Is it bad to bite the Eucharist?

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cristyd

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I took communion for the first time first time since i become Catholic. I am have very much respect for the Eucharist. I felt sorry for my sins, i confessed, i did my penance, I wanted to be sure that i am in a state of grace. I was scared about how to behave, how much to open my mouth to receive it, i was scared not to drop it and everything. When i received the host i just closed my mouth fast and i did what i thought i was supposed to do. Bite it, chew it and swallowed it. I thought that once is in my mouth it doesn’t matter how you eat it.
Now my husband told me i was not supposed to bite it. That i was supposed to let it melt on my tong. Is it true? If it is true i really really didn’t know this and i feel very bad about it. I have put a lot of questions about the Eucharist but this never crossed my mind.
 
then i must be doing something wrong as well. i thought you have to eat it. the priest does say while preparing the eucharist…“take from my body and EAT it”, i see everyone else chewing too
 
cristyd said:
I took communion for the first time first time since i become Catholic. I am have very much respect for the Eucharist. I felt sorry for my sins, i confessed, i did my penance, I wanted to be sure that i am in a state of grace. I was scared about how to behave, how much to open my mouth to receive it, i was scared not to drop it and everything. When i received the host i just closed my mouth fast and i did what i thought i was supposed to do. Bite it, chew it and swallowed it. I thought that once is in my mouth it doesn’t matter how you eat it.
Now my husband told me i was not supposed to bite it. That i was supposed to let it melt on my tong. Is it true? If it is true i really really didn’t know this and i feel very bad about it. I have put a lot of questions about the Eucharist but this never crossed my mind.
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Your husband likely was taught that, just like I was, when he was preparing for First Communion as a child. That was a pious practice but is not a requirement. Feel free to chew without guilt since Jesus said, “Take and eat” and his Body is food for us.
 
Jesus,our Lords peace be with You.
First,sorry for my bad english,then,I am happy to hear that You take communion the way You do,in a state of grace and sin-free. Dear friend,it has no meaning what You do with the host. I live in Finland,wich explain my bad english,and when I went to my first communion,I am converted,the priest,who now by the way is our bishop and the first Finnish bishop in 500 year,told me to first take it in my hand,suporting my right hand with my left,and then take and eat it. You did nothing wrong if You bite it. What counts is why You take it and what it means to You.
 
In fact, Jesus Himself describes eating His body in John 6. I don’t remember which verse it is, but there is an instance where He uses a word that the evangelist gives as trogon in Greek, and this equates to something like munch or gnaw.
 
Cristyd, I can sympathize with your fears over showing proper reverence to the Lord when receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist. But as the other posters have said it is entirely acceptable to chew the Host. From what I’ve read Surritter is quite right about the Greek word used in the Gospels concerning Communion. But if you wish to do as your husband does there is nothing wrong with that either. The intentions in your heart are what Christ sees. He knows when someone is receiving Him with respect and love and when they are not. And from what you’ve said I have little doubt you were receiving the Lord most reverently.

On a related note though, I would like to ask the folks on CAF a question of a similar nature. I wasn’t sure if I should make a separate thread for this question or not, but because it is similar to Cristyd’s question I thought it would be ok to ask it here.

When going to receive Communion I find that often people seem to be in a bit of a rush. Many people in my parish do not receive under both species, but only receive the Host. This in turn makes it rather awkward when I’ve just received the Host and now have someone immediately offerring me the cup. I always receive under both species, but in the rushing that seems to take place I feel forced to either chew and swallow the Host very quickly without much thought or reverence, or to keep the Host in my mouth while receiving the Blood. I worry that this isn’t the appropriate way for me to be receiving Christ as it is rushed and awkward.

Does anyone know what is considered proper to do in this situation? Should I just consume the Host quickly and then receive the Blood? Or should I keep the host in my mouth, receive the Blood, and then complete consuming the Host as I walk back to my seat?

Again, I apologize if I should have brought this up in a different thread, but the two questions seemed related to me. :o
 
As Phemie stated in an earlier post, it was once usual that Catholics were instructed not to chew/bite the host but rather to swallow it whole (after letting it soften in the mouth if necessary).

This “teaching” (which was never more than a pious tradition) has stuck around in some places and I suspect may be making a resurgence as communion on the tongue seems to be regaining popularity. (I don’t think there’s any substantive connection between the two practices but I think they are connected in peoples’ minds.) It is often the case that we treat the pious traditions we learn as a child as if they had as much (if not more) importance than do the actual teachings of the Church. This can be true for clergy and religious as well as for the laity.

But the Church does not teach that we should not chew the host. (So you are not going to find any official teaching one way or the other.) In fact, if the host is made with whole wheat, it may be difficult to consume it without chewing. Chewing the host is just fine.
 
jtodisco said:
Does anyone know what is considered proper to do in this situation? Should I just consume the Host quickly and then receive the Blood? Or should I keep the host in my mouth, receive the Blood, and then complete consuming the Host as I walk back to my seat?
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I almost addressed this in a previous post in this thread because I think this is all related.

This is merely my opinion and I think opinion is all you are going to get. I think you can go either way (unless you are given special instructions for *your *parish.)

