How to receive?

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Traddy1962 said:
I clearly stated that the bishops are not wrong in teaching that communion in the hand and standing is permissible. I also stated that you should listen to your local ordinary, AS LONG as they don’t go off the walls in their teachings.
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I will repeat what I said: in the US, standing to receive is the norm. It is not “permissible”; it is the norm - that which the bishops have requested we do. Not suggested, not allowed, not failed to prohibit, not implied; they did not insinuate, or intimate, they made it the norm.

The issue was treated by Rome when a woman knelt to receive and was refused Communion by the priest. Rome’s response was not that “kneeling is okay”; the response was that kneeling to receive was not the subject of an ecclesiastical penalty, which is what refusing to distribute Communion is. The priest could not invoke the penalty if she refused to follow the norm.
 
Traddy1962 said:
They are not wrong, considering Communion in the hand and standing is permissible. You should listen to your local ordinary so long as they are teaching things in line with the teachings and traditions of the church. Obviously if they start going off the wall in their teachings then you are not bound to listen to them. This does not keep you from listening to other bishops though whenever they teach. If you agree with them then good, if not, oh well.
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That attitude isn’t reflected in your response to me.
Traddy1962 said:
Also, I guess the bishop of the Catholic Church, who is a very learned and educated man, who holds an authority none of us do, and who knows and promotes the teachings of the church is just to be ignored too. I suppose we should just disregard what he is teaching, since we don’t buy this explanation. I certainly wouldn’t want to listen to the man with The teaching authority and who has the church and tradition on his side.
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Please use the search function. We’ve had over four threads posted about COTT vs CITH in the past 3 days.
 
I started doing it because it felt right. I feel much more close to the lord when I do. I also feel good showing all my children the right way to do it. I just wondered about the rules, thank you everyone for informing me. God bless.
 
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I don’t think they do either. Many come up and take it just because, and many don’t truly understand what it means to be the body of Christ.
 
wonderingCatholic said:
I also feel good showing all my children the right way to do it.
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There is nothing “wrong” with receiving standing and in the hand where the Church permits us to do so.

You are showing your children your own preference. Not “the right way to do it”.

Also, if you’re implying that people who receive standing and in the hand “don’t take the Eucharist seriously”, that’s an unfair and disturbing assumption.
 
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Due to corona virus, bishops in my country forbade communion on the tongue (how I receive it, while standing), the fountains with blessed water are empty and there is not hand shaking. This is how we do it until further notice.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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wonderingCatholic:
I also feel good showing all my children the right way to do it.
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There is nothing “wrong” with receiving standing and in the hand where the Church permits us to do so.

You are showing your children your own preference. Not “the right way to do it”.
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Indeed,. And if the poster is telling their children that ‘this is the right way’, then there is the danger of the children thinking ‘everyone who does it differently is doing it wrong’, given the way children take things literally.
 
wonderingCatholic said:
I’m not sure many people take the Eucharist seriously.
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You can’t possibly read the thoughts of others.

And although you probably know some of the people in your parish personally, I’m guessing that you don’t know the majority of them. This means that you have no idea how they live their lives outside of the Mass. Many of the people in your parish are living in obedience to the Lord in all things (to the best of their ability), adoring Him and praying to Him and seeking the intercession of His Mother and the saints, studying His Word and other approved books and documents, confessing their sins regularly and receiving absolution, doing penance, serving Him in and out of their parish, obeying Him, and bringing a testimony of Jesus Christ, Lord, to all that they come into contact with.

It may well be that these Christians do not appear “to take the Eucharist seriously” during Mass, although how you judge that is beyond me. Walking too fast? Looking up instead of down? Not folding their hands? (I don’t do this, BTW, because I have some balance issues. I actually touch the wall as I process to the front because I want to stay on my feet, not fall.)

And has it occurred to you that the most pious-looking communicant may well be harboring sin and practicing a life of apostasy? Again, though, how can we possibly know that unless the person is a public figure?

I think it’s important that we look to our OWN soul, and trust that the Lord will reach out and convict those who are not properly disposed.
 
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Whether with open lips or open hands, the more important way to receive is with an open heart!
 
I wasn’t judging people from how they take the Eucharist, I didn’t know so I ASKED. I also don’t judge people, I just wasn’t sure of the correct way to do it. There is no reason for people to get offended and attack me. This was a good post for me to do because now I don’t feel bad. I’ve been carrying my one year old and kneeling. I understand that people probably aren’t focusing on me like I perceive. It just feels that way with me being the only one that does it.
 
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wonderingCatholic said:
I understand that people probably aren’t focusing on me like I perceive.
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And even if some are, that may not be a bad thing. At a church I go to occasionally, there’s a young man who always kneels to receive. I do notice - because I admire him. I wish my old knees would allow it.
 
I got the idea in my head somewhere that under the circumstances of our parish, I’m supposed to be standing, so that’s what I do. I would prefer to kneel and will consider doing that because I think it makes it easier for some of the EMHC or priests who are short to give me communion on the tongue. After all the COVID provisions are through, I might start kneeling. Not too worried about what everyone else is doing. My family recieves all sorts of ways.
 
There is no “should”. It is personal preference. The holiness is God’s presence in the host, not your personal posture. You only are called to be reverent. The church recognizes both as proper.

Whether you kneel, stand, accept communion in the hands or on the tongue has no bearing on the holiness of communion and one posture does not increase or diminish the sacrifice more than the other.

I would say from a practical standpoint, if you are the only one who kneels, you could be creating a tripping hazzard for others. In my parish, the priest has a kneeler in front of him and people can kneel or stand.

The idea behind kneeling is humility before God, which is the opposite of trying to show other people you are holier than they are.
 
Even though I am not Catholic yet, I can say that you can recieve Eucharist in whatever manner that makes you feel content. Recieving on the tongue was commonplace, especially under Vatican 1. Even in the Episcopal church, I opted for recieving on the tongue.
Even though recieving on the tongue is not held up biblically, I believe it should be open to all who want it, especially if a person feels unworthy to touch the host or if they feel they will defile it by touching it.

But, the only Church that practices recieving on the tongue AS A RULE is the Orthodox church.
 
Communion is a gift and we do not defile gifts by accepting them. Certainly our hands are cleaner than our tongues so it seems silly to think something given to us and meant to be eaten is “defiled” if we touch it.
 
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