should we chew the Host?

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Monica4316

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Oki this has probably been discussed a million times…but…

I just found this in another thread, from the Baltimore Catechism:
Quote:
A little piece that you could scarcely see would be the body of Our Lord. 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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so what should we do? :confused:

Should we let the Host dissolve only a tiny bit in the mouth and then chew it? or what?

I’m receiving the Eucharist on the first time on Easter so I want to do it right 😉
 
You may chew or you may let it soften a bit and swallow it whole.

The reason for what the Baltimore Catechism says is that Jesus is present in the host only for as long as the appearance of bread remains. If it is completely dissolved, the appearance of bread is gone, and so is Jesus. You would have held Him in your mouth for awhile, but not actually received Holy Communion as is intended.

Congratulations and welcome home!

Betsy
 
It would be difficult to let the Host entirely disappear in your mouth without chewing/swallowing it. If you also receive from the cup, the Host will be soft enough to swallow by the time you return to your seat.
 
In the Eastern tradition, where leavened bread is used, one must chew the Body.

Some whole-wheat hosts are rather thick and require some chewing.
 
dixibehr said:
In the Eastern tradition, where leavened bread is used, one must chew the Body.

Some whole-wheat hosts are rather thick and require some chewing.
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True. And in John 6 I believe the Greek word Our Lord uses for ‘eat’ (as in ‘eat My flesh’) translates literally to ‘chew’ or ‘gnaw’. Hence, probably, the bystanders who became disgusted and thought He was referring to cannibalism.

I doubt, on the other hand, that Our good Lord is really going to deny His sacramental presence to anyone who in good faith receives the Eucharist into their bodies and hearts, just because they didn’t masticate. Sounds more than a mite nitpicky 🤷
 
Monica4316 said:
…Should we let the Host dissolve only a tiny bit in the mouth and then chew it? or what?

I’m receiving the Eucharist on the first time on Easter so I want to do it right 😉
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The words are “Take and EAT this is My Body…” They are not “Take and let dissolve on your tongue this is My Body…”

This is the thinking that Fr. Anthony from EWTN gave for he and most (all?) of the other EWTN priests chewing the host.

In the end while the BC has absolutely no authority on its own – neither way is “better” or more pious – either way would be perfectly acceptable.
 
A little munch is fine, just don’t look like a cow chewing its cud, and believe me I do see some people who look like they are doing just that.
God Bless you and Welcome.
 
after i receive the body i break it in half in my mouth and then receive the blood, and then bring the two pieces back onto my tongue and let them soften as i pray and then swallow.
 
post cited in OP is opinion, and gives no source for the claim

you should do what you must in order to safely swallow the sacred species, depending on the consistency of the host. most modern hosts used are much thicker and made of whole grain flour, than the very thin almost transparent white hosts used in my youth. it becomes necessary to chew even to be able to swallow. “Take and eat. My Body is real Food,” Christ says. simple etiquette demands with this, as with all food, your chewing and swallowing should not be so obvious as to be a distraction to others.
 
In our parish people sometimes receive large triangular sections broken from the very large Host that the priest elevates. In such cases there is no alternative as these require a significant amount of (discrete) chewing. Not a problem.
 
NOT chewing the host was a pious tradition that many of us older Latin Catholics were taught. That’s why you might see things like that in some older instructional books.

It is NOT a matter of faith and frankly doesn’t make sense with today’s “chewier” hosts that don’t dissolve very well.
 
The reason you don’t want to chew is that your teeth have crevices and can hold a lot of the host - I just break it up carefully with my teeth enough to swallow - kinda like how you eat after getting a filling from the dentist’s office - it’s not chewing in the common sense at all. This is not ‘ordinary food’ as St. Paul warns us so it shouldn’t be chewed in the same fashion as you chew a cracker.
 
you don’t want to swallow it whole and dry.
and risk seeing the lord right away… 😃
 
I think a mistaken concept of reverence is involved in not wanting to chew the host. Christ is our spiritual food, and the nature that he gave us calls on us to chew our food (we are not baleen whales :)). We are not insulting or hurting Christ when we chew, both as he made us and as he told us. We shouldn’t try to deny, for whatever noble intentions, what we are, and what he told us to do.
 
VociMike said:
I think a mistaken concept of reverence is involved in not wanting to chew the host. Christ is our spiritual food, and the nature that he gave us calls on us to chew our food (we are not baleen whales :)). We are not insulting or hurting Christ when we chew, both as he made us and as he told us. We shouldn’t try to deny, for whatever noble intentions, what we are, and what he told us to do.
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apparenty you never went to mass with a eatters club before.
after the mass we had a dinner for them… oh the horrors I have seen.
 
Monica4316 said:
Oki this has probably been discussed a million times…but…

I just found this in another thread, from the Baltimore Catechism:

so what should we do? :confused:

Should we let the Host dissolve only a tiny bit in the mouth and then chew it? or what?

I’m receiving the Eucharist on the first time on Easter so I want to do it right 😉
Click to expand...
I receive Him, and then I let Him dissolve slightly, and then I swallow. I feel chewing is improper.

However, if you’re prone to choking, I would not advise it.
 
RUINATION_IPA said:
The reason you don’t want to chew is that your teeth have crevices and can hold a lot of the host - I just break it up carefully with my teeth enough to swallow - kinda like how you eat after getting a filling from the dentist’s office - it’s not chewing in the common sense at all. This is not ‘ordinary food’ as St. Paul warns us so it shouldn’t be chewed in the same fashion as you chew a cracker.
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Did the apostles let the bread dissolve in their mouths?

If Jesus didn’t want us to chew, He would have limited the sacrifice to His blood.

Peace

Tim
 
RUINATION_IPA said:
The reason you don’t want to chew is that your teeth have crevices and can hold a lot of the host - I just break it up carefully with my teeth enough to swallow - kinda like how you eat after getting a filling from the dentist’s office - it’s not chewing in the common sense at all. This is not ‘ordinary food’ as St. Paul warns us so it shouldn’t be chewed in the same fashion as you chew a cracker.
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That’s simply not true.
 
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