tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4702382876668711798.post6274545374709635624..comments2023-10-21T13:33:22.177+02:00Comments on Thoughts from a Catholic Oasis: Vexed Issues 3: Communion in the HandJanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00419516065899508757noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4702382876668711798.post-75506486230794677312010-05-28T03:06:20.371+02:002010-05-28T03:06:20.371+02:00The only thing I can say is that at Mass last Sund...The only thing I can say is that at Mass last Sunday, Pentecost, the thought struck me (while the priest - the vicar general of the diocese if I'm not mistaken - was telling us that we are all going in the direction of becoming the cosmic Christ:( ...) that those apostles who were filled with the Holy Spirit were less than perfect also - one to the point of having denied all knowledge of Jesus not so long previously - and yet there was God "moving on" and letting them put their past transgressions behind them. <br /><br />There's an awful lot of healing / correcting of pridefulness to be done, but who are we to say that these erring priests/bishops won't turn around... especially if we pray. <br /><br />It's taken me an awful long time to see the error of my own ways, but my mother was praying for me all the time (the fact that she thinks I'm a fanatic now is another story!)epsilonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17785182500278281351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4702382876668711798.post-44554247112196969352010-05-28T00:32:31.939+02:002010-05-28T00:32:31.939+02:00Dear Jane,
I've just read your post about the ...Dear Jane,<br />I've just read your post about the reception of Holy Communion. I, too, saw the incident in Saint Peter's, when the young boy was stopped and told to consume the Host. You know I believe in receiving Communion on the tongue when and where possible, but I must make a few points here.<br />1. I usually receive the Host in the hand in my own parish. I do this in the way that the early Church fathers suggested: I make a throne with my hands, the right being on top of the left, receive the Host in the right hand and consume it with the left hand. I do this while standing in front of the priest and put my hands together before moving away from him - no matter how many seconds this takes. Most priests are in such a rush that they would obviously prefer it if I didn't do this - but I do.<br />2. One of our priests - the married ex-Anglican - actually told me that he doesn't like giving Communion on the tongue. Enough said about that.<br />3. When I'm at a big Papal Mass either in Saint Peter's Square or in the Basilica, I receive in the hand. The reason is because of the crowds and the pushing from all directions, plus there is no acolyte with a plate [ this to me is VERY important]. On Easter Sunday, when it had been pouring with rain, but stopped during Communion, I was in a long queue to get to the front of a section, to a priest. He turned out to be American [that's not significant, except that he was speaking English]. Most people were receiving in the hand. When he got to me he asked me if I was a Catholic. I'm afraid I was flabberghasted, as this had never happened before. He asked other people too. I suppose this is a precaution, because many people who attend Mass in the square regard what's going on as a "spectacle" and may not even know what Communion is. I noticed near me people were writing postcards and smoking during the Mass!!! <br />3. At each Extraordinary Rite Mass I attend we have prie dieus put out and kneel at these, receive on the tongue and the server holds a plate under each person's chin. This is how I like to receive Communion.<br />4. Reception in the hand can encourage serious abuses such as intinction, which may cause dropping of the Host either on to the floor or into the chalice. One person in my parish does this and our priest has not stopped her.<br />5. Jane, I agree that the Holy Father should make this the subject of his catechesis one Wednesday - close to the Feast of Corpus Christi, perhaps. But, more than that, he needs to issue some document which would be binding to the whole Church. As you so rightly said, it's a sad fact that many bishops are not interested in what our Holy Father says and they are still "cafeteria Catholics" when it comes to the Magisterium. Benedict XVI now has a chance to sort out all this laxity.<br />Keep up the good work!<br />Love, MaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com