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expectthebest
Guest
I’ve been told both. Is there an official teaching?
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S
Sunbreak
Guest
There’s nothing wrong with chewing it. In the old days, some of us were taught not to do it which is why you have various opinions but it’s ok to chew.
C
Confiteor_Deo
Guest
When we eat something, we normally chew it, so it’s okay to chew the Host.
B
Beryllos
Guest
In John 6:54-58 (“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life…”), the verb for “eat” which appears in the Greek manuscript emphasizes chewing or gnawing.
See the footnote given in the New American Bible, Revised Edition:
BibleGateway.com: John 6:54-58
Also this clip from the Catholicism video series, by Fr. Robert Barron:
YouTube: Fr. Barron on the Mystery of Eating Jesus’ Flesh
See the footnote given in the New American Bible, Revised Edition:
BibleGateway.com: John 6:54-58
Also this clip from the Catholicism video series, by Fr. Robert Barron:
YouTube: Fr. Barron on the Mystery of Eating Jesus’ Flesh
O
otjm
Guest
I don’t know if the Church has ever had an “official” teaching. Most of us who were taught by sisters in grade school in the 50’s were taught we were never to chew the Host - not that that made much difference, because they were about paper thin and almost incapable of being chewed.
However, not every last thing the sisters taught us was a position of the Church; some of it was not much more than practice coupled with urban mythology. Which is not to say that it was “wrong”; but we as children took it as a Teaching of the Church - which it was not.
And some still adhere to what they were taught on some matters decades ago; and that is fine; I strongly suspect God really doesn’t care.
However, Christ said “Take and eat”, not “Take and dissolve and swallow”, and the feast which He was celebrating was one at which one ate. Pretty hard to segue into a different process.
B
Belshazzar
Guest
I’ve tried swallowing the whole Host or dissolving it in my mouth, and I just can’t do it. Not to sound crass, but when I’ve tried to dissolve it, the Host sticks to my palate and I spend the remainder of the Mass trying to dislodge it with my tongue. I notice lots of other non- swallowers doing the same thing after Communion.
And I seriously doubt there would be an actual rule about this. I learned early on to take what some of the nuns taught us with a grain of salt.
And I seriously doubt there would be an actual rule about this. I learned early on to take what some of the nuns taught us with a grain of salt.
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ProVobis
Guest
Whatever’s most convenient. In Biblical times people lacked good dentistry and most were probably missing teeth so whatever the Greek said, take that into consideration. Vatican II actually encouraged larger Hosts and in many cases, you almost have to chew to consume the Host. If you feel this is disrespectful, you can always try to absolve it slowly giving you more time to reflect on the Real Presence.
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tee_eff_em
Guest
You can choose to chew, or choose to not chew, but should you choose to chew you must chew the host 32 times or you may suffer Body-of-Christ-cramps…
[SIGN1]I’m Kidding[/SIGN1]
To the best of my recollection, the priest celebrant and those who present themselves for communion are to consume the host.
The Church does not micromanage beyond that.
tee
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philipl
Guest
Since every priest I have ever watch also chews, I kinda figured its ok.
M
Mintaka
Guest
The older sort of host was smaller, paler, and thinner. It was designed to dissolve easily.
The newer sort of host is usually brown, larger, and made of more coarsely ground flour. It is designed to require chewing. The idea is that this would create a “fuller sign” by being more like bread in the accidents of the Consecrated Host.
(Frankly, a wafer you have to chew is exactly as much “like” bread as a wafer you don’t have to chew. Either you know that unleavened wafers are bread, or you don’t. So the sign is equally full either way.)
It is correct to simply let the Host dissolve in your mouth, and it also is fine to chew.
The unfortunate/unhappy thing about the newer hosts is that by trying to inculcate people with the “manducare” chewing thing, the designers basically disregarded or shamed those whose piety and tender consciences were tied into not chewing Our Lord.
The newer sort of host is usually brown, larger, and made of more coarsely ground flour. It is designed to require chewing. The idea is that this would create a “fuller sign” by being more like bread in the accidents of the Consecrated Host.
(Frankly, a wafer you have to chew is exactly as much “like” bread as a wafer you don’t have to chew. Either you know that unleavened wafers are bread, or you don’t. So the sign is equally full either way.)
It is correct to simply let the Host dissolve in your mouth, and it also is fine to chew.
The unfortunate/unhappy thing about the newer hosts is that by trying to inculcate people with the “manducare” chewing thing, the designers basically disregarded or shamed those whose piety and tender consciences were tied into not chewing Our Lord.
D
Digitonomy
Guest
Really? Do tell.
The only mentions of size that I could find were in Redemptions Sacramentum, where it was stated that (1) hosts should not be too small if distributed by intinction, obviously so the cleric could avoid sticky fingers, and (2) small hosts are fine for most of the faithful receiving, even though some should receive from the fractionated host, which the writers seem to assume will be larger.
M
mommy_k
Guest
I was taught by Sisters not to chew the Host, so I don’t.
I was also taught that if I had a question regarding if it was ok to do something at mass or in life-to err on the safe side-you can’t go wrong there.
I was also taught that if I had a question regarding if it was ok to do something at mass or in life-to err on the safe side-you can’t go wrong there.
A
acadiANNA
Guest
I was taught by the nuns, like many others, at the time of my First Holy Communion, to let the Host dissolve. That is what I have done since then.
7
7_Sorrows
Guest
does anyone know when they started using the hosts?
did the first Christians use bread?
did the first Christians use bread?
P
ProVobis
Guest
Well, if you can’t trust those commercialized communion bread makers, whom can you trust?
cavanaghco.com/about.html
Excerpt:
C
Crusaderbear
Guest
I seem to remember they dissolved much more easily when I was young…I usually let it dissolve in the wine, but don’t worry if I chew it.
Of course you were taught that. Most of us over a certain age were taught that we should not chew the host. The good sisters were taught that when they grew up. One wonders how many generations were taught that by their elders? I would actually like to know.I was taught by Sisters not to chew the Host, so I don’t.
I was also taught that if I had a question regarding if it was ok to do something at mass or in life-to err on the safe side-you can’t go wrong there.
That’s why we had those paper thin white bread hosts that were capable of softening/dissolving enough to swallow, often before you walked all the way back to your pew. Some parts of the world still use those thin hosts.
But at least at most the parishes I’ve visited in the western United States they use these thick, unbleached whole wheat not-very-finely-ground hosts that are designed to be chewed.
V
Vico
Guest
Swallowed but not dissolved per The Baltimore Catechism No. 4; the commentary on item 250 has: “However, the particle that is given to the people is about the size of a twenty-five-cent piece, so that they can swallow it before it melts. In receiving Holy Communion you must never let it entirely dissolve in your mouth, for if you do not swallow it you will not receive Holy Communion at all.”
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Lormar
Guest
So was I and I don’t either.I was taught by Sisters not to chew the Host, so I don’t.
I was also taught that if I had a question regarding if it was ok to do something at mass or in life-to err on the safe side-you can’t go wrong there.
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