How do you receive the Body of Christ?

[choy]

The report from my Pastor was that it was a worldwide problem and that the Pope is considering the best way to remedy it. He indicated that the leadership of the church is very concerned about it being a problem everywhere. Why would he tell us these things unless it was a genuine concern?

i honestly don’t know. but i was just wondering, if it is indeed a worldwide problem and the Pope is doing something about it and it was reported in your parish, why wasn’t it reported in mine? are we not that important?

mind you that just a few weeks ago we had an issue regarding communion within our parish, aparently some people try to receive without saying AMEN. and our priest had a lengthy lecture about it. would have been a great time to bring this up

 

[MelanieAnne]

i honestly don’t know. but i was just wondering, if it is indeed a worldwide problem and the Pope is doing something about it and it was reported in your parish, why wasn’t it reported in mine? are we not that important?

mind you that just a few weeks ago we had an issue regarding communion within our parish, aparently some people try to receive without saying AMEN. and our priest had a lengthy lecture about it. would have been a great time to bring this up

Maybe your Pastor decided to deal with the problem another way? Maybe he thinks that it isn’t a problem in your parish and didn’t want to trouble you about it?

And we’ve had the reminder about “Amen” as well, but at a different time.

Anyway, just because it may not be widely publicized doesn’t change the fact that it IS a problem that needs to be fixed!

 

[Letchitsa1]

Like the OP I grew up in the Church only ever knowing CITH. I remember the first few times seeing people receive COTT and being rather confused as to why these people were receiving in that way. I didn’t look down upon them for receiving differently, I just wasn’t familiar with it. Now of course I know that many people elect to receive COTT and I look at that as their choice, one that is quite acceptable and respectful. I still receieve CITH, though I have considered switching to COTT. Like bnbkaine I get the impression that were I to receive COTT that I would feel more humbled, though I certainly feel humbled and awed every time I receive the Lord.

I do not like intinction however. I just switched the time I go to mass at my local church and was astonished to see that the VAST majority of people intinct (somewhere around 85%). And it almost seems to me that they are doing so in a hurried and almost careless manner. As a cup bearer at today’s mass I quite honestly felt pained to see the way in which some people received. Forgive the analogy, but the way they behaved it was almost as if I were watching someone dipping a chip into a salsa dip. No one seemed to be bothered by this though, including the clergy, so I held my peace. What I found most ironic though is that the mass I usually attend is filled with younger people like myself, none of whom I have ever seen intinct. Whereas this mass is filled with mostly older adults whom I would have expected to be more traditional/conservative than their juniors.

I do feel bad for not saying something, but I felt it would have been wrong of me to interrupt the mass by trying to prevent someone from intincting. Plus with such an overwhelming majority doing so and the authorities not batting an eye I was worried I’d simply be told I was wrong and would have thus caused a scene for nothing.

They allow intinction in a Catholic parish with the parishioners dipping the host in the chalice?!?! Does the pastor not know this is not allowed, or does he know and just doesn’t care?

According to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,

1. Holy Communion may be distributed by intinction in the following manner: “the communicant, while holding the paten under the chin, approaches the priest who holds the vessel with the hosts and at whose side stands the minister holding the chalice. The priest takes the host, intincts the particle into the chalice and, showing it, says: ‘The Body and Blood of Christ.’ The communicant responds, ‘Amen,’ and receives the Sacrament on the tongue from the priest. Afterwards, the communicant returns to his or her place.” (53)

1. The communicant, including the extraordinary minister, is never allowed to self-communicate, even by means of intinction. Communion under either form, bread or wine, must always be given by an ordinary or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.

Emphasis above is mine. However, you can read the full article on the USCCB website here: usccb.org/liturgy/current/norms.shtml

 

[Arafea]

I receive kneeling and on my tongue (unless I am altar serving, then I do not kneel because our altar is so little and crowded I do not have room! ) because I am afraid that if I receive the Body in my hand, a little crumb could break off and fall to the ground without me even knowing it.

I also receive kneeling because I read 7 Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn and that book left me so in awe of the Eucharist, I felt like kneeling was the least I could do!

 

[otjm]

The report from my Pastor was that it was a worldwide problem and that the Pope is considering the best way to remedy it. He indicated that the leadership of the church is very concerned about it being a problem everywhere. Why would he tell us these things unless it was a genuine concern?

It is very easy to take something said out of context and, with no malice or ill intent, turn it into something that it is not.

