Three Manners of Receiving Communion (Corpus Christi Special)

~J.M.J~

I'd sat on this one for a long time, thinking of what to write as a special on this Feast of Corpus et Sanguis Christi (The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ). It's a day late, but I finally decided to write about the manners in which Holy Communion may be received: kneeling and on the tongue, standing and on the tongue, and standing and on the hand.

Kneeling and On the Tongue

On Corpus Christi 2008, Pope Benedict XVI asked that communicants kneel while receiving the Precious Body and Blood of Christ. Ever since, he had been administering Holy Communion only to the faithful who knelt at the altar rail until he retired from the Petrine Ministry. Currently, Pope Francis administers this Sacrament only to his priests, and they all kneel when receiving the Flesh of the Lord. There is only one message from these two popes: Holy Communion is preferably received kneeling. There are two reasons: reverence and Tradition.

Imagine the scene on the last day when you meet the Lord face-to-face. Would you be standing or kneeling? Most probably, the answer would be kneeling. Why? Because you wish to show your submission to the Lord your God, your respect for the Lord your King, your love for the Lord your Saviour. If you firmly confess in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, you would behave similarly before the Blessed Sacrament - you would kneel. After all, you have admitted that you are not worthy that He should enter under your roof.

The second reason is that of Sacred Tradition. For one-and-a-half millennia, since St Gregory the Great decreed so, the entire Latin Rite has been kneeling to receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ, at least when they were not celebrating Mass. The countless saints have all humbled themselves before the Lord by kneeling to receive him. Therefore, in continuity of Tradition, Holy Communion should be received kneeling.

It has also been argued that receiving Communion standing was driven from the diocesan level towards the Holy See, which was then pressured to make the change in policy to permit, in certain dioceses, that practice.

Standing and In the Hand

For the first four centuries of the Church, Communion was received standing and in the hand. This means that three of the Four Fathers of the Latin Church, Sts Augustine, Ambrose and Jerome, received the Body and Blood of Christ in this manner. The only one who did not do so was St Gregory the Great, as he himself decreed that the Host be received on the knees. Therefore, receiving Holy Communion in this manner is more traditional than kneeling or on the tongue.

Theologically speaking, the Lord, who is present in the Blessed Sacrament, is risen. Thus, we should receive Him standing. As to why on the hand, it is because Jesus said, "Take and eat," which suggests the using of hands.

However, it may be argued that the Church continually renews herself to bring the people closer to God, thus newer teachings of kneeling should supersede the older teaching of standing. As to the argument about Jesus' words, they were probably uttered in Aramaic, then translated to Greek, and then to Latin, and then to English. Things could have been lost in the translation. St Jerome, who translated the Bible to Latin, may have been influenced to choose the word "accípite"(Latin for "take") by his current practices.

Standing and On the Tongue

What is not consecrated should not come into contact with the Precious Body. That is why the hands of a priest and vessels of the Eucharist are consecrated. Our hands commit sin, and therefore renders them impure, and should never touch the Sacred Host. 

In addition, fine crumbs of the Body of Christ will be inevitably stuck on the communicant's hands, and scattered all over the ground and trampled upon by the faithful. This is deep sacrilege to the Heavenly King. Only the priest washes his hands in holy water after administering Communion and consumes the entire mix of fine crumbs of the Precious Body, small drops of the Precious Blood, and the holy water.

However, there exists a hygiene concern as the tongue may occasionally touch the hands of the priest or extraordinary Communion minister (ECM). Also, no priest or ECM would consume the Sacred Host if it fell of a communicant's tongue and onto the floor. The communicant would have to pick it up and consume it, which would be rather foolish as they have to touch the Blessed Sacrament after all the trouble (s)he has gone through to avoid that.

Also, the Holy See prefers that Holy Communion be received on the tongue. For a diocese to receive the Eucharistic Bread on the hand, the bishops in a country have to vote and pass by a two-thirds majority that they want this practice to be enforced. After which, the findings are reported to the Holy See, and then approval may be granted at the Holy See's full discretion. That a two-thirds majority is required clearly demonstrates that the Holy See prefers that Communion be received on the tongue. It can be said that they have casted 2/3 - 1/2 = 1/6 of the votes against Communion in the hand. Watch this video for more information. It touches on the issue at 5:00. The rest of the video is informative too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap1KL2D5ae4

Conclusion

Personally, I prefer to receive Holy Communion kneeling, that is after my baptism of course. I see no difference between the Sacred Host held in the hands of a priest before me, and when I go before the Throne when I meet the Lord face-to-face. I feel that even kneeling cannot sufficiently express how much I respect and love my Lord, but that is the best I can do with my body to demonstrate my sincerity. 

If you say that you would stand before the Throne of the Lord, then I encourage you to stick to your beliefs and receive the Blessed Sacrament standing. For some local cultures, it may be more reverent to stand instead of kneel, and for others, receiving things on the hand may be very respectful.

Therefore, I offer only one piece of advice: Do whatever you feel best expresses your feelings towards the One in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.