Recieving the Eucharist

[Jordan_Francis]

When I recieve the Eucharist right now I do so in the hand. I would prefer to recieve the Eucharist while kneeling but because I feel so awkward doing this (interupting the flow of the line and therefore drawing unneccessary attention to myself) I refrain from kneeling before the minister or priest.

Lately I recieve it in my hands, step to the side out of the way of everyone, kneel towards the altar and then consume the Eucharist while crossing myself. Is this an acceptable sign of reverence? Is it okay to kneel before the altar when the Eucharist is not in the Tabernacle at this point in the Mass?

Thanks.

 

[awalt]

I was always taught, why show reverence to the altar when Jesus is not there, he is in your hands? Especially at Sunday Mass, all ciboria are taken out of the altar. There is nothing there. Jesus is in your hand, show reverence to it by eating it as Jesus told us to!

 

[NPC]

I too would rather kneel to receive the Eucharist - but I generally only do so if there are altar rails, and hence it is more customary to kneel. You say you kneel towards the altar - if you mean genuflect, then as awalt says, there is no need to do so since you are holding Christ in your own hands. I don’t think we can answer your question ‘Is this an acceptable sign of reverence?’ - only you can answer that, since one may bow or genuflect a million times in a show of piety but not have the same reverence in their heart! People can only see what you show; only you and the Lord know what’s in your heart. By all means cross yourself, genuflect, kneel, bow - I do too - As long as it’s all for Christ…

 

[palmas85]

When I recieve the Eucharist right now I do so in the hand. I would prefer to recieve the Eucharist while kneeling but because I feel so awkward doing this (interupting the flow of the line and therefore drawing unneccessary attention to myself) I refrain from kneeling before the minister or priest.

Lately I recieve it in my hands, step to the side out of the way of everyone, kneel towards the altar and then consume the Eucharist while crossing myself. Is this an acceptable sign of reverence? Is it okay to kneel before the altar when the Eucharist is not in the Tabernacle at this point in the Mass?

Thanks.

I certainly understand and agree with receiving while kneeling. But it really makes no sense to me to receive standing and then kneel to consume. It just doesn’t make sense. Why? Why not just receive kneeling in the first place? Find yourself a Church that distributes in that fashion, there are many and more are picking up the practice
OR
wait until the end of the procession then go up at the end of the line and kneel. However, the Priest may or may not counsel you on this depending on his orientation. They should not refuse you Communion however.

 

[m134e5]

When I recieve the Eucharist right now I do so in the hand. I would prefer to recieve the Eucharist while kneeling but because I feel so awkward doing this (interupting the flow of the line and therefore drawing unneccessary attention to myself) I refrain from kneeling before the minister or priest.
Lately I recieve it in my hands, step to the side out of the way of everyone, kneel towards the altar and then consume the Eucharist while crossing myself. Is this an acceptable sign of reverence? Is it okay to kneel before the altar when the Eucharist is not in the Tabernacle at this point in the Mass?
Thanks.

You should genuflect before the Sacrament (which the priest is holding, distributing to the Faithful). Also, if you must recieve in the hand, please consume the host in front of the priest. Don’t feel awkward about kneeling in front of the priest- they cannot deny you communion, and it is a nice way of showing reverence towards the Sacrament.

 

[ClaireS]

If your bishop (like mine) has requested that the people receive communion standing and bow to show reverence I think that is what you should do. If this isn’t your preference but you do it out of obedience to the bishop, I think that might be more pleasing to God than any outward gesture you make. You are showing reverence by the bow and interiorly your heart is prostrate in adoration.

 

[scylla]

I agree with Claire, obey your Bishop as much as you can without disrespecting Jesus.
I know many times it is difficult to obey as it seems that constantly respect for Jesus is minimized in many ways by discouraging kneeling, reverence or belief in the Real Presence in many ways. It seems that many don’t believe in the Real Presence and do not want others to believe in the Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

But just because there are practices that are questionable here in the United States we should respect our Bishops as much as possible without denying our faith.

Pray and be patient, express your faithfulness in as many small ways and interiorly if needed. Spread faithfulness to Christ and belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Request they put the altar rails back at your parish as they never were supposed to be removed. Vatican II never said anything about that and it would be much easier as a community to recieve kneeling like that. (I am pretty sure you would get a harsh reaction but it might be good to request)

Other than than, receive respectfully, you can also receive on the tongue as it shows even more respect for Jesus, by not handling Him as common food, but receiving as a child.

God Bless
Scylla