on the tongue or in the hand?

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I have never recieved in my hand. I always sit on the same side of the Church too, because father always takes that side. I haven’t recieved from an EMHC in quite a while now…
 
I am an extra-ordinary minister of the Eucharist, and I ALWAYS receive the Eucharist on my tongue, whether or not I’m functioning as an EEME or not.

It doesn’t matter to me who I receive the Eucharist from, Priest, Decon, or lay person; what is important is that I am receiving the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
:blessyou:
 
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baltobetsy:
It’s a symbolism thing. When an ordained person gives me the Eucharist, it is as if Jesus Himself is feeding me, because they act in persona Christi. I see receiving on the tongue as an act of humility, which I reserve for Jesus, acting through the priest or deacon. An Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is my peer, and it’s not the same thing as being fed by Jesus.

Betsy
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I second that emotion, however we rarely have EMHCs. We have 2 deacons, and it seems like a constant flow of visiting priests. I never want to risk any tiny particles in my hand that may be flicked off, so I receive on the tongue if from an EMHC, too.
 
I receive on the tongue but I have not always. I have had a change of heart toward most things “Catholic”. I am on fire for the faith now and I really don’t understand it, or know what to do with my enthusiasm. I am very troubled by the liberal attitudes (people) “poo pooing” the more conservative Catholics. I used to be a Eucharist Minister until my opinions changed. I think only the priest or deacon should administer the Host. When people receive in the hand, I believe that they have not been fully catechised into realizing or believing that that is the body of Christ. I even doubt that children being taught for thier “first communion” are even given the option to receive on the tongue. I would venture a bet that they are systematically taught to reach out and receive the Host on the hand.
 
Since being a ByzCatholic, we only recieve the body and blood of Christ on the tongue. (It would probably be sacrilege of we touched the Eucharist with the hands.
When ever I have gone to a Roman Church (which my brother is a priest) I will only recieve the precious body on the tongue.

go with God!
Edwin
 
I recieve it on the hand, but i have been wanting to recieve it on the tounge. The only thing holding me back is i don’t know how far to stick out my tounge, or how wide to open my mouth, so thats really why.
 
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larryo:
On the tongue, administered by a priest or deacon, and kneeling at a communion rail.
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I would prefer receiving the way you describe…
The last time I received that way was when I was an Episcopalian…
before I came home to Christs Church…
 
I always received on the tongue as a child, then as I got bolder I took the scarament in my hands and now as I got wiser I only take it on the tongue again.

God Bless
 
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DJJG:
It doesn’t matter to me who I receive the Eucharist from, Priest, Decon, or lay person; what is important is that I am receiving the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.
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That’s the main thing, isn’t it. But many things said in this thread are contrary to the current teaching of the church. The manner of receiving is entirely a personal preference. Neither option is more reverent, nor humble, nor wise.
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faith_ful1953us:
I think only the priest or deacon should administer the Host. When people receive in the hand, I believe that they have not been fully catechised into realizing or believing that that is the body of Christ.
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That seems like a direct challenge to the Church, and unnecessarily judgmental of others.
 
I prefer to receive on the tongue - it helps me to be more reverent and to comprehend better the great mystery of the Eucharist. However I only receive on the tongue from priests, deacons, or if a nun is an EME. I used to receive on the tongue from lay EME but it seemed to fluster them and I didn’t want to be a stumbling block to others. I found myself thinking more after receiving about how I shocked the lay EME than about what I had just received. Fortunately my current parish has a priest and deacon at every Mass and the lay EME’s only do the Blood, so I can always receive on my tongue (believe it or not, I’ve never had the Blood of Christ being that I absolutely detest red wine and would not be able to take the Blood reverently because of the taste 😦 )
 
I would prefer to receive on the tongue but most EMEs and even some priests tend to give it a bit of a throw. Because of that I usually prefer to receive in the hand.
For awhile I was concerned about receiving on the hand but then I thought, my hands are clean it’s usually my mouth that gets me in trouble. If I can’t take it in my hand I probably shouldn’t take it at all. I got over it. :yup:
 
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RomanRyan1088:
I recieve it on the hand, but i have been wanting to recieve it on the tounge. The only thing holding me back is i don’t know how far to stick out my tounge, or how wide to open my mouth, so thats really why.
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As an acolyte I would reply: Open wide and put your tongue out far!
Most people here could open wider and put their tongues out much farther. Some people just barely open their mouth and barely put their tongue out - The person administering often ends up hitting them in the teeth or lip.

If you feel uncomfortable, then think - no one’s really looking but Jesus - and the person administering, who is looking at the host and your tongue and that’s about all.
 
A very orthodox priest I know has said that “in the hand” was around much earlier in Church history than “on the tongue.”
 
