Communion: On the tongue or in the Hand?

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kayla

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How do you take Communion? on the tongue or in the Hand and why?
I have just wanted to get a better understanding of what people prefer.🙂
thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.
 
I receive Communion on the tongue. It’s just a better way for so many reasons. 👍
 
And this is why just about every thread on this topic gets closed! 😦
SuperLuigi said:
I receive Communion on the tongue. It’s just a better way for so many reasons. 👍
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In the US, both are allowed, and it’s up to the one receiving to decide. No one way is “better”.

Here is a link to a thread I started, my first post will give you my answer to your question, Kayla.
 
From a limited experience including North Dakota, Washington, Oregon, Utah and ,California, it would appear that in those areas, the great majority to vast majority receive in the hand. Both in the hand and on the tongue go back to the very early Church; on the hand continued on until about the 10th to 11th century, and continued again (according the Brother JR) from the 1200’s forward in a limited way with the Franciscans to the current time.
 
Oneofthewomen said:
No one way is “better”.
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Just from a legal perspective, one way is a norm, and the other way is an exception. There is therefore a legal preference, which has a much wider theological context.

But you’re right in this respect: from the perspective of practice, one way of receiving should not be considered better insofar as it compels individuals to adopt this method of reception to the exclusion of the other.

But one way is also primary, and another is secondary.
 
I receive on the tongue, because I feel it is more reverent and also much safer, since the chances of particles breaking off into the hand are pretty high.
 
SuperLuigi said:
I receive Communion on the tongue. It’s just a better way for so many reasons. 👍
Click to expand...
It goes either way, and a fruitless argument.

A theologian priest I know says he prefers the hand, because scripture tells us what comes from the mouth is unclean and hands are used in works…but then again, his answer has no more credence than yours…its all a matter of personal opinion, and either way is 100% acceptable.

After all, it is the function over the form is what is important (to receive, not how to receive); the Church precept is not receive at least once a year, but there is no precept saying to receive by the hand or the mouth.

Peace and all good!
 
I prefer to receive on the tongue, but sometimes I get nervous and receive it in the hand!
 
This poor dead horse has been beaten enough. 😦

Dear Kayla,
I realize you are curious about how people feel. However, threads like these denigrate into “my way is better”, and angry accusations of all kinds of imagined things. You can do a Search, and find soooo many threads on this very thing.

As OneoftheWomen pointed out, either way is acceptable.
 
Perhaps you should set it up as a poll. It might be interesting (though not statistically valid) to see what people do, without arguing why.

Hand.
 
Beryllos said:
Perhaps you should set it up as a poll. It might be interesting (though not statistically valid) to see what people do, without arguing why.

Hand.
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👍 I was thinking the same (about a poll).

Tongue. 🙂
 
I receive it on the hand. My reasons are as follows:
  1. Receiving it on the tongue just feels awkward to me.
  2. Almost everyone at every parish I’ve been to takes it in the hand, and I don’t want to be the odd one out.
  3. If I was one of the people handing out Communion, I personally wouldn’t like it because I might accidentally touch their tongue or something and I don’t want to put anyone into a position that I wouldn’t like just in case they feel the same.
None of my reasons are proper objective ones and all or most of them wouldn’t be experienced by the average Catholic but they’re enough for me to take it on the hand.
 
I think communion on the hand is one of those things that a bishop either has to make optional or compulsory, but it’s never going to become the dominant reception if there is an option. Not after so many years of communion on the hand. It’s awkward to change. People feel extremely self-aware when receiving communion in the first place because of the very nature of the mass.

If you really want to see how people would truly feel about it, then you would want for your bishop to make communion on the tongue mandatory for a year or so. After that, people will be used to it and won’t feel awkward.
 
If you’re going to do a poll, don’t forget to add “Holy Spoon” as an option! 😉
 
randomusername said:
I receive it on the hand. My reasons are as follows:
  1. Receiving it on the tongue just feels awkward to me.
  2. Almost everyone at every parish I’ve been to takes it in the hand, and I don’t want to be the odd one out.
    3. If I was one of the people handing out Communion, I personally wouldn’t like it because I might accidentally touch their tongue or something and I don’t want to put anyone into a position that I wouldn’t like just in case they feel the same.
None of my reasons are proper objective ones and all or most of them wouldn’t be experienced by the average Catholic but they’re enough for me to take it on the hand.
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As an Eucharistic minister, I can vouch that this does happen. I feel more sorry for the next person in line (regardless of if they take communion on the tongue or in the hand) as my licked finger :eek: has to touch the host. Nothing I can do about it. If that bothers you, I guess that gives you good reason to be in the first pew and one of the first to receive communion so you don’t have to worry about it.
 
This may sound silly, but I don’t like to put my dirty hands on something that sacred.
 
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