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Robert wrote: |
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Dear Mike,
- Do you have any idea where I can find
a document from the Vatican concerning — how to receive Holy Communion (either on
the hand or on the tongue)?
- Do you know if such a document exists?
Eucharistically yours,
Robert
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| { Where can I find a document from the Vatican on how I should receive Holy Communion? } |
Mike
replied:
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Hi Robert,
The document you are looking for
is called:
Allow me to quote from paragraph
9 to 11:
9. Eucharistic Communion. Communion
is a gift of the Lord, given to
the faithful through the minister
appointed for this purpose. It
is not permitted that the faithful
should themselves pick up the
consecrated bread and the sacred
chalice, still less that they
should hand them from one to another.
10. The faithful, whether religious
or lay, who are authorized as
extraordinary ministers of the
Eucharist can distribute Communion
only when there is no priest,
deacon or acolyte, when the priest
is impeded by illness or advanced
age, or when the number of the
faithful going to Communion is
so large as to make the celebration
of Mass excessively long. [20]
Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude
is shown by those priests who,
though present at the celebration,
refrain from distributing Communion
and leave this task to the laity.
11. The Church has always required
from the faithful respect and
reverence for the Eucharist at
the moment of receiving it.
With regard to the manner of going
to Communion, the faithful can
receive it either kneeling or
standing, in accordance with the
norms laid down by the episcopal
conference:
"When the faithful
communicate kneeling, no other
sign of reverence towards the
Blessed Sacrament is required,
since kneeling is itself a sign
of adoration. When they receive
Communion standing, it is strongly
recommended that, coming up in
procession, they should make a
sign of reverence before receiving
the Sacrament. This should be
done at the right time and place,
so that the order of people going
to and from Communion is not disrupted."
(Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instruction Eucharisticum Mysterium, no. 34. Cf. Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, nos. 244 c, 246 b, 247 b.) [21]
The Amen said by the faithful
when receiving Communion is an
act of personal faith in the presence
of Christ. |
This excellent document came out
in April of 1980.
Hope this helps,
Mike Humphrey
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Robert
replied:
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Dear Mike,
Here is something else I found that
I wanted to share with you.
Robert
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Note Number 41 in this document.
Norms
for the Distribution and Reception
of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds
in the Dioceses of the United States
of America
Distribution of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
41. Holy Communion under the form
of bread is offered to the communicant
with the words "The Body
of Christ." The communicant
may choose whether to receive
the Body of Christ in the hand
or on the tongue. When receiving
in the hand, the communicant should
be guided by the words of St.
Cyril of Jerusalem:
"When you approach, take
care not to do so with your
hand stretched out and your
fingers open or apart, but
rather place your left hand
as a throne beneath your right,
as befits one who is about
to receive the King. Then receive
him, taking care that nothing
is lost."
(Cf. General Instruction on
the Roman Missal, no. 73, and
also nos. 161; 284-287.)
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The
Reception of Holy Communion at
Mass
Note the ninth paragraph down in this document which says:
Those who receive Communion may
receive either in the hand or
on the tongue, and the decision
should be that of the individual
receiving, not of the person distributing
Communion. If Communion is received
in the hand, the hands should
first of all be clean. If one
is right handed the left hand
should rest upon the right. The
host will then be laid in the
palm of the left hand and then
taken by the right hand to the
mouth. If one is left-handed this
is reversed. It is not appropriate
to reach out with the fingers and take the host from the person
distributing.
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GIRM: Chapter IV: The Different Forms Of Celebrating Mass
An adaptation will take the place
of number 160, paragraph 2 which says:
It is not permitted for the faithful to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them on from one to another among themselves. The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling.
(Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, March 25, 2004, no. 91)
When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.
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