Married couples recieving communion together

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Armor_of_Light

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Hello all you good people!

My wife noticed a married couple going up to recieve communion standing together side by side and thought it was a nice idea. I did not notice this, and have never noticed it (in my 45 catholic years). Is this permitted or is it just another ‘touchy-feely’ thing that is being overlooked these days?

Thanks in advance for your replies!👍
 
Armor_of_Light said:
Hello all you good people!

My wife noticed a married couple going up to recieve communion standing together side by side and thought it was a nice idea. I did not notice this, and have never noticed it (in my 45 catholic years). Is this permitted or is it just another ‘touchy-feely’ thing that is being overlooked these days?

Thanks in advance for your replies!👍
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I kneel almost always next to my wife when I receive communion. This is the natural. Among those who receive the communion standing couples usually stand next to each other: one of them need help to move.

Otherwise imho the public show of togetherness is Christian virtue, especially in the word of falling apart families.
 
There’s really no rule against it. If you receive kneeling via Communion Rail you kneel side by side not only with your spouse, but with other people as well. If the priest doesn’t feel its disruptive and allows it, why not? I’ve seen priests distribute to two lines side-by-side standing.
 
I use to see this alot, not very much anymore tho.
God bless

jesus g
 
I have seen it and I think it is one of the most unitive things that can be done in a marriage except the obvious. It is a great remembrance of their own wedding mass (assuming they were both Catholic at the time of their vows.) It is beautiful.
 
This is somethig that came about due to the Marriage Encounter movement. The only time that we should be receiving side by side is when we are receiving Holy Communion by way of kneeling at the communion rail. It’s an indiosyncracy when this is done while the couple is standing at the communion line. The reception of Holy Communion is an individual act; that is why we go one by one.
 
Armor_of_Light said:
Hello all you good people!

My wife noticed a married couple going up to recieve communion standing together side by side and thought it was a nice idea. I did not notice this, and have never noticed it (in my 45 catholic years). Is this permitted or is it just another ‘touchy-feely’ thing that is being overlooked these days?

Thanks in advance for your replies!👍
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Assuming you are speaking of the standard line, receiving standing, this is one of those things that probably shouldn’t be done but is most likely going to be overlooked.

IMO, this is a way of calling attention to some communicants. As post #2 indicated, it’s a “public show”. Not a bad one, mind you, but a misplaced one.

The other problem I have seen is that communicants are supposed to receive right away and the minister is supposed to make sure the host is consumed before giving Communion to the next person. I have seen couples where one receives and just stands there waiting for their partner to be Communicated. The priests just stands there waiting to make sure the host is consumed first. It’s a stand off.

It would be ok, IMO, at a Mass celebrating anniversaries or at a Marriage Encounter weekend Mass, but not at a regular parish Mass.
 
Armor_of_Light said:
Hello all you good people!

My wife noticed a married couple going up to recieve communion standing together side by side and thought it was a nice idea. I did not notice this, and have never noticed it (in my 45 catholic years). Is this permitted or is it just another ‘touchy-feely’ thing that is being overlooked these days?

Thanks in advance for your replies!👍
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BenedictGal:
This is somethig that came about due to the Marriage Encounter movement. The only time that we should be receiving side by side is when we are receiving Holy Communion by way of kneeling at the communion rail. It’s an indiosyncracy when this is done while the couple is standing at the communion line. The reception of Holy Communion is an individual act; that is why we go one by one.
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I think we should just bring back the communion rail, then there’d be no problem with doing it.
 
Since my Wife has Alzheimer’s I began to guide her up and stand next to her and making sure she received and consumed correctly before receiving myself. (I once found a half of host in her shirt pocket…and it had probably been there soe some months 😊)

From that point on I stayed close and paid particular attention. Now - when we are able to go at all, we sit in the front pew and receive there.

My point is that there may be any number of reasons for couples receiving side-by-side.

Peace
James
 
Armor_of_Light said:
Hello all you good people!

My wife noticed a married couple going up to recieve communion standing together side by side and thought it was a nice idea. I did not notice this, and have never noticed it (in my 45 catholic years). Is this permitted or is it just another ‘touchy-feely’ thing that is being overlooked these days?

Thanks in advance for your replies!👍
Click to expand...
I’ve seen this too!

There is an elderly couple at my parish who do the same thing. The wife receives communion in the hand and stands to the side until her husband receives, then they consume the Host together. I always thought it was rather touching myself, but I cannot see my husband and I doing the same thing. Being a younger couple, I don’t think we have the chutzpah to pull that off. 😛
 
The most precious thing in my life to me is my ability to receive Christ with my husband by my side. I thank God for our parish which allows us to receive at the rail, on our knees, and receive on the tongue.

For many years I dated someone who was not Catholic - he went to Mass with me, but I always went up alone to receive. I knew then that something just wasn’t right. I didn’t realize how wrong it really was until I was married to my husband and started to attend our present parish and receive next to each other.

Certainly, if we get separated it’s not the end of the world, but it does mean so much to me to be totally united with my husband in all ways.

That being said - when we go to my Dad’s parish where they all line up and receive standing, we do not disrupt the line by standing together.

