How to receive?

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Anna4 said:
Many come up and take it just because, and many don’t truly understand what it means to be the body of Christ.
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it tires me to no end to hear people judging others. Unless and until each person commenting on their fellow parishioners’ beliefs has done an actual survey, this is nothing more than repeating personal guesses.

The fact that a lot of Catholics may not know the word “transubstantiation” doe not mean they do not believe Christ is present in the Eucharist. They may not be able to explain it, but faith does not require a degree in philosophy to be faith.

Not knowing the word “transubstantiation” is a matter of catechesis, and I for one am more than willing to admit and agree that catechesis “fell into the toilet, and someone flushed” about 5 decades ago or so. People were not taught all they should have been. And I do the best I can to educate people as I have been at the matter for more than 25 years (and prior to that was teaching kids).

I also know that the parish I have been in for more than 30 years has been up there in the ranks; we have had 24/7/363 Perpetual Adoration. And the folks that have participated in that around the clock are not going into the chapel to practice Zen Meditation - they believe Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique way,

I also have done adult ed with any number of those people, and I know a goodly number of them could not pick out the correct term. That did not mean they did not believe.

If you or wonderingCathiolic have doubts, then I challenge you to start doing some adult ed with them - it can be one-on-one or a group presentation (and if you need a hint, get the DVD of Brant Pitre Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, and have a series of evenings viewing it in the parish.
 
Roman Catholic Church said we could receive in our hands when i was in 3rd grade. my first communion class was the last to receive on the tongue unless you want it that way. no harm no foul either way.
 
Relax, it wasn’t a judgement, just an observation. I was once one of those people so I know it’s true. Hope you be well.
 
otjm said:
I also have done adult ed with any number of those people, and I know a goodly number of them could not pick out the correct term. That did not mean they did not believe.
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This is very much my experience also. I’m from a large Irish Australian Catholic clan and in my faith journey, I’ve had invaluable witness from simple people who don’t know philosophy or theology in any technical sense, but have just surrendered to the Real Presence. People who’ve lived and acted as though Christ is truly present without have any formal scholarship beyond grade school catechesis. People that believe by faith are beacons for the rest of us. I’ve always been drawn to the philosophy/theology of Catholic doctrine myself and it’s also a thing that people give intellectual assent to something but it stops there. They don’t live as if its true as in with humility and non judgement and charity.

So if you find yourself sitting in Mass communion line watching or having conniptions about someone receiving unworthily or in some state of annoyance about something, I’d be questioning whether I actually really lived what I say I believe about the Eucharist. It’s the virtue fruits we produce that give us feedback about the sincerity of our faith.
 
I wish people would stop lecturing about a simple question. I asked because I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t offending God when I knew the supposed right way.
 
EOvsRC1054 said:
But, the only Church that practices recieving on the tongue AS A RULE is the Orthodox church
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Not generally. Until coronavirus spread into our country, nobody could ever receive in the hand here. Remember that Communion in the hand in the US was granted by an indult and as such is an exception, not general rule.
 
OrbisNonSufficit said:
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EOvsRC1054:
But, the only Church that practices recieving on the tongue AS A RULE is the Orthodox church
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Not generally. Until coronavirus spread into our country, nobody could ever receive in the hand here. Remember that Communion in the hand in the US was granted by an indult and as such is an exception, not general rule.
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It is a general practice over much of the world, not just the US. It is not just an indult for the US.
 
Traddy1962 said:
A Bishop is a Bishop.
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Yes, and OP’s bishop is the bishop that has authority to teach his diocese. It sounds like he is teaching that standing and in the hand are reverent. We should all respect that and OP MUST respect that.
Traddy1962 said:
That’s a dangerous game to play.
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Yes, cherry picking the teaching one wants from a solitary bishop without teaching authority over one’s own diocese is a both a game and potentially dangerous.
 
Its an exception for some parts of the world. Yet can’t be called normative if its based on exception.
 
I’m curious why you don’t ask your priest these questions?
 
There is no “right way”. There is no posture for the laity for the Our Father. If you want to hold hands with your wife, you are free to do so.
There is nothing “Protestant” about it.
 
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Irishmom2 said:
Standing is allowed and no less reverent.
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The first part is indisputable, the second defies logic.
Standing is no less reverent than dropping on ones knees? We can dispute the necessity of the act, but defying the nature of it is simply disingenuous.
 
I didn’t suggest otherwise, I did not imply that it wasn’t “ok,” but that does not mean that the two manners of receiving are EQUALLY reverent. Their reasoning may very well entail other considerations… that’s all. Love ya, Irishmom! 🙂
 
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Reverence is internal, not external. Nothing about standing or kneeling in itself gives you a true indication of a person’s internal state because the posture a person takes only reveals another emotion. A person kneeling may be expressing humility, and a person who stands may be expressing a more fraternal relationship with Who they receive. In standing, they perhaps express their brother, sister or mother relationship (Mark 3:35) with Him. Both are valid. Both are reverent. One might express humility, the other might express desire for a more fraternal relationship. Either way, both are reverent, and equally so so long as the reverence in two people are equal. They only become unequal when the internal state is unequal between two people.
 
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