Eucharist on the tongue

[BettyM]

I have just started receiving the Eucharist on the tongue and it definitely feels more reverent. It makes you stop more and think about what is happening at the moment and what you are receiving.
It’s a little frightening, though. I am afraid it might fall and I won’t know what to do. It will upset the whole Mass. In my area the churches are packed so it’s a very long line of people.
Any suggestions for receiving on the tongue safely.
Has anyone had it fall before and what did you do?

 

[Jane11]

Well, good for you, Betty!!! It is the only way to receive it because priests’ hands are consecrated so the Eucharist went from consecrated hand directly into you - without defiling Jesus by having him in your hand before your mouth. Think about it: this IS the very body and blood of Jesus we’re talking about. I am so very happy for you that you are now receiving it properly. Once a person fully understands this it seems rather insulting to God to do otherwise, doesn’t it?

 

[Lutheranteach]

Honestly, I can’t believe what an issue this is for so many Catholics

 

[Sarah25]

For my first communion on Easter Vigil, the priest told all of us in RCIA that when we came up we could receive in the hand or on the tongue. He said that if we were afraid of dropping the host, that on the tongue would be the better way to take it. He said he’d never had anybody drop a host he put on their tongue. So I don’t think you have to worry too much this way!

 

[MarkThompson]

I have just started receiving the Eucharist on the tongue and it definitely feels more reverent. It makes you stop more and think about what is happening at the moment and what you are receiving.
It’s a little frightening, though. I am afraid it might fall and I won’t know what to do. It will upset the whole Mass. In my area the churches are packed so it’s a very long line of people.
Any suggestions for receiving on the tongue safely.
Has anyone had it fall before and what did you do?

Hosts can be dropped either way (this is what patens are for, after all), but generally it sticks quite well to the tongue. Just make sure you don’t curl your tongue downward when you stick it out.

 

[jannekb]

I just started receiving the Eucharist on the tongue as well, after receiving it in the hand since going through RCIA and joining the church in 2002. To be honest, the reason I started was because my two-year old is very rambunctious, and I have to hold him while going up for communion or he will run for the hills. It’s pretty much impossible to hold a wriggling toddler and receive communion properly in the hand at the same time.

I agree that it feels more reverent, and while both methods are acceptable according to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (see usccb.org/liturgy/girm/bul5.shtml), one may receive communion on the tongue anywhere in the world, whereas communion in the hand is not universally offered in all countries.

I feel much LESS likely to “drop” the host now, as the Eucharistic Ministers at my parish do a good job of firmly placing the Eucharist on my tongue.

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

I have just started receiving the Eucharist on the tongue and it definitely feels more reverent. It makes you stop more and think about what is happening at the moment and what you are receiving.
It’s a little frightening, though. I am afraid it might fall and I won’t know what to do. It will upset the whole Mass. In my area the churches are packed so it’s a very long line of people.
Any suggestions for receiving on the tongue safely.
Has anyone had it fall before and what did you do?

First of all I want to say that I applaud you receving Communion the right way!

As for your question, priests are supposed to use patens. A paten is held under the person’s mouth so is any crumbs or the entire Host itself fall they will land safely on the paten. However, I’m going to guess you go to a Novus Ordo parish, and unfortunetly at most NO Masses they do not use patens. The good news is that it isn’t likely to fall off your tongue. So for the most part you should have no worries.

 

[mommamaree]

How would I defile the Host by touching it with my hand? I wash my hands, I share the peace with my hands. What is defiling about my hands that is not true about my tongue?

Edited to add: this is meant as a respectful question by a new Catholic, so please don’t misunderstand my intention.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Well, good for you, Betty!!! It is the only way to receive it because priests’ hands are consecrated so the Eucharist went from consecrated hand directly into you - without defiling Jesus by having him in your hand before your mouth. Think about it: this IS the very body and blood of Jesus we’re talking about. I am so very happy for you that you are now receiving it properly. Once a person fully understands this it seems rather insulting to God to do otherwise, doesn’t it?

Communion in the hand is approved by the Church. Thus, it is impossible to defile Jesus (Who said sin came from inside the body, rather than outside, and since the tongue is inside the body, well…), because the Church cannot promulgate a discipline that would DO that, ie, She, as the Body of Christ, cannot lead the faithful into impiety. To receive in the hand is ONE WAY to recieve properly.

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

How would I defile the Host by touching it with my hand? I wash my hands, I share the peace with my hands. What is defiling about my hands that is not true about my tongue?

Edited to add: this is meant as a respectful question by a new Catholic, so please don’t misunderstand my intention.

So you’re a new Catholic? Well, I think it’s great that you decided to convert to Christ’s true Church!

To answer your question, it doesn’t matter how clean or dirty your hands are, Communion in the hand (CITH for short, as you will see some people here calling it) is not reverent or respectful. We are supposed to receive Christ on our tongue. He is supposed to hold us, not the other way around. CITH was long said to be dis-respectful until Vatican II made some un-necessary changes to that rule.