It may well be that the Pope has spoken out and said that he intends to do something about the form of receiving Communion, and I certainly do not profess to know every statement made by the Pope. However, looking at how the Pope has addressed other issues, that has not been his method; he doesn’t give a lead-up to what he intends to do. One cardinal from India did make a statement, and there has been little since then on the matter. Whether the Cardinal was speaking on his own, or at the direction of the Pope has not been made clear, but the issue got dropped.

However, it seems strange that no one else is reporting the Pope’s statement.

At best it would seem that your priest has third hand information (if that); it would appear rather that someone in the Vatican may have made a statement (so not the Pope, but someone else - I suspect the Cardinal) that was then reported somewhere - most likely a news paper - which then possibly your priest read, and since it does not appear that he is quoting exactly, he may have well put a spin on it. Spins are not necessarily malicious or of evil intent. However, it is like the game in grade school where you have a circle of kids; one says something to the next one who passes it on and etc. until it comes back to the first child, usually having nothing to do with what the first statement was.

Any abuse of the Eucharist is one too many. It is, however, extremely easy to go from one incident to it suddenly being “world wide”. It is like finding one Host abandoned, and saying “Hosts are being abandoned” which implies that many are, or at least a number of them, when in fact it was one. It is all too easy to overstate an issue, particularly when one is of the opposite opinion.

In all the years I have seen Communion in the Hand, I have seen one incident where the person did not receive (I went and retreived it). Does that mean there has only been one where I was attending Mass all those years? No, it doesn’t; but on the other hand it was one incident, not multiple ones.

Why would he tell it? Because it is a genuine concern of his. Did he accurately state what he had read? I suspect he may have overstated the issue, simply because I am not seeing such statement by the Pope reported. Tthat does not mean the statement has not been made; but certainly there seems to be little evidence of it.

 

[MelanieAnne]

It is very easy to take something said out of context and, with no malice or ill intent, turn it into something that it is not.

It may well be that the Pope has spoken out and said that he intends to do something about the form of receiving Communion, and I certainly do not profess to know every statement made by the Pope. However, looking at how the Pope has addressed other issues, that has not been his method; he doesn’t give a lead-up to what he intends to do. One cardinal from India did make a statement, and there has been little since then on the matter. Whether the Cardinal was speaking on his own, or at the direction of the Pope has not been made clear, but the issue got dropped.

However, it seems strange that no one else is reporting the Pope’s statement.

At best it would seem that your priest has third hand information (if that); it would appear rather that someone in the Vatican may have made a statement (so not the Pope, but someone else - I suspect the Cardinal) that was then reported somewhere - most likely a news paper - which then possibly your priest read, and since it does not appear that he is quoting exactly, he may have well put a spin on it. Spins are not necessarily malicious or of evil intent. However, it is like the game in grade school where you have a circle of kids; one says something to the next one who passes it on and etc. until it comes back to the first child, usually having nothing to do with what the first statement was.

Any abuse of the Eucharist is one too many. It is, however, extremely easy to go from one incident to it suddenly being “world wide”. It is like finding one Host abandoned, and saying “Hosts are being abandoned” which implies that many are, or at least a number of them, when in fact it was one. It is all too easy to overstate an issue, particularly when one is of the opposite opinion.

In all the years I have seen Communion in the Hand, I have seen one incident where the person did not receive (I went and retreived it). Does that mean there has only been one where I was attending Mass all those years? No, it doesn’t; but on the other hand it was one incident, not multiple ones.

Why would he tell it? Because it is a genuine concern of his. Did he accurately state what he had read? I suspect he may have overstated the issue, simply because I am not seeing such statement by the Pope reported. Tthat does not mean the statement has not been made; but certainly there seems to be little evidence of it.

Since I retain all Parish Bulletins, I will find the one where this was reported and give more facts and whatever sources are available in the letter from my Pastor.

Quite frankly, I am astounded at the reaction, not just this one, but all of them. I am basically being told either I am a liar, or my Pastor has been, at best, under suspicion, if not a liar, even in the Parish bulletin.

Had I ever expected this sort of reaction, I would have never thought to offer the information I had received. I would have just stayed silent. You can be sure that I will never offer such information again because I do not care to be called, or even thought of as, a liar, and that is exactly how far too many so-called Catholics have responded.

