Did I disrespect the Eucharist or did the Priest disrespect me?

[maryjk]

First time I experienced it was when I was visiting my mom’s parish.

My son was just an infant. I took him with me for Communion, because he was too young to leave in the pew.

The priest gave me Communion, then as I started to walk away, he blessed my son. I had never seen it before and ended up coming back for the blessing.

My son is now 18, so it was over 17 years ago.

 

[St_Francis]

I just got to ask those who think this is not the thing to do…what about children who have not received the sacraments of reconciliation or communion? In our parish they are welcome to come to the altar and receive a blessing from the deacon or priest.

As a eucharistic minister we have been instructed to not provide a “blessing” but rather acknowledge them and they be on their way. As it happened to me on one occasion and I merely said “peace be with you”.

In the whole realm of things, what would Jesus want you to do?

What would Jesus want us to do? Certainly to follow the Instructions of the Church He founded, no?

There is a reason for not following this “custom,” which appears to have migrated to us from liturgical Protestant ecclesial communities (for thise who wonder where it came from). I think that this is just a desire that all be included which makes people want to do it.

Look at it like this: the greatest action we laypeople can partake, the consumption of the Body and Blood of Christ should not be interrupted for a lesser action. It is like an emergency room, where triage is performed and lesser cases are delayed while more important cases are dealt with immediately. The doctors do not interrupt using those paddles to revive a heart attack patient to put ice on a sprained ankle, do they? No, because they need to focus on that which is the most important.

An additional point is that blessings can be given only when authority exists. A pastor has authority over the parishioners, parents have authority over their children, so pastors and parents can give, or confer, a blessing on their parishioners or their children. But children can only ask God to bless their parents, not confer a blessing.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

Wow, I really wish folks would read the sticky notes at the top of these forums - there’s one that specifically addresses this issue. The communion line is for communion, not for blessings. Here’s an excerpt from the sticky (my bold emphasis added):

First Mary, thank you for sharing this and bringing it to our attention. However, there are some things I think that likewise need to be emphasized in this context:

This Congregation for Divine Worship and the Disciple of the Sacraments acknowledges receipt of your kind letter of 13 August, 2008 and would like to thank you for your interest and suggestions. This matter is presently under the attentive study of the Congregation.

For the present, therefore, this Dicastery wishes to limit itself to the following observations:

The liturgical blessing of the Holy Mass is properly given to each and to all at the conclusion of the Mass, just a few moments subsequent to the distribution of Holy Communion.

Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest (cf. Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; can. 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18).

Furthermore,** the laying on of a hand or hands** – which has its own sacramental significance, inappropriate here – by those distributing Holy Communion, in substitution for its reception, is to be explicitly discouraged.

The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, n. 84, “forbids any pastor, for whatever reason to pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry.” To be feared is that any form of blessing in substitution for communion would give the impression that the divorced and remarried have been returned, in some sense, to the status of Catholics in good standing.

In a similar way,** for others who are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in accord with the norm of law**, the Church’s discipline has already made clear that they should not approach Holy Communion nor receive a blessing. This would include non-Catholics and those envisaged in can. 915 (i.e., those under the penalty of excommunication or interdict, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin).

So the issue is under investigation (“under attentive study”) and these norms were given by the CDF. What they are obviously worried about is giving the wrong message and confusing sacramental signs, especially the laying on of hands. Moreover, they make it plain that in the liturgical context blessings should only be performed by priests.

The other stipulations are all of them quite grave: we are talking about the excommunicated here. The concern is that those who are not fully incorporated into the body of Christ would be perceived as being so incorporated. This is not the same as the person who was unable or simply failed to fast, in accordance with the Church’s discipline, for instance, before Mass. I doubt that necessarily counts as those “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin”.

In other words, if I were Nancy Pelosi, I would be worried this might apply. If I were someone who was in the pew at Mass and suddenly became conscious of a sin, possibly grave - or even while waiting in line to receive Holy Communion - then I would not be so worried.

 

[phil19034]

My understanding is that is this an English and Anglican practice. Personally, I have never been to Mass and seen anyone do this (but I’ve heard of it). The Anglican Use Parish in Philly actually instructs people who cannot receive Communion to do this.

But I have never been to a OF Mass with this being done. Personally, I cannot receive Communion (improper marriage). I stand, let everyone out, and go back to kneeling. (At an EF Mass, you are not going to walk up to the altar rail and bow your head. So why walk up in an OF?)

I will pray an Act of Spirtual Communnion and will also pray some Adoration prayers.

I know that this is common in some parts of the US. But as a rule of thumb, it is not a common Catholic practice at all. If you are in a Parish with lots of ethnic Italians or Pols, they are not going to do it.

Priests are not taught to do this, so unless he grew up in a Parish that did this, it will be unexpected.

In regards to bringing up little kids, I know in some families that the parents alternate weeks receiving Communion if they do not trust their children. Or little ones can walk up with Mom and Dad, holding a parent’s hand. And that parent receives on the tounge, never letting to of the child’s hand.

God Bless

 

[thistle]

Hello everyone,

I will get right into it. So, I went up for Communion and went to kneel but I crossed my arms to show that I am asking for blessing in lieu of reviving Communion because I was NOT in a state of grace. I thought this was a common practice in the O.F.* In any case, the Priest said “The Body of Christ” and I felt awkward because again I had my arms crossed. Anyway, the Priest said “Do you want Communion?” and I said “No”(I should have said “No, because I am not in the state of grace”) but that should not matter because…I had my arms crossed.

Anyway, it ended with a look of great disdain from the Priest and telling to “Go”. Now then, did I disrespect the Eucharist or…did was this just a rude Priest? May I add, I do know this Priest fairly well… Also, there where some minor abuses during the Mass, such as the Priest joking at the beginning of Mass about “These are not Pink, They are Rose!”…and asked the congregation to “touch their ears, mouth and eyes” to see how we should love our bodies…

*When I to attend the O.F, which is about 40% of the time, at other parishes, this is not an issue…

It is a Communion line and NOT a Communion and Blessing line. If you are not in a state of grace then you should stay in your seat. Everyone gets a blessing before the Mass ends.

 

[TRH1292]

Are you sure about that Mrs Sally?
I’m being initiated into the church at Easter 2014 and have for almost a year gone up to receive a blessing during the communion and when I’ve been asking my priest about it, he actually encouraged it.
In my parish there are a lot of people receiving a blessing instead of communion so where I’m from its quite normal.
In my parish however we’re putting our right hand above the left shoulder to show that we are not to receive the Eucharist.

There might be different policies at different parishes or with different priests as I remember once anathor priest held mass and I went up to receive a blessing, he kept reaching me the Eucharist and kept saying this is the body of Christ.
It felt quite akward as it happened. I repeated I want a blessing, and finally he gave the blessing, pwh…

Well that is fine and dandy if it goes on in your parish, but not every parish does that. It is only done in some parishes because it is actually a mostly american innovation and is not apart of the liturgy. A priest certainly is under no obligation to do it.