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

Communion in the hand is approved by the Church. Thus, it is impossible to defile Jesus (Who said sin came from inside the body, rather than outside, and since the tongue is inside the body, well…), because the Church cannot promulgate a discipline that would DO that, ie, She, as the Body of Christ, cannot lead the faithful into impiety. To receive in the hand is ONE WAY to recieve properly.

No, it’s the primary way to receive un-properly. The fact that it was not approved by the Church for most of the Church’s history should tell you it hardly means a thing when it has only been approved for the last 41 years.

 

[jannekb]

So you’re a new Catholic? Well, I think it’s great that you decided to convert to Christ’s true Church!

To answer your question, it doesn’t matter how clean or dirty your hands are, Communion in the hand (CITH for short, as you will see some people here calling it) is not reverent or respectful. We are supposed to receive Christ on our tongue. He is supposed to hold us, not the other way around. CITH was long said to be dis-respectful until Vatican II made some un-necessary changes to that rule.

I’m pretty much appalled by your disrespect towards your local Bishop, and all of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who have approved “CITH” as an acceptable practice. Really, who are you to say that your Bishop is wrong???

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

I’m pretty much appalled by your disrespect towards your local Bishop, and all of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who have approved “CITH” as an acceptable practice. Really, who are you to say that your Bishop is wrong???

I personally don’t care if my Bishop said it was ok to throw a football during Mass, it doesn’t mean I HAVE to accept it and think it’s ok because he said it’s ok. And where did I say I didn’t have respect for my Bishop? He is, after all, MY local Bishop, so how do you know whether or not I have respect for him?

 

[mommamaree]

Okay, I am going to ask another question that will probably get me in trouble here, but I hope you will have pity on me and overlook my ignorance. In the Gospel account of the Last Supper, did Jesus place the bread he broke on the tongue of the disciples, or did he pass or hand it to them?

 

[jannekb]

I personally don’t care if my Bishop said it was ok to throw a football during Mass, it doesn’t mean I HAVE to accept it and think it’s ok because he said it’s ok. And where did I say I didn’t have respect for my Bishop? He is, after all, MY local Bishop, so how do you know whether or not I have respect for him?

Actually, you do have to accept what your Bishop says, as ultimately, he has more authority over you than does the Vatican. And if your Bishop is part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, then he has accepted communion in the hand as part of the Committee on Divine Worship’s teaching about the liturgy. Aren’t you saying that he is wrong, if you choose to hold to a belief that runs contrary to what he himself upholds? usccb.org/liturgy/girm/bul5.shtml

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

Actually, you do have to accept what your Bishop says, as ultimately, he has more authority over you than does the Vatican. And if your Bishop is part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, then he has accepted communion in the hand as part of the Committee on Divine Worship’s teaching about the liturgy. Aren’t you saying that he is wrong, if you choose to hold to a belief that runs contrary to what he himself upholds? usccb.org/liturgy/girm/bul5.shtml

So what you’re telling me is we should all agree with everything our local Bishop says or believes in? It would pretty much be impossible for a Traditional Catholic to agree with everything a non-Traditional Bishop says. And I rarely ever go to Mass in my area anyway because there is no TLM in my area as my Bishop won’t allow it, so I have to drive a little more than an hour away to get to one. So if my Bishop won’t even allow a TLM, then why should I agree with him on CITH when I don’t even go to a Church in the area he is Bishop in anymore?

 

[JKirkLVNV]

No, it’s the primary way to receive un-properly. The fact that it was not approved by the Church for most of the Church’s history should tell you it hardly means a thing when it has only been approved for the last 41 years.

Communion in the hand was practiced by the Apostolic and Patristic Church, as you would know if you knew Church history…or anything about Catholicism, for that matter.

 

[jannekb]

So what you’re telling me is we should all agree with everything our local Bishop says or believes in? It would pretty much be impossible for a Traditional Catholic to agree with everything a non-Traditional Bishop says. And I rarely ever go to Mass in my area anyway because there is no TLM in my area as my Bishop won’t allow it, so I have to drive a little more than an hour away to get to one. So if my Bishop won’t even allow a TLM, then why should I agree with him on CITH when I don’t even go to a Church in the area he is Bishop in anymore?

Is this your argument that you in fact respect your Bishop? Because I’m not following.

 

[choy]

No, it’s the primary way to receive un-properly. The fact that it was not approved by the Church for most of the Church’s history should tell you it hardly means a thing when it has only been approved for the last 41 years.

that is your personal opinion, not the Church’s

 

[Ave_Maria_1]

Honestly, I can’t believe what an issue this is for so many Catholics

Well of course you would not understand as Lutherans do not believe that the Holy Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ which has been the believe of the Catholic Church since Apostolic times. This is why the early Christians were even sometimes thought of as cannibals. Lutherans are very safe from such an accusation.

It is a privilege to receive Our Lord on my tongue and kneeling when the opportunity is available. I love to receive in this reverent manner.

Yes, there is an indult to receive in the hand. This manner began in disobedience however. I have, in the past, been a ‘Eucharistic Minister’ and I can tell you that I have seen many irreverent Communions with dirty hands, indifferent manner and more. And then we have had the occasions of finding Hosts in the missalettes and so on. That is at least less likely when Our Lord is received on the tongue.