I trust that, after I provide the relevant sources to satisfy your curiosity about the facts here, that all of you that have been so dreadful in your disparaging of this information, will be appropriately humble. And you will not need to ask forgiveness from God.

As for me, I will never post here again. This is the most uncharitable forum I have ever visited. So much for “traditional Catholicism”. If the behavior of some members of this forum is any example, I can do without it. Shame on you.

Maybe its just me, but I would think that “Traditional Catholics” would be concerned about the handling of the Precious Body. Instead, it would appear that at least some members are all-to-eager to call a fellow Catholic a liar.

Goodbye. My one and only post after this will be to give my Pastor’s letter, in its entirety. After that, you can address your comments to him. Good luck with that.

If I could report all of you to the moderator in one click, I would. Luckily for you all, it’s not so easy.

I will pray for you and your hardness.

 

[choy]

Melanie

no one here is calling you a liar, nor your pastor. the thing is the statement is very similar to what a lot on this forum would propagate to further a personal agenda. we’re not sure if your pastor has the same agenda, or perhaps he was misinformed by one who has. we’ve heard a lot of preposterous and unfounded claims on this forum made for the sake of furthering an agenda rather than sharing the truth. we scrutinize your information because we want to make sure others are not misled. and we don’t think that you are the deceiver, but you yourself might be a victim and its only right that we find the source of this and unearth the truth. for your own benefit as well as other’s

 

[MelanieAnne]

Melanie

no one here is calling you a liar, nor your pastor. the thing is the statement is very similar to what a lot on this forum would propagate to further a personal agenda. we’re not sure if your pastor has the same agenda, or perhaps he was misinformed by one who has. we’ve heard a lot of preposterous and unfounded claims on this forum made for the sake of furthering an agenda rather than sharing the truth. we scrutinize your information because we want to make sure others are not misled. and we don’t thing that you are the deceiver, but you yourself might be a victim and its only right that we find the source of this and unearth the truth. for your own benefit as well as other’s

You know what choy, your opinion as to what people are or are not doing doesn’t mean that much to me. My opinion counts too and that’s I how feel.

I’m not promoting a personal agenda, I referenced information I received from my Pastor. I will see if I can find the bulletin and quote it precisely. And then I will be finished with these “Traditional Catholic” people who seem to find calling their fellow Catholic a liar such an easy thing to do. Including you.

Goodbye. I will not respond to you again. I fear I cannot do so, again, and maintain the charitable position required. And you have been highly provocative, more than once. SO please, get away from me.

 

[corsair]

Oh, I really love the FSSP and the EF Mass. No need to worry about CITH because it isn’t done thata way.

 

[Hesychios]

How do you receive the Body of Christ?

Always standing, always on the tongue … from a golden spoon.

 

[paperwight]

You know what choy, your opinion as to what people are or are not doing doesn’t mean that much to me. My opinion counts too and that’s I how feel.

I’m not promoting a personal agenda, I referenced information I received from my Pastor. I will see if I can find the bulletin and quote it precisely. And then I will be finished with these “Traditional Catholic” people who seem to find calling their fellow Catholic a liar such an easy thing to do. Including you. .

The thing, though, MelanieAnne, Choy is quite right to sound a note of caution.

She is not calling you a liar! Those of us who have been around a bit are sadly aware that not all that is said by a priest can be taken as absolute truth. They can make mistrakes, mis-hear or mis-understand just like anyone else. They can also slant things, for what they feel is a good motive, the sake of their flock.

Think about it. The vast majority of Catholics receive in the hand. Don’t you think that such an important announcement by the Pope that they were not to do so any more would have been publicised in the Catholic press at least? Has it? Wouldn’t it have been read out at all Catholic churches? Has it? Has it been addressed from the pulpit in all Catholic churches?

I’m sure eveyone would be sorry to shake your trust in your Pastor, but loyalty to the truth always outweighs loyalty to a person.

 

[Bbigam]

Standing, and on the tongue, from the priest, with a deep bow of reverence beforehand, since I came into the Church at Easter. Standing is the norm in all of the parishes around here in the Ordinary Form, and at my parish lots of people receive on the tongue. In other parishes around here tongue may be uncommon but is not looked down on.

When I go to the Extraordinary Form, of course I kneel. I would also kneel if it was really an option (or the norm) in a Mass in the Ordinary Form, but I don’t want to slow down the line or be prideful in how I receive. I would personally be feeling both prideful and self-conscious if I received while kneeling at a place where nobody does that.

