- The priest washing his hands
The ancient practice of receiving bread and wine and other gifts from the congregation necessitated the priest washing his hands before continuing with the liturgy, not only for sanitary reasons, but also out of reverence for the Eucharist. This action gained a spiritual significance even before the presentation of the gifts became simplified.
The rite and its meaning are found in the Apostolic Constitutions from the end of the fourth century: “let one of the sub-deacons bring water to wash the hands of the priests, which is a symbol of the purity of those souls that are devoted to God.” (Book VIII, XI) A fuller explanation of the rite is found in the mystagogical catecheses of St. Cyril of Jerusalem:
[This is] not at all because of bodily defilement; it is not that; for we did not enter the church at first with defiled bodies. But the washing of hands is a symbol that you ought to be pure from all sinful and unlawful deeds; for since the hands are a symbol of action, by washing them, it is evident, we represent the purity and blamelessness of our conduct. Did you not hear the blessed David opening this very mystery, and saying, “I will wash my hands in innocence, and so will compass Your Altar, O Lord”? The washing of hands is therefore a symbol of immunity from sin. (Catechesis XXIII, 2)
The purpose of this rite is to impress upon the priest and congregation the need for “interior purification” (GIRM 76) for the proper celebration of these sacred mysteries. The rite is not to be omitted on the pretense that the priest’s hands simply are not dirty.
In the Ordinary Form, the priest says the following prayer quietly:
Lava me, Dómine, ab iniquitáte mea, et a peccáto meo munda me.
Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (Ps. 51:2)
The Scripture used in the Ordinary Form differs from that which is used in the Extraordinary Form, Psalm 26:6-11, the psalm quoted by St. Cyril (and which is used in certain Eastern Rites). There is a different tone between Psalm 51:2 and Psalm 26:6. In the former, it is God Who washes: “Wash me, O Lord…” In the latter, it is the priest who washes: “I wash my hands…” While Psalm 26 is about recognizing the call to holiness and the importance of purity in exercising the priestly office, Psalm 51 is about admitting failure to live up to that holiness and purity. Psalm 26 contrasts the hands of the faithful priest with those of evildoers, “in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.” (Ps. 26:10) The Extraordinary Form prayer does not imply that the priest is a faultless man who has no need of the mercy of God: the prayer ends by beseeching God, “Redeem me, and have mercy on me.” (Ps. 26:11)
The point of both prayers is that, just as the holy sacrifice about to be offered is pure and spotless, so too the priest and people offering that sacrifice should be holy and without blemish. Of course, this state of sanctity does not come from ourselves, but from God.
- Receiving on the hand or on the tongue
Christians in antiquity did (at least at times) receive Communion into their own hands. St. Cyril describes this, the Council of Trullo describes it, and other witnesses (like St. Ambrose and St. John Damascene) speak of it.
And as for whether our hands are more or less suited to receive our Lord than our tongues, the admonition of St. James should be kept in mind:
If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Look at the ships also; though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
So the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue – a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so. (James 3:3-10)
