catholics or did I do the right thing? Hope this isn’t a dumb question.Dan
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There are no rules about it.

The custom was established by JP II.

The authorization is papal precedent.

Apart from that, there is nothing in writing.

So do not worry if you see one practice in one parish, and a different practice in another parish.
 
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