 

[MelanieAnne]

The thing, though, MelanieAnne, Choy is quite right to sound a note of caution.

She is not calling you a liar! Those of us who have been around a bit are sadly aware that not all that is said by a priest can be taken as absolute truth. They can make mistrakes, mis-hear or mis-understand just like anyone else. They can also slant things, for what they feel is a good motive, the sake of their flock.

Think about it. The vast majority of Catholics receive in the hand. Don’t you think that such an important announcement by the Pope that they were not to do so any more would have been publicised in the Catholic press at least? Has it? Wouldn’t it have been read out at all Catholic churches? Has it? Has it been addressed from the pulpit in all Catholic churches?

I’m sure eveyone would be sorry to shake your trust in your Pastor, but loyalty to the truth always outweighs loyalty to a person.

My view of the nature of what people are saying to me is just as valid as anyone else’s. Do not presume to know better than I do about what my feelings should be.

Having said that, please note that I never reported that our Pastor said that the Pope had already recommended a change. Instead, what I reported was that dealing with the problem of mishandling the host was under consideration, and one way of dealing with it would be to require receiving on the tongue. The fact that something may be under consideration would not necessarily generate the sort of widespread announcement you refer to.

If someone reading what I reported as something else perhaps it is they who are mis-construing things, not me and not my Pastor. It is clear to me at least that many have, and yet that does not give anyone the right to impugn my integrity.

As I said, at such time as I locate the bulletin that contained that message, I will copy it word for word here.

 

[paperwight]

Our Pastor recently noted in the Sunday bulletin that there had been many instances where the host that had been given in the hand were mishandled by the persons who received them ~ thrown away, dropped on the floor, etc. ~ and the problem was so extreme (worldwide) that the Holy Father was considering making receiving the host on the tongue mandatory.

So while I had originally been taught to receive in the hand, I switched at that point to on the tongue for most situations.

You are quite right, MelanieAnne. You didn’t say that your Pastor had announced that the Pope had forbidden CITH…I lazily jumped to that conclusion after reading the above, and I admit my carelessness and apologise.

But he must have given you a very definite impression that the change was more likely than not, to cause you to switch, so my point still stands to some extent - how is it that news of this serious consideration by the Pope of making COTT mandatory is not headline news, if the problem is so extreme? It would be a pretty revolutionary and controversial measure, when all’s said and done.

 

[Oneofthewomen]

Since I retain all Parish Bulletins, I will find the one where this was reported and give more facts and whatever sources are available in the letter from my Pastor.

Quite frankly, I am astounded at the reaction, not just this one, but all of them. I am basically being told either I am a liar, or my Pastor has been, at best, under suspicion, if not a liar, even in the Parish bulletin.

Had I ever expected this sort of reaction, I would have never thought to offer the information I had received. I would have just stayed silent. You can be sure that I will never offer such information again because I do not care to be called, or even thought of as, a liar, and that is exactly how far too many so-called Catholics have responded.

I trust that, after I provide the relevant sources to satisfy your curiosity about the facts here, that all of you that have been so dreadful in your disparaging of this information, will be appropriately humble. And you will not need to ask forgiveness from God.

As for me, I will never post here again. This is the most uncharitable forum I have ever visited. So much for “traditional Catholicism”. If the behavior of some members of this forum is any example, I can do without it. Shame on you.

Maybe its just me, but I would think that “Traditional Catholics” would be concerned about the handling of the Precious Body. Instead, it would appear that at least some members are all-to-eager to call a fellow Catholic a liar.

Goodbye. My one and only post after this will be to give my Pastor’s letter, in its entirety. After that, you can address your comments to him. Good luck with that.

If I could report all of you to the moderator in one click, I would. Luckily for you all, it’s not so easy.

I will pray for you and your hardness.

WHOA!! Let’s all calm down a little here!! uch: Deep breaths, everybody!

Melanie Anne, no one is calling you a liar.
I am sure that your Pastor had the best of intentions, and is only trying to get his flock
to respect and reverence the Eucharist.

Back in March,(I believe) there was a very public incident, in South America, where the wife of a politician did not consume the host, and put it in her husband’s shirt pocket. This incident caused a lot of public outcry (as it should have) and generated a lot of publicity. I believe, at the time, some Cardinals and Bishops used this one episode as a “spring-board” for promoting their own opinions and agendas as to how communion should be handled, and that in turn trickles down through the ranks.

