Communion in The Hand

Various | Various

[AAABEST]

At the Last Supper when Jesus Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist, do you think he passed the loaf and cup to the apostles or did he place it on their tongue? We are going back to our roots, no?

You're kind of missing the point sister. We're not imitating Jesus or reenacting the last supper.

The concept of putting the host directly from into the mouth is giving proper respect for the treatment of His body. It's also more of a direct line.

It shows Him more reverence than putting it in a bowl and giving it to the meter maid who volunteers on Sunday, into her hands (wherever they've been) then into the hands of the person in line (wherever they've been) then finally into the mouth.

[sinkspur]

LOL!! But in his most public Masses, involving thousands of people in person and millions on television, JPII gave in the hand when he was able to those who chose it.

So?

[sinkspur]

The concept of putting the host directly from into the mouth is giving proper respect for the treatment of His body. It's also more of a direct line.

This is a contorted argument, BEST. What is a "direct line"?

It shows Him more reverence than putting it in a bowl and giving it to the meter maid who volunteers on Sunday, into her hands (wherever they've been) then into the hands of the person in line (wherever they've been) then finally into the mouth.

You are entitled to your opinion. But, last I checked, you didn't have an option at an SSPX chapel.

Latin Rite Catholics attending Novus Ordo Masses do have an option and are free to exercise it.

Your "wherever they've been" could also apply to the priest, BEST. Couldn't it?

[Polycarp IV]

So?

So, I'll bet you a few rounds of your favorite draft that within two generations Communion in the hands will quietly end. Of course, we'll have to collect in that Happy Hour in the sky...

[Polycarp IV]

Communion-in-the-Hand: An Historical View
from the May-June 1996 issue

If you are among the many who have wondered over the past decade just how the practice of communion-in-the-hand originated and for what reasons, the following provides a concise history as well as a brief look into what has resulted from the institution of this curious practice.

The History
The practice of communion-in-the-hand was "first introduced in Belgium by Cardinal Suenans, in flagrant disobedience to the rubrics given by the Holy See. Not wishing to publicly reprove a brother bishop, Paul VI decided to lift the ban prohibiting Holy Communion in the hand, leaving the decision to individual bishops" (Von Hildebrand, The Latin Mass Society, Nov 1995).

In 1969, Pope Paul VI polled the bishops of the world on the question of communion-in-the-hand and subsequently proclaimed that, while there was no consensus for the practice worldwide, in those areas where a different practice prevails it may be introduced by a two-thirds vote of the bishops (of each conference).

In 1976 Call to Action, an influential group of Catholic dissenters (recently condemned in Nebraska by Bishop Bruskewitz), added to their agenda the promotion of communion-in-the-hand. Other publicly-dissenting Catholic groups, already holding wildly disobedient do-it-yourself liturgies, also actively promoted it. Outside these circles of dissent, however, the practice of receiving the Blessed Sacrament in one's hand was rare. In truth, only a handful of self-styled "progressive" parishes had disobediently introduced the practice and the only demand for it came from dissenting clergymen and chancery apparatchiks.

Despite the fact that communion-in-the-hand could hardly be considered a prevailing practice in the United States, the Archbishop of Cincinnati, Joseph Bernardin (now cardinal archbishop of Chicago), then president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), initiated two unsuccessful attempts to introduce the practice in 1975 and 1976, stating that communion-in-the-hand had become universally popular as a natural expression of the pious sentiments of the faithful.

In the Spring of 1977 at Archbishop Bernardin's last meeting as president of the NCCB and with San Francisco's Archbishop Quinn acting as the chief designated lobbyist for communion-in-the-hand, the bishops' vote again fell short of the necessary two-thirds majority. Nevertheless, for the first time ever, bishops in absentia were polled by mail after the conference meeting; subsequently the necessary votes materialized and the measure was declared passed. Soon thereafter the practice of communion-in-the-hand spread rapidly throughout the country, and in a few years the new practice became normative amongst American parishes.

The Results

Frequently it is said that those who place any importance on how the Blessed Sacrament is received are no better than the biblical Pharisees who focused upon the externals of faith rather than the internals. For the Pharisees the external replaced the internal, but it does not follow that the lack of external reverence today can be divorced from the internal disposition of the faithful.

The consequences of introducing this practice are far-reaching, and one need only look to the parish Mass for proof. Not the least of these consequences is the common lack of respect shown for the Blessed Sacrament. Only with the belief that the Holy Eucharist is not supernatural, can this practice of communion-in-the-hand not matter. Since it is truly the most extraordinary substance on earth, surely our comportment should reflect that? Surely our faith in the Holy Eucharist, which deserves our greatest reverence, should reflect into our actions in actually receiving the sacrament?

