Why the Hands of the Communicant Should Not Extend Past the Communion Rail

[TrueLight]

Wow!

First let me apologize if I offended you. I made no contention that the practice was sinful, I merely opined I thought it was a non-issue…so your claim of scrupulosity is an non-sequitor.

And, for that, because it did bother me (and I’m probably being as thin skinned as you were), I forgive you.

I do so for two reasons:

1. the Lord teaches us that we cannot expect divine forgiveness if we do not forgive others,
2. he also mandates that things besettled between brothers before approaching the alter.

So, I both humbly apologize and forgive you ; and for the sake of your soul, hope you can do the same.

Pax

Ignore list.

 

[TrueLight]

As far as scrupulosity/devotion to the rule book goes, I’m all for trying to understand the rationale behind our practices and following those practices. Legalism/scrupulosity does not apply to your good question.

Dan

Thank you Dan, for understanding what my question was about.

 

[TrueLight]

I’ll bet it has something to do cantankerous old sacristans who got fed up with having to wash stained linens. You should hear them at my parish when the priest spills some wine on the altar.

We have the most gentle priest from India, and our 83 year old sacristan said to him, “You need to be more careful Father. You know its difficult to get that wine out of the altar cloths.” He gave her a hug and said in that Indian accent, “I will tell the Pope when I see him” and walked away with a big smile.

I’m willing to bet that the oils from people’s hands make the linens all dingy and dirty, and so the sacristans took it upon themselves to institute a new Church tradition… er… I mean discipline.

-Tim-

Maybe. Most traditions have an origin.

 

[asia53]

I wonder, if this isn’t a tradition, no rule for it, but continually done for years?

We have the most gentle priest from India, and our 83 year old sacristan said to him, “You need to be more careful Father. You know its difficult to get that wine out of the altar cloths.” He gave her a hug and said in that Indian accent, “I will tell the Pope when I see him” and walked away with a big smile.

I’m willing to bet that the oils from people’s hands make the linens all dingy and dirty, and so the sacristans took it upon themselves to institute a new Church tradition… er… I mean discipline.

God bless Father! Great comeback.

Every couple of months, I launder the linens. We have a rotating schedule with 9 of us. Wine stains, oils from people’s hands are no problem. It’s lipstick, especially red!

 

[ringil]

I’ve never heard of it. I’ve been Catholic for 66 yrs.
The Latin Mass was the only available Mass until my adulthood,
yet even back then, some folks invented ‘rules’ that had no basis in fact.

I’ve never heard of it. I rest my folded hands upon the rail as that is the natural position for them.

 

[Rich_C]

TL, I totally thought this was going to be a funny story about how you tripped a priest at Holy Communion!

Unfortunately, that’s all I have to add.

 

[asia53]

TL, your question made me so curious! I had some time on my hands this afternoon, so I did a search. I hate not knowing something.

I didn’t find a complete answer to your question. However, I think, there is enough detail to provide a starting point for your own research.

I found an older CAF thread:

It’s variously called a Communion cloth, an altar rail cloth, a houseling cloth, a manutergium, and a domenical. From what I have been able to tell, the practice of using it waned in the first half of the 20th century, and any requirement to use it was removed in 1960. Therefore celebrations in the Extraordinary Form according to the 1962 rules do not require an altar rail cloth.

Here’s a link to the thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=486684

The above quote is from Post 16. Post 17 gives a little history, and the etiquette for receiving communion at the altar rail. It will be of particular interest to you.

Thank you for asking an interesting question. I learned something new today.

 

[TrueLight]

Asia! Thank you!

Some very good info on that old thread.

So it looks like a combination of what most said on the threat about not allowing the crumbs to get on your hands, but also not extending one’s hands into the sanctuary.

I also never thought about “following” the host with one’s eyes but it makes sense.

Closing the eyes assures that you will
not be attempting to ‘follow’ the Host
into your mouth, a practice which
usually results in a lunging forward,
making the priest miss the mark (and
maybe get his fingers nipped as well.

 

[ProVobis]

It is my understanding that, by keeping the hands under the rail linen and/or under the rail top, you are reducing the chance of getting small particles of the Host on your hands. I don’t think it is a matter of your hands extending “into the Sanctuary”.

This idea has been reinforced by some comments made at our FSSP parish and on the few recent ocassions that I have attended the SSPX chapel in Portland, Oregon.

At our Diocesan TLM here near Toledo, WA we use an Altar rail linen and instruct the folks to place their hands under the cloth when recieving communion.

This isn’t strictly enforced everywhere but in many cases it’s a lot easier for the server to place the paten under the chin.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I am told that in the traditional Latin mass, when receiving communion on the tongue, our hands should not extend past the communion rail. If there is linen on the altar rail, the hands should remain low, beneath the linen. If there is no linen, one hands should not extend over the rails while folded in prayer for example.

Does anyone have a good explanation or links that explain this? Also, does anyone who was around when the TLM was the norm remember being instructed to keep their hands beneath the rails?

Thanks.

Not having your hands past the communion rail is practical. You might hit the priest and knock him down and spill the Eucharist on the floor.

 

[theyoungmonk]

Fortescue says that there should indeed be a cloth and that hands should be below it I belive, though this is from memoy as I dont have my copy to hand. IMO if you follow what Fortescue says you cant go far wrong

 

[HonoraDominum]

At my FSSP parish, there is no altar cloth, but there is an alter server who has a communion paten. I saw the most touching thing the other day at Mass. I’m guessing that there weren’t enough hosts for everyone to have a single host during communion that day, as I only got a small fragment of a host when I was served communion. But before I received, out of the corner of my eye I saw the priest stop, put his fingers on the paten, pick up what I imagine was a small crumb of host (from all the breaking) off of the paten, and put it back into the ciborium before moving on. I cannot thank the good God enough for blessing me with a holy and pious priest for my parish that shows true love and respect to our Eucharistic Lord.

Here’s some advice that is listed for how to receive communion on the tongue from my parish website: “Make sure to open your mouth wide and stick your tongue out, as it gives the Priest a better “landing pad” to place the sacred host. Close your eyes - looking at the Priest and the paten can be distracting and can cause movement that could inadvertently lead to a dropped Host. Tilt your head back, but not too far - you don’t want to force the Priest to use a “coin slot” maneuver to serve you the Blessed Host. Make sure to close your mouth as soon as the priest’s hand is away from your mouth, again, to lessen risk of a dropped Host. Walk back reverently to your pew and commune with the God which you have just received and who is present in you both spiritually and sacramentally.”