No one here is saying that there is not a possibility of abuse, and that abuse has not happened. What some of the posters are trying to do is make sure that the "facts" are being presented. If the Holy Father were indeed thinking about revoking the indult for CITH, it would be news all over the globe, and not just in one parish in California.

On another note, I just want to say “Thanks” to all you have participated in this thread so far. I have found your comments to be thoughtful and thought provoking!
And Melanie Anne, please reconsider. I honestly believe that no one here was trying to “attack” you. As one poster stated, some in this forum are grossly mis-informed, and it is our responsibility to make sure that the truth, as seen by the Church is told, not the truth as someone else understands it.

 

[MelanieAnne]

You are quite right, MelanieAnne. You didn’t say that your Pastor had announced that the Pope had forbidden CITH…I lazily jumped to that conclusion after reading the above, and I admit my carelessness and apologise.

But he must have given you a very definite impression that the change was more likely than not, to cause you to switch, so my point still stands to some extent - how is it that news of this serious consideration by the Pope of making COTT mandatory is not headline news, if the problem is so extreme? It would be a pretty revolutionary and controversial measure, when all’s said and done.

No actually, he just said that there was a problem, and that the Pope was considering how to deal with it, and that COTT was one possibility.

The rest was my decision. The only thing that was very firmly impressed on me was that mishandling of the host was a problem.

I expect there will be a long time between now and when something is formally announced, and perhaps nothing will be. Perhaps just suggesting that there is a problem will go a long way toward remedying the situation.

 

[MelanieAnne]

WHOA!! Let’s all calm down a little here!! uch: Deep breaths, everybody!

Melanie Anne, no one is calling you a liar.
I am sure that your Pastor had the best of intentions, and is only trying to get his flock
to respect and reverence the Eucharist.

And Melanie Anne, please reconsider. I honestly believe that no one here was trying to “attack” you. As one poster stated, some in this forum are grossly mis-informed, and it is our responsibility to make sure that the truth, as seen by the Church is told, not the truth as someone else understands it.

My feelings matter too. Kindly refrain from presuming to tell me what those feelings should be.

The facts are that I made a comment about something that was in our weekly bulletin that was pertinent to this topic and my integrity was immediately questioned by a number of different posters. I called it as I saw it. If people don’t like that description, maybe they shouldn’t be so quick to malign someone.

As I said, when I locate the bulletin, I will copy what was written word for word. Then at least I will be finished with this. Suffice it to say the impression being left by “traditional Catholics” has not be a particularly positive one, at least for me.

 

[paperwight]

Yes, indeed, one can only hope and pray that the appalling instances one reads about are stopped by those around beng more diligent.
MelanieAnne, thank you so much for the kind and forgiving tone of your reply to me.
My mistake has taught me to read more carefully, that’s for sure.

 

[karoleck]

Generally THE MANNER that I receive The Host is to give Jesus a profound bow whilst standing and receive Him on my tongue.
A few months ago,the Diocese issued a directive that due to “swine” flue,everyone should receive Our Lord in the hand and no Precious Blood be distributed.I reluctantly received The Host in my hand,as for the Precious Blood,in reverence to Our Lord I never receive anyway.

IF,IF I had a choice,my desire would be at the altar rails kneeling and I do appreciate the great blessing of receiving The Precious Blood by intinction from the priest.This choice is not an option for me at present.Sure, I could knee for communion when “lining up” but I find this rather awkward and it is rather low for the priest as well.I do hope kneeling at the altar rails comes back again–so reverent!!

Having said the above–you hear of people saying–is it not so good to hold “little” Jesus in my hand! or even the priest placing Jesus on my tongue for that matter!!

The reality through the eyes of Faith is that Jesus comes to our SOULS,The Host is THE SECOND PERSON OF THE HOLY TRINITY–**all six foot of HIM!! **so it is an issue of the best reverent manner of receiving this Sacrament.I guess the best way to receive Jesus is with a pure and humble heart,a heart full of gratitude and wonder —

“LORD,I am unworthy,that You should come under my roof,say but The Word and my soul shall be healed” Jesus,Son of David,take pity on me,a sinner!!

 

[SpiritusSanctus]

I always receive COTT because the only Mass I go to is the TLM. Of course, there have been times in the past before I started going to the TLM regularly when I would receive COTT at a Novus Ordo.