If you are in the process of chewing/swallowing then (in my opinion) you should finish and then receive from the Cup. Most ministers of the cup are very understanding of this. If you have not even had a chance to “process” the host then it is perfectly acceptable to take a sip from the Cup while the host is in your mouth. Of course you want to make sure the host is “secure”.
 
jtodisco said:
Cristyd, I can sympathize with your fears over showing proper reverence to the Lord when receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist. But as the other posters have said it is entirely acceptable to chew the Host. From what I’ve read Surritter is quite right about the Greek word used in the Gospels concerning Communion. But if you wish to do as your husband does there is nothing wrong with that either. The intentions in your heart are what Christ sees. He knows when someone is receiving Him with respect and love and when they are not. And from what you’ve said I have little doubt you were receiving the Lord most reverently.

On a related note though, I would like to ask the folks on CAF a question of a similar nature. I wasn’t sure if I should make a separate thread for this question or not, but because it is similar to Cristyd’s question I thought it would be ok to ask it here.

When going to receive Communion I find that often people seem to be in a bit of a rush. Many people in my parish do not receive under both species, but only receive the Host. This in turn makes it rather awkward when I’ve just received the Host and now have someone immediately offerring me the cup. I always receive under both species, but in the rushing that seems to take place I feel forced to either chew and swallow the Host very quickly without much thought or reverence, or to keep the Host in my mouth while receiving the Blood. I worry that this isn’t the appropriate way for me to be receiving Christ as it is rushed and awkward.

Does anyone know what is considered proper to do in this situation? Should I just consume the Host quickly and then receive the Blood? Or should I keep the host in my mouth, receive the Blood, and then complete consuming the Host as I walk back to my seat?

Again, I apologize if I should have brought this up in a different thread, but the two questions seemed related to me. :o
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I’m too squeamish to drink after others. However, I don’t think you have to have swollow the Host first. I would push it up to the roof of my mouth so that I’m not “chewing” or moving it around my mouth, take a sip, and then continue to allow the host to dissolve (which Is what I was taught as well. No Chewing.) I also understand that it’s “ok” to chew, but it does strike me odd (not WRONG) as well.
 
I hope you non-chewers really mean “soften” when you say “dissolve.” One thing the Church does indeed teach is that Jesus remains in the Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, exactly as long as the appearance of bread and wine remain. If you allow the host to fully dissolve, what you swallow is no longer the Body & Blood of Christ, because it no longer has the appearance of bread. You have held Jesus in your mouth for awhile, but you have not consumed the Eucharist. Of course, if you receive from the cup, you do swallow while it still retains the appearance of wine, so that ensures that you receive properly.

Betsy
 
baltobetsy said:
I hope you non-chewers really mean “soften” when you say “dissolve.” One thing the Church does indeed teach is that Jesus remains in the Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, exactly as long as the appearance of bread and wine remain. If you allow the host to fully dissolve, what you swallow is no longer the Body & Blood of Christ, because it no longer has the appearance of bread. You have held Jesus in your mouth for awhile, but you have not consumed the Eucharist. Of course, if you receive from the cup, you do swallow while it still retains the appearance of wine, so that ensures that you receive properly.

Betsy
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Yes… that’s right. I certainly wrote that wrong. I get It to the point of being soft, and then I can just swallow it.
 
faithfully said:
Yes… that’s right. I certainly wrote that wrong. I get It to the point of being soft, and then I can just swallow it.
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Yes, I do, too. When the host is large, I use my tongue to fold it smaller when it gets soft, and then it’s really easy to swallow. I had exceptional nuns, apparently. They taught us not to chew, but not to fully dissolve, either. 🙂
 
I’ve had hosts that were so thick and dry a person could wait an eternity for them to soften. Personally, I chew them a bit to make sure they go down without causing me to cough and possibly expel a fragment.
 
I chew it. Jesus said his flesh would be real food and his blood real drink. I act accordingly. Nothing wrong with the tradition of not chewing though.
 
Bite, not recommended. Chew, yes.
Remember that biting and chewing are two different things. Usually biting would involve you clenching your teeth on something that is not already in your mouth. So this means either you (via CITH) or the priest (via COTT) is still holding the Eucharist when you bite. Fragments can fall on the floor.
 
Jesus says my Body is real food, my Blood is real drink. take and eat.
If the consistency of the host requires chewing so you can swallow, chew and swallow.
 
I used to chew; now I don’t. I’d rather not worry about getting pieces of the Host lodged in my teeth – although some might say that’s a bit scrupulous. But if I do chew, I do it discreetly, so as not to draw undue attention to me eating the Host.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Bite, not recommended. Chew, yes.
Remember that biting and chewing are two different things. Usually biting would involve you clenching your teeth on something that is not already in your mouth. So this means either you (via CITH) or the priest (via COTT) is still holding the Eucharist when you bite. Fragments can fall on the floor.
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Hello, English is not my mother tong so thank you for the explanation. i thought that bite means beaking a thing that is whole in your mouth and then you chew it.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I was very sad about this, i thought that i did something disrespectful.
 
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