Alas, it is not so! Communion-in-the-hand weakens faith in the Real Presence. The consequences are profound. May we make up in our love of the Eucharist for all the outrages and indifference which now surround Our Lord’s magnificent gift to us.

[ home | respond to this article | subscribe ] ]

[sinkspur]

So, I'll bet you a few rounds of your favorite draft that within two generations Communion in the hands will quietly end.

I'd take the bet, since Communion in the Hand just got reinforced in the most recent GIRM. No qualifications, it is recognized as one of two ways to receive the Eucharist.

Your wishful thinking in this regard joins the raddie-trads who somehow think that the Novus Ordo will be suppressed and replaced with the Tridentine in a couple of generations as well.

This, when not a single cardinal in the current college is what one would call a "traditionalist."

[Polycarp IV]

Your wishful thinking in this regard joins the raddie-trads who somehow think that the Novus Ordo will be suppressed and replaced with the Tridentine in a couple of generations as well.

Yep, and though I don't think the Novus Ordo will be "suppressed" I do believe it will die the quiet natural death it deserves.

[Polycarp IV]

not a single cardinal in the current college is what one would call a "traditionalist."

A lot can happen in just two generations, sink...look what happened over the last two.

[sinkspur]

Brian, arguing over what may happen is pointless. If you want to undertake a mission to discourage reception in the hand, knock yourself out.

Catechesis in the Eucharist would seem to be more helpful, IMO, and not the externality of how one receives.

[Polycarp IV]

Your wishful thinking in this regard joins the raddie-trads who somehow think that the Novus Ordo will be suppressed and replaced with the Tridentine in a couple of generations as well.

If the Tridentine Mass could be suppressed in under ten years, why couldn't the novus Ordo be abandoned quietly over two generations?

Seems the impossible (killing the Mass of All Times) became possible, so there's no reason the opposite can't happen.

[Polycarp IV]

If you want to undertake a mission to discourage reception in the hand, knock yourself out.

Catechesis in the Eucharist would seem to be more helpful

The two go hand in hand, so to speak.

[sinkspur]

You can have the last word.

[Polycarp IV]

God Bless, Sink.

[AAABEST]

This is a contorted argument, BEST. What is a "direct line"?

A direct line would be from he who consecrated it to the tongue. Less of a direct line but acceptable one if unavoidable would be a deacon.

Since it seemingly doesn't matter to you how it eventually gets to the offerees tongue I would presume you wouldn't mind an usher going to the end of each pew, counting out as many hosts are there are seated and saying " here, pass these down, will ya".

Your "wherever they've been" could also apply to the priest, BEST. Couldn't it?

I'm not sure if the New Order masses you attend do this anymore, but our priests wash their fingers right there at the altar before distributing the host.

[AAABEST]

Seems the impossible (killing the Mass of All Times) became possible, so there's no reason the opposite can't happen.

You can have the last word.

Wait a minute, that's a good point... I don't want him to have the last word, because I'm curious also.

Would you be able to serve at a Tridentine mass? If so what do you have against doing so? Also when was the last time you've been to one?

Just asking.

[sinkspur]

Since it seemingly doesn't matter to you how it eventually gets to the offerees tongue....

Putting words in people's mouths is a specialty of yours, BEST. That, and strawman arguments.

I'm not sure if the New Order masses you attend do this anymore, but our priests wash their fingers right there at the altar before distributing the host.

With soap? Pouring water over somebody's fingers is, frankly, a waste of time, hygenically.

[sinkspur]

Would you be able to serve at a Tridentine mass?

If my bishop told me to, yes.

If so what do you have against doing so?

I prefer the Novus Ordo. I don't miss the Tridentine Mass one little bit.

Also when was the last time you've been to one?

A full Latin Tridentine Mass? Forty years.

[AAABEST]

40 years?! lol.

Well geesh, you must ay least try one some time. I promise you won't spontaniously combust or anything.

OK so you would be allowed to serve at a Tridentine, would you be able to, or would you have to study up in order to do so.

IOW, have you ever learned what is going on when and why? The different language responses and protocols?

I'm not being a jerk or anything. I'm honestly a curious Catholic and asking you as a deacon.

[sinkspur]

OK so you would be allowed to serve at a Tridentine, would you be able to, or would you have to study up in order to do so.

Well, I'd have to read up on the rubrics and what to do when. Deacons in the Tridentine Mass mostly stand on the step down from the priest and turn the page in the Missal.

IOW, have you ever learned what is going on when and why? The different language responses and protocols?

I learned the responses as an altar boy. I haven't gone back and looked at any of that since 1965, when we began the "dialogue Mass" and started inserting certain parts of the vernacular into the Tridentine Mass.

[drstevej]

Gotta make sure those hands are clean!