Holy Communion : Chew or Dissolve?

[Monica4316]

Since we were on the topic of receiving communion, I needed to start a different thread for my next question.

Last night I heard chomping away on the precious host in the pew (we sit in the front) My mom said we are supposed to let it dissolve and that chewing is not allowed. Is this true? I always let it dissolve but I do see and hear people chewing imediately… My mom is very proper in etiquette so not sure if she just told me that or is this really true.

Oh and also… if you receive the precious blood then you most likely have to chew it right away, huh? …or what exactly do you do? My home parish does not offer the most precious blood so I don’t know.

Thanks, this forum is great

I don’t completely dissolve the Host in my mouth, I just let it soften a bit and then I swallow it. I don’t chew it. To make it easier to swallow, I just sort of fold it in half.

 

[Aramis]

Since we were on the topic of receiving communion, I needed to start a different thread for my next question.

Last night I heard chomping away on the precious host in the pew (we sit in the front) My mom said we are supposed to let it dissolve and that chewing is not allowed. Is this true? I always let it dissolve but I do see and hear people chewing imediately… My mom is very proper in etiquette so not sure if she just told me that or is this really true.

Oh and also… if you receive the precious blood then you most likely have to chew it right away, huh? …or what exactly do you do? My home parish does not offer the most precious blood so I don’t know.

Thanks, this forum is great

Chew.

The biblical “eat” in the gospels implies chewing…

And with the typical Byzantine mode, if you don’t chew, sometimes it’s too big to swallow.

 

[Joan_M]

I am, currently, re-reading “The Faith Explained” by Fr. Leo Trese. In his chapter about Holy Communion there is a paragraph that particularly pertinent to this thread.

I quote (page 354):

Whether or not we chew the sacred host, we must be sure to swallow it since holy eucharist is spiritual food. The act of receiving the sacrament of the holy eucharist consists in the act of swallowing. If we allow the sacred host to dissolve completely in our mouth so that It no longer had the appearance of bread, then we would not receive holy communion, we would not receive the graces of the sacrament of the holy eucharist. We should allow the sacred host to remain in the mouth only until It is moist enough to swallow.

 

[Syrophenikan]

People at my church do either.

The priest chews, the older women tend to let it dissolve, and the younger people chew.

I’ve always found the idea of chewing the Host a bit cringe-worthy, so I let it dissolve.