Coronavirus Mass Changes - Communion in Hand?

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I believe the advice to not to touch your own face has to do with when you touch other things (e.g. shopping cart, door handles, etc) that others may have touched, it is best to not touch your face until your wash or disinfect your hands.
 
peter26 said:
You know no bishop is saying people have to recieve in the hand. Not recieving if one can not recieve on the tongue is not disobidient, because the bishops are not saying you can not do that.
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Yes, I know that. I’m not sure if the poster to whom I addressed the question knows that there is an option to not receive if they do not want to receive in the hand.
 
This is the guidance I was reading earlier. Only people are ill and discouraged from recieving on the tongue - stage 1 (current status).
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Things have moved on somewhat. In this letter, you will notice that encouraging the faithful to receive in the hand is not restricted in application to those who are ill, but is a recommendation for all the faithful.
Copied and pasted from the Liverpool Archdiocese website. Communication dated 4th March.2020.

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon has issued the following guidance to parishes:

Holy water stoups should be emptied until further notice.

No pastoral visits should be undertaken to people who are self-isolating until isolation ends. However, do offer phone support.

Visits to people in care homes or hospitals should follow advice from the staff on infection control.

• It is strongly advised that the shaking of hands at the sign of peace during Mass should be suspended.

• Holy Communion under both kinds should be suspended.

• The faithful should be encouraged to receive the sacred host in the hand rather than on the tongue.

• Priests should sanitise their hands before Mass and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion should wash / sanitise their hands discreetly before Communion.

• Priests and extraordinary ministers should also wash / sanitise their hands after Mass.
 
I’ve just read about something similar in the Diocease of Lancaster on the BBC News page. Thankfully nothing in my part of the country at the moment.
 
peter26 said:
The simple precaution can be taken of a priest/EMHC washing their hands before Mass.
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Which means that their hands will until they accidentally touch someone’s tongue and then germs get shared.
 
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JoeShlabotnik said:
but I want to do the right thing.
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The right thing is to trust the Church when CITH was approved - would the Church approve a sin?
The right thing is to be obedient to the Bishop
If you are personally squeamish, fine - don’t receive. But don’t call a Church approved method of distribution a sin, no matter if it was approved 1500 years ago or last week.
 
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I’ve committed far worse sins with my tongue than my hands! As for cleanliness, I always wash my hands before Mass. Jesus was a carpenter, I don’t think He was afraid of a little dirt under the fingernails.
 
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Thanks for the response. I was curious just from an outsiders perspective. As we the pastor gives it to us in the hand and we use individual cups.
 
Yes and in my TLM we don’t , also in my religious community ordinary form we don’t either and never have. It is up to the Priest who celebrates Mass even before Covid 19
 
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Our Diocese just released new standards today until the Covid 19 threat is over. Only CITH, no cup, and no holy water. While I prefer COTT, I will be obedient to my bishop and pastor. As someone who would be susceptible to the virus and having surgery tomorrow, I am glad our diocese is taking precautions.
 
“We consulted with two physicians regarding this issue, one of which is a specialist in immunology for the State of Oregon. They agreed that done properly the reception of Holy Communion on the tongue or in the hand pose a more or less equal risk".

Interesting.
 
I’m just staying home. I am on my second virus this years and don’t need another one.
 
I received in the hand , while kneeling today for the first time in a long time, I had planned to only receive on the tongue. We where told just before the consecration of the gifts, of the changes in Archdioceses and by the time it came to going forward, I hesitated and almost turned back to the pew.
I had already made intentions to receive communion prior to mass so I decided to keep to the intention I had made by still recieving. I didn’t feel comfortable at all but I felt obedience to our Arch bishops decision the right thing to do. No sign of peace, no holy water font, no communion on the tongue.

Tommorow is first Friday devotion which I am doing and first Saturday, so I plan to receive communion on those days, on the hand, while kneeling as that is the only reverence I can now offer at the time of recieving Our Lord. Also on Easter if the precautions are in place I will receive as instructed today. However they will be the only times I will be recieving in the mandatory way. Unless I can make it to a E.O form of mass.

These are unfortunate times but I can also understand why these measures have been put in place. The priest informs us he had lost count of amount of times his thumb had been “licked” In the past couple of decades he had been ordained. I would put that down to bad technique from the receiver, however I barely even breathe while actually recieving and I have never felt any priests’ digits near my tongue. I don’t of course doubt the priests experience of others and if that’s the case then I will mostly be making spiritual communion until the precautions are lifted. I do think an extended stationary tongue is equally easier to lay down the Eucharist upon than the hand.

I also noticed some residual parts of Our Lord still on my left hand so quickly consumed those too as soon as I was aware. Just my opinion on things.
 
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