~Liza
 
yes I see it all the time, with the devoted wife who guides her husband with Alzheimers to communion–and his reaction of joy when he receives is almost the only response of awareness we see in him any more

In the elderly man who guides his blind wife to communion as he has been doing for 50 years and holds her hands up properly.

in the many spouses who take their wheel chair or walker bound spouse to communion and assist them

beautiful

the day I start grousing about things like this is the day you can tell my pastor to fire me or retire me as I will have lost my focus on what is important
 
***I had never seen this done until I moved to a new city and joined my current parish. At the time, the parish was/had been run by a certain order of priests for close to 30 years. They were wonderful priests but too liberal for my tastes. Not only did I witness husband/wife receiving side by side but entire families would spread out in front of the priest, deacon or EMHC’s. This took up extra space and slowed down the receiving by others. It may be okay in smaller parishes but in one as large as mine it makes a big difference in how long Eucharist distribution takes to complete. This order is no longer in our parish and we were sent an amazing priest about 9 years ago. He’s asked over the years that people stay one behind the other in the Communion line but there are many old time parishoners that continue to spread out in front of the ministers to receive. Of course, they are not refused or told to get back in line but others get irritated when it causes a “log-jam”, so to speak. ***
I am all for bringing back the Communion rails but again, in a parish as large as mine it would take a considerable amount of time to distribute the Eucharist. So sad…😦
 
txangel said:
***I had never seen this done until I moved to a new city and joined my current parish. At the time, the parish was/had been run by a certain order of priests for close to 30 years. They were wonderful priests but too liberal for my tastes. Not only did I witness husband/wife receiving side by side but entire families would spread out in front of the priest, deacon or EMHC’s. This took up extra space and slowed down the receiving by others. It may be okay in smaller parishes but in one as large as mine it makes a big difference in how long Eucharist distribution takes to complete. This order is no longer in our parish and we were sent an amazing priest about 9 years ago. He’s asked over the years that people stay one behind the other in the Communion line but there are many old time parishoners that continue to spread out in front of the ministers to receive. Of course, they are not refused or told to get back in line but others get irritated when it causes a “log-jam”, so to speak. ***
I am all for bringing back the Communion rails but again, in a parish as large as mine it would take a considerable amount of time to distribute the Eucharist. So sad…😦
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I think when we are more focused on how long it takes to distribute than the uniting part of being in Communion with Christ, the Saints, the Angels, and each other than we have lost the point and need to reevaluate.
 
benedictgal said:
This is somethig that came about due to the Marriage Encounter movement. The only time that we should be receiving side by side is when we are receiving Holy Communion by way of kneeling at the communion rail. It’s an indiosyncracy when this is done while the couple is standing at the communion line. The reception of Holy Communion is an individual act; that is why we go one by one.
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The last sentence of the above quote from “Bendictgal” struck me. So, I re-read Pope Pius XII’s encyclical “Mystici Corporis Christi”. I encourage all to do the same. It’s readily available online - just do a Google search and type in the title of the encyclical. What a beautiful document on the Mystical Body of Christ! It is indeed an uplifting reminder of the boundless love of God for His creatures. The original posting is very united to the topic. If you go to paragraph 82: “By means of the Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ our Lord willed to give the faithful a striking manifestation of our union among ourselves and with our divine Head, wonderful as it is and beyond all praise. For in this Sacrifice the sacred minister acts as the viceregent not only of our Savior but of the whole Mystical Body and of each one of the faithful. In this act of Sacrifice through the hands of the priest, by whose word alone the Immaculate Lamb is present on the altar, the faithful themselves, united with him in prayer and desire, to offer to the Eternal Father a most acceptable victim of praise and propitiation for the needs of the whole Church. And as the Divine Redeemer, when dying on the Cross, offered Himself to the Eternal Father as Head of the whole human race, so “in this clean oblation” He offers to the heavenly Father not only Himself as Head of the Church, but in Himself His mystical members also, since He holds them all, even those who are weak and ailing, in His most love Heart.” We need to remember that we, as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, are united. When we sin it affects us all. When we display virtue it also affects us all. We can not be un-united unless we reject and choose to leave Christ’s Church. I hope that you all will take the time to read the entire encyclical. It takes some time but it is worth it. God bless you.
 
puzzleannie said:
yes I see it all the time, with the devoted wife who guides her husband with Alzheimers to communion–and his reaction of joy when he receives is almost the only response of awareness we see in him any more

In the elderly man who guides his blind wife to communion as he has been doing for 50 years and holds her hands up properly.

in the many spouses who take their wheel chair or walker bound spouse to communion and assist them

beautiful

the day I start grousing about things like this is the day you can tell my pastor to fire me or retire me as I will have lost my focus on what is important
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Thank you (and all who have responded so thoughtfully)

WE are still young-ish and in good health thank the Lord.

I do tend to get side tracked about the little things that bug me during mass. I guess short of serious litugical abuse I could mellow out a bit :rolleyes:

Puzzleannie…I’m still in awe of how long you have been part of this website, and the number of posts you have submitted. God bless you!! In one short concise sentence, you have helped me, and if all of your 47,000+ posts and replies have done that for someone…WOW.

Thanks again
 
puzzleannie said:
yes I see it all the time, with the devoted wife who guides her husband with Alzheimers to communion–and his reaction of joy when he receives is almost the only response of awareness we see in him any more

In the elderly man who guides his blind wife to communion as he has been doing for 50 years and holds her hands up properly.

in the many spouses who take their wheel chair or walker bound spouse to communion and assist them

beautiful

the day I start grousing about things like this is the day you can tell my pastor to fire me or retire me as I will have lost my focus on what is important
Click to expand...
But I don’t think this is what the OP is talking about.

We’ve had threads before where people talked about proclaiming their unity as a couple by going to receive side-by-side and consuming at the same time. That is totally putting the focus on the wrong thing during Communion. You don’t receive Communion as a couple – if ever there was a just you and Jesus moment that would be it. Yes, it’s in the midst of a communal moment but it’s still you and Jesus, one on one.
 
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