The three wrong ways many Catholics are receiving the Holy Eucharist

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Tis_Bearself said:
So what are you or anyone else going to do about it if they do not? I haven’t seen anyone denied Holy Communion over lack of a bow, ever. Nor have I seen the priests taking them aside and speaking to them, or making an announcement from the pulpit.

Also, I think some of the elderly people, just based on their posture and how they are moving slowly up to Communion, are physically unable to bow. They could possibly nod, but that’s about it. I would hope that physical infirmity would be an “excuse”.
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What kind of response is this???

What will I do about it? As I have already done, I recommend that all Catholics read and follow the instructions contained in the GIRM.

Obviously, if someone cannot bow, they won’t bow. The Church does not ask for the impossible.
 
Of course I don’t know the area where you visited different churches, but it’s most likely a regional custom (or lack thereof) rather than because the people are progressive. I really don’t know why no one in my area never bows and don’t remember any priest telling us to do so.
 
MtnDwellar said:
What kind of response is this???

What will I do about it? As I have already done, I recommend that all Catholics read and follow the instructions contained in the GIRM.

Obviously, if someone cannot bow, they won’t bow. The Church does not ask for the impossible.
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It’s a reasonable response. You are saying this practice is so important, yet it seems like large numbers of people are not conforming to it, at least in certain dioceses, and this is being ignored.

You also said “no excuse” at the beginning, which did not allow for the fact that quite a few older people cannot do more than a head nod.
 
I never said this practice is “so important”. All instructions in the GIRM are important. If they weren’t important they wouldn’t have been published. The Church does not speak just to hear Herself talk.

It doesn’t need to be said that if a person is unable to assume a posture or perform an action that such is not expected.
 
It’s supposed to soften and dissolve in one’s mouth, not chewed.
 
MtnDwellar said:
Bowing and responding with “Amen” are clearly covered in the GIRM.
There is no excuse, including lack of training, that can justify a Catholic not following the instruction for Mass contained in the GIRM.
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MtnDwellar said:
Obviously, if someone cannot bow, they won’t bow. The Church does not ask for the impossible.
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So maybe there is an excuse?

I’m pretty sure the average Catholic in the pews has never heard of the GIRM, let alone read it. They do what they are taught.
 
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There is nothing wrong with chewing. Jesus did say take and eat. I know when I was young chewing was discouraged. However, with some of the host that I have had it would be impossible not to. My preference is not to chew.

Chew the Eucharist or Let It Dissolve?
 
But doesn’t the Eucharist get stuck in your teeth? I find that it’s more troublesome to chew.
 
babochka said:
I’m pretty sure the average Catholic in the pews has never heard of the GIRM, let alone read it. They do what they are taught.
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I’m pretty sure you are correct. They don’t know about the GIRM. I was never told about the GIRM. I found it through studying.

Here’s the deal. Our Catholic education doesn’t end when we are 12 years old and leave private school. It doesn’t end when when RCIA is completed. It’s a life long endeavor. It doesn’t take too much individual effort to find the GIRM.

Since it’s easy to find and easy to read free of charge, I contend that there’s no excuse. Furthermore, I make the suggestion that copies be available from the parishes.
 
Me too! I never had trouble with chewing because I did as little as possible.
 
Although that’s what the sisters taught many of us in grade school, it’s not actually true.
 
hope said:
There is nothing wrong with chewing. Jesus did say take and eat. I know when I was young chewing was discouraged. However, with some of the host that I have had it would be impossible not to. My preference is not to chew.
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I always prefer the ones that need chewing. We had thick hosts at one parish that actually tasted like wheat. I have on occasion wanted to speculate if some of our hosts are actually valid matter, seeing as they appear to be composed of styrofoam rather than bread.
 
Unless you receive the Host under the species of wine, it can be very difficult to get enough saliva in your mouth to let it dissolve.

And of course it isn’t to dissolve too much.
 
I have always bowed and said Amen after the Priests words, ‘Body of Christ’. I guess it was drilled into me by the sisters before my first communion.
 
hope said:
There is nothing wrong with chewing. Jesus did say take and eat. I know when I was young chewing was discouraged. However, with some of the host that I have had it would be impossible not to. My preference is not to chew.

Chew the Eucharist or Let It Dissolve?
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Some would say chewing is more appropriate, based on the verbs used in John 6, which, more graphically than “eat”, mean “to chew” or “to gnaw”.

Om-nom-nom-nom…
 
Oh, the sisters at my Catholic elementary school definitely mentioned this.

I distinctly remember being told that the host would turn to blood in my mouth if I chewed it. I was terrified!

That was a very long time ago, though. The vernacular Mass was brand-new at the time. I’m old enough to remember, vaguely, the Latin Mass.
 
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