I also prefer on the tongue. Half the time I’m dealing with a teething toddler and I frankly don’t think my hands are clean enough by the time communion comes…not for receiving Christ. But as many of you note, it really frustrates the EMEs and I haven’t found a nice way to get them to budge. The fact that I have a squirming boy in my arms doesn’t phase them in the slightest…they try to stare me down into putting out my hand.

As for who serves Communion, I’m not so picky. As noted, it’s about Christ, not the servant who presents Christ.
 
Catholic4aReasn said:
***I tried receiving on the tongue for awhile (which I prefer) but I’ve found that it tends to fluster the Eucharistic ministers. :hmmm: ***
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You must mean the PRIESTS?? Because the only “Eucharistic Minister” is the PRIEST! Now, if you mean the EXTRA_ORDINARY Eucharistic minister(small m), (a LAY person), then, well, tough cookies for them if it “flusters” them. I DON’T RECIEVE from any lay person in Mass, because the rules are clear, only the priests are to distribute the Body of Our Lord in Mass, UNLESS he is too old, alone(no other priests in the parish to come down to Mass to help him) or he is alone, offering Mass in a Mass with hundreds of people and maybe he is very sick and old. THEN, a lay person can help him, but if I were in that Mass, I would go ONLY on that priest’s line, even if I have to stand there 1/2 hour.
 
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Annunciata:
I too receive on the tongue…
A few years ago my husband went through a 12 week instruction period on EME’s. However, while much historical, etc. explanation of the Eucharist was given,no real instruction was given on how to specifically administer it! We asked a priest we knew to give him a private demo…when the question of giving it on the tongue came up, (most people in my former diocese receive in the hand) he told him to place it in their hand…“to bad if they don’t like it”, was the attitude… ??? Where are the Liturgical Police on this one?:tsktsk:
Annunciata:(
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Today I was talking about this with a GREAT POLISH Province Dominican Friar-Priest(very young too) in their parish here in Manhattan New York City(they are the Catholic Chaplains at Columbia University: recently they were given the parish which was formerly diocesan , THANK GOD now in the hands of these REAL Dominicans, NON-American Provinces, but POLISH, EXCELLENT!!) and I mentioned to him that canon law and liturgical law give all Catholics the right non only to receive on the tongue, but IT’S THIER choice if they receive KNEELING TOO!!!, and he agreed. It is a right!!! NO Priest can decide for the communicant how the communicant is to receive, or say no, hand only. I thank God, God has blessed me with a good friend priest who is a doctor in canon law, and works for this diocese’s tribunal(canon law judge) who has told me to please let him know if ANY priest refuses to give me communion on the tongue, because he will help me(free) to establish a canonical complaint against that priest, and he saiid if needed we will take it all the way to the VATICAN. Thank you God for this YOUNG Priest friend-canonical judge, and Holy Priest.:clapping: Priests who deny anyone Communion on the tongue or because the person kneels, is risking A LOT(NEW CHANGES IN THE VATICAN) and could be canonically punished(in Church law) or risks being SUSPENDED and loosing his canonical faculties. I am sure a personal liberal theological agenda is not worth those problems. There are Catholics that know their CANONICAL rights.
 
I’ve been Lutheran for my whole life…until this past Easter. We would always go to the communion rail, kneel, and hold out our hand to receive the body of Christ. I use my hand now just because it’s what I know. I will try receiving on the tongue…
~Weezir
 
My favorite Franciscan Theologian (my uncle) once told me that the mass is mostly the celebration of the last supper *which was a meal. *We eat with our hands and not with the server putting food into our mouths. By his logic, there is no reason not to take this spiritual nourishment into our hands and fully enter into the celebration and enjoyment of the meal (unless, of course, our hands are otherwise occuppied).

Pat
 
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patg:
My favorite Franciscan Theologian (my uncle) once told me that the mass is mostly the celebration of the last supper *which was a meal. *We eat with our hands and not with the server putting food into our mouths. By his logic, there is no reason not to take this spiritual nourishment into our hands and fully enter into the celebration and enjoyment of the meal (unless, of course, our hands are otherwise occuppied).

Pat
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If we understand the distribution of communion to be something akin to a family dinner then the social constructs of proper manners would seem to hold sway. The problem is the eucharist rite was never a non descript meal it was always a religious event.

At the least we can say on that Holy Thursday Jesus was conducting a passover event with proscribed religious codes of conduct. At the most it was the deliberate attempt of Jesus to institute the eucharist with the full knowledge that a religous code of conduct would develop. The only wrong answer in this discussion is one that claims it was simply a meal which implies that the church does not have code of conduct authority.

The church cautions against this endless cycle of profanity where by things set apart for religious reasons are declared to be unreligious by those without the authority to make such a judgement.

It is the church that permitts the recieving on the tongue or hand and not our opinion of a historical examination of first century eating habits.

God Bless
 
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