Does the communicant?

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CyrilSebastian

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At Communion when the communicant is standing directly in front of the priest, sometimes the communicant may make the Sign of the Cross before the priest utters, “The Body of Christ”.
Is it incorrect for the communicant to make the Sign of the Cross at this time?
 
The prescribed action for the US is a bow of the head.

You’ll get varying opinions about whether anything else is right or not.
 
Yes, a bow.
But many people do make the sign of the cross after receiving.
 
pianistclare said:
Yes, a bow.
But many people do make the sign of the cross after receiving.
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Exactly. In fact, when I was in preparation for my First Communion, I was instructed to make the sign of the cross after receiving, and I’ve done it ever since.

Also, many make the sign of the cross after the Penitential Rite, before the Gospel, during the Sanctus (during the line “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD”), at the time of consecration, etc.

However, technically, according to the rubrics, the only times we, as the congregation are to make the sign of the cross during the Mass are during the Opening Dialogue and during the blessing at the end of Mass. That’s it, really. But no one will generally correct people who do otherwise, because the making of the Sign of the Cross at such times is done out of personal reverence - and often because those making the sign of the cross at such times were probably instructed to by their parents - and so think that they’re supposed to make the Sign of the Cross at such times. Instructing them to do differently would be counter-productive.
 
CyrilSebastian said:
At Communion when the communicant is standing directly in front of the priest, sometimes the communicant may make the Sign of the Cross before the priest utters, “The Body of Christ”.
Is it incorrect for the communicant to make the Sign of the Cross at this time?
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I would say as long as it doesn’t disrupt the flow. Some people get bent out of shape if the line doesn’t move as quickly as they like it to move.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Where is the prescription for this?
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General Instruction of the Roman Missal
GIRM:
Chapter IV: The Different Forms Of Celebrating Mass
  1. The Priest then takes the paten or ciborium and approaches the communicants, who usually come up in procession.
It is not permitted for the faithful to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them on from one to another among themselves. The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, March 25, 2004, no. 91).

When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.
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Hoosier_Daddy said:
Thank you! This is interesting. I am reading up on it as well at the USCCB website.

I ask because at our parish my child was just instructed that there should be a bow and a sign of the cross for reception of first communion.
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I believe this was promulgated around 2003, after the Third Edition of the Roman Missal was released in Latin.

Our parish was treated to an instructional video. I think one of the other points was the lack of regulation for posture following the reception of Holy Communion.
 
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