Communion In The Hand

[philosophette]

[quote name='Mr.CatholicCat' post='1168726' date='Jan 17 2007, 09:40 PM']
The Church most earnestly exhorts Holy Communion in the traditional manner and any person whom truly revered our Blessed Lord in love would certainly want to honor Him in such a humbling of one’s self and one’s own wishes or desires...
[/quote]

I think that we already established that the "traditional" manner (per Cyril of Jerusalem :

[center]"In approaching therefore, come not with thy wrists extended, or thy fingers spread; but make thy left hand a throne for the right, as for that which is to receive a King. And having hollowed thy palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying over it, Amen. So then after having carefully hollowed thine eyes by the touch of the Holy Body, partake of it; giving heed lest thou lose any portion thereof; for whatever thou losest, is evidently a loss to thee as it were from one of thine own members. For tell me, if any one gave thee grains of gold, wouldest thou not hold them with all carefulness, being on thy guard against losing any of them, and suffering loss? Wilt thou not then much more carefully keep watch, that not a crumb fall from thee of what is more precious than gold and precious stones?" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 23:21). [/center]

[left]Perhaps I am misinterpeting your wording here, but your last thought about "any person whom truly revered our Blessed Lord in love would...." sounds somewhat judgmental.

Like I have said, several times now, I think that whatever lends to the persons greater devotion and reverence for the Lord is what they should do. I see no problem with either in the hand or on the tongue so long as the disposition of reverence is there. Let us remember that Judas, although he touched our Lord, he also kissed him with deceit, so the mouth is no assurance of real reverence, just as the hand does not indicate a lack of reverence.

In terms of a discipline of the Church I think that communion on the tongue would probably clear up a lot of abuses, but since it is no longer the norm in most places, it would be nearly impossible to get most of the laity to willingly return to it. [/left]

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Mr.CatholicCat' post='1168726' date='Jan 17 2007, 10:40 PM']
No one has the right to hold our Blessed Lord for we all are sinners, it is only the Priest acting in the Persona of Christ that holds Him in consecrated and holy hands (for they are the hands of Christ). I would rather revere and in holy fear honor my Blessed Lord by receiving Him through the mouth remembering I am merely a child. The Church most earnestly exhorts Holy Communion in the traditional manner and any person whom truly revered our Blessed Lord in love would certainly want to honor Him in such a humbling of one’s self and one’s own wishes or desires...
[/quote]

The Church has given permission for Communion in the hand.

[N/A Gone]

That what I said

[Norseman82]

I used to receive in the hand.

But then I started to wonder "what if there were still some particles left on my hand?" and I started to lick my hands when I got back to the pew.

After that, I stopped receiving in the hand.

[Mr.Cat]

[quote][b]MEMORIALE DOMINI[/b] ([i]Instruction on the Manner of Distributing Holy Communion[/i])
From the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship
May 29, 1969

"[b]Further, the practice [u]which must be considered traditional [/b]ensures, more effectively, that holy communion is distributed with the proper respect, decorum and dignity[/u]. It removes the danger of profanation of the sacred species, in which 'in a unique way, Christ, God and man, is present whole and entire, substantially and continually.'Lastly, it ensures that diligent carefulness about the fragments of consecrated bread which the Church has always recommended: 'What you have allowed to drop, think of it as though you had lost one of your own members.'"[/quote][b]The Catholic Church rejects that Communion in the hand is traditional for it was something that ended in the early Church[/b].[quote][b]MEMORIALE DOMINI[/b] ([i]Instruction on the Manner of Distributing Holy Communion[/i])
From the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship
May 29, 1969

"[b][u]Later, with a deepening understanding of the truth of the eucharistic mystery, of its power and of the presence of Christ in it, there came a greater feeling of reverence towards this sacrament and a deeper humility was felt to be demanded when receiving it[/u][/b]. Thus the custom was established of the minister placing a particle of consecrated bread on the tongue of the communicant.

This method of distributing holy communion must be retained, taking the present situation of the Church in the entire world into account, not merely because it has many centuries of-tradition behind it, [u][b]but especially because it expresses the faithful's reverence for the Eucharist[/b][/u]. The custom does not detract in any way from the personal dignity of those who approach this great sacrament: it is part of that preparation that is needed for the most fruitful reception of the Body of the Lord."[/quote][b]The Church calls the traditional manner to express the faithful's reverence for the Eucharist[/b]. [b]Thus my statement simply reaffirms what the Church has taught and instructed in the matter, concerning "any person whom truly revered our Blessed Lord in love would...."[/b]

Permissions and rights are two different subjects all together. For the Church in the letter I posted before and in a document I posted before says that Holy Communion is a right of the faithful when being received on the tongue. Although, the Church NEVER states that Communion on the Hand is a right but rather could be retracted anytime. Therefore it is not a right to receive on the hand but rather just a permission or indult.[quote][b]Redemptionis Sacramentum [/b] ([i]On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist[/i])
From the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship

[b]92[/b]. [b][u]Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue[/b][/u], at his choice,[178] if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him or her. However, special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that no one goes away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand. If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to the faithful.
[url="http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html"]http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congrega...amentum_en.html[/url][/quote][quote][b]Letter from the Vatican - EWTN Answer[/b]
This Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has received your letter dated December 2002, related to the application of the norms approved by the Conference of Bishops of the United States of America, with the subsequent recognitio of this Congregation, as regards the question of the posture for receiving Holy Communion.

As the authority by virtue of whose recognitio the norm in question has attained the force of law, this Dicastery is competent to specify the manner in which the norm is to be understood for the sake of a proper application. Having received more than a few letters regarding this matter from different locations in the United States of America, the Congregation wishes to ensure that its position on the matter is clear.

To this end, it is perhaps useful to respond to your inquiry by repeating the content of a letter that the Congregation recently addressed to a Bishop in the United States of America from whose Diocese a number of pertinent letters had been received. The letter states: "... [b][u]while this Congregation gave the recognitio to the norm desired by the Bishops' Conference of your country that people stand for Holy Communion, this was done on the condition that communicants who choose to kneel are not to be denied Holy Communion on these grounds. Indeed, the faithful should not be imposed upon nor accused of disobedience and of acting illicitly when they kneel to receive Holy Communion."[/b][/u]

This Dicastery hopes that the citation given here will provide an adequate answer to your letter. At the same time, please be assured that the Congregation remains ready to be of assistance if you should need to contact it again.
[url="http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/kneeling_for_communion.htm"]http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/kneelin...r_communion.htm[/url][/quote]I am not one to disagree with the Church and I havent so far. Norseman82 also makes a good point about particles which is very important to this discussion.

Edited January 18, 2007 by Mr.CatholicCat

[goldenchild17]

“I have no doubt that this usage of not putting these sacraments into the hands of the faithful has bee introduced out of a double superstition; firstly, the false honour they wish to show to this sacrament, and secondly, the wicked arrogance of priests claiming greater holiness than that of the people of Christ, by virtue of the oil of consecration.”

Martin Bucer critiquing the first protestant prayer book of 1549.

It seems Mr. Bucer was familiar with the work of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Edited January 18, 2007 by goldenchild17