BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Catholicism Communion in hand

I was listening to Fr. Groeschel (sp?) on EWTN last night. He said he was very unhappy that Communion is distributed into the hand. He thought people were disrespectful when receiving Communion. I think that is sometimes true when young children receive but I don't think that is the norm. He also mentioned that he felt that Catholic education was severely lacking. That may be part of the problem with the disrespect issue.

What do you think about receiving Communion in your hand?

When the Catholic Church first started putting the host into paritioner's hands I thought it was sacreligious (spg) because of how I was brought up to believe that only the Priest could touch it. But after I got used to it I couldn't dream of going back for sanitary reasons. Back in the day the Priest was likely touching a lot of people's mouths and possibly transferring germs between one person to the next. That is why I won't drink wine from the same chalis (spg) as everyone else. The little swipe of the cloth in between each person's sip just isn't enough sanitation for me.

I also like to receive Communion in hand. I also drink from the cup. I feel that the alcohol cleans the cup as well as the wipe. However, if I am under the weather, I do not take from the cup.

Fr. Groeschel is probably very ultra conservative.

I agree with Angie. If I have a cold I don't drink from the cup. As far as I can see in my parish there is no disrespect, everyone seems very reverent when taking communion in the hand. I can't imagine what Fr. Groeschel is concerned about.

Deb, in some churches the custom is for the people to dip the host in the wine. This keeps the lips off the cup but can be sloppy too. Personally, I fear the sneezer sitting behind me and wanting to shake my hand at the peace greeting far more than a possible germ on the chalice.

If one truly believes in transubstantiation, the very basis of our religion... that the bread and wine are truly changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, then you need not worry about getting sick from drinking from the chalice. Furthermore, the Eucharist is suppose to be a re-enactment, so to speak, of the Last Supper at which Christ shared the bread and wine with his disciples, He passed the bread and passed the cup as opposed to "feeding" the disciples the bread....

When I was a child I always felt that if I wasn't feeling well and took Communion, I would hope that I would be cured. As you say, it is the Body and Blood of Jesus.

It is more than a reenactment of the Last Supper. We believe that the Sacrifice is actually happening again. It is much like Passover. At the supper the family says "memory" but memory in Judaism is the event actually occurring again.

It is really difficult to explain.

I much prefer to receive on the hand than the mouth. This was the tradition of the Church for the first 900 years.

As a special minister of holy communion (or what ever the current title is) I've had less problems with children than adults. Adults will approach me with their hands at waist level and their mouths partially open. Which is it? We should make a throne with our hands to receive the Lord.

The only real problem I had during my decade in a Catholic school was fighting against students writing on their hands and then wanting to receive communion. I had many parents accuse me of being a mean person because I told their children to come to church with clean hands and not put their make-up on during Mass. The problem exists less with Catholic schools than Catholic parents.

Intinction (dipping the bread in the wine) is not to be done by the communicant. It is only to be done by the Eucharistic minister (bishop, priest, or deacon).

Paula, I think most people are reverent when receiving Communion but once in awhile young people act goofy but they are young. Although they have received Communion, the light bulb is still dim. When we work in RCIA, the leader often reminds everyone that even though we may choose not to take a sip of the wine, we should still pause before the cup and reverence the cup momentarily. Many do not do that; but it is education or the lack of education.

People do the darndest things. They are sloppy dressers too but I guess we should be happy they are in church. Parents need to dress up their children at a young age when coming to church so that they know what is expected.