receiving communion on your knees

Why not print on a piece of paper, in big bold letters, the following: “IT IS NOT LICIT TO DENY HOLY COMMUNION TO ANY OF CHRIST’S FAITHFUL solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST KNEELING or standing.” Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, Chapter IV, [91]. How tough that must be though! From this perspective, the then-Cardinal Ratzinger assured that: “Communion only reaches its true depth when it is supported and surrounded by adoration” [The Spirit of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2000), p. 90]. This was the origin of the practice of ‘spiritual Communion,’ which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life. God is to be adored! P.S. Hunwicke’s blog, which, while its title suggests that the main topic is Pope Benedict’s establishment of the Ordinariate, actually spends just as much time reflecting on the work he did to create safeguards and protections for people who want to worship using the Traditional Rite. I mind my distractions and focus on my responses etc. Of course, if everyone here knelt down and stuck out their tongues, it would look equally ostentatious to stand there with your mouth shut, and your hands outstretched. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. But more important, it is a specifically irreverent conception of the Eucharist to stress its character as a meal at the cost of its unique character as a holy mystery. “In which case, why doesn’t this tedious and endless argument demand we should receive communion sitting – or lying down?”. A friend of mine said he was traveling and attended Mass where he proceeded to kneel and indicate that he wished to receive on the tongue. I have seen people kneel at our Cathedral the priest just Carey’s on as normal. Other things seem vastly more worthwhile getting all hot under the chasuble about. Though I would also suggest that there is an inevitable feedback involved as well, insofar as when churches/the Mass are set up/enacted in a way that ignores or even undermines the reality of what is going on there, this will itself contribute to a decrease in belief in the Real Presence, which will result in more churches practicing abuses, etc as well. There is nothing about this that looks back to past practice for nostalgia’s sake, but a simple desire for holy spaces to be treated as such. I walked back to my bench with downcast eyes to avoid the curious stares of all the congregation. I don’t trust Latin… Ginnyfree. When I went up to receive communion I knelt down and for a very noticeable few seconds the priest did nothing. Thanks! Is that what you think I am, Toad? Can these liberal priests who deny Communion to those who desire to kneel and receive on the tongue not see that? When it was my turn I knelt down, closed my eyes and opened my mouth, as I always did. Does He demand it, or do we assume that He will appreciate it? I remember once posting some amazing pictures from WWI on CP&S of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being celebrated in all sorts of muddy, uncomfortable sites. If they all of a sudden decided to re-instate a stricture regarding who can enter the Sacristy and the Sanctuary again, I also feel so strongly about this that it will actually take a reconsecration of them both and maybe even the Altar itself as well for all the abuse all three have witnessed to. John Zuhlsdorf on his blog: The other day I visited the chapel of an important Marian apparition. Pilgrims all follow suit. Moreover, even if they are aware of being out of line here, there are many who just don’t care, because they think the Church is wrong and they’re right. First Vatican Council, 1869–70 called by Pope Pius IX (Dogma of the Immaculate Conception) His comments, delivered during his … I sincerely feel sad you had such a hard time this holiday. Oh well. It is Scriptural too, and a very clear gesture of recognising one’s unworthiness (sinners that we are) and submission to Our Lord and King. For the Modernists within the Church of course. Q: In my parish, people normally receive Holy Communion standing, but there have been some people who knelt down before the priest when their turn came to receive. Although receiving on the hand is permitted, I am noticing that an increasing number of Catholics are receiving communion on the tongue, and I think this is a good thing for several reasons. However, just as in the case of others, whilst we cannot know the secrets of their hearts (and so cannot know the full extent of their culpability), we can make assessments about their behaviour being sinful or not; we can also help to adjust the behaviour of others, albeit in the full knowledge that our assistance therein still depends on their cooperation. Hmm. I am after all, the only person whose behavior I can adjust and adjust I must in response to all that God has done for me. But like Kathleen pointed out, actions do speak louder than words. Behind all this positional controversy is the (probably stupid) question: ” Why does God need to be adored, anyway? It might make you feel funny, you might get pointed out, the priest may say something to you. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html I will ask him for you. The tendency nowadays of course is to start with practice (usually reduced to some vague concept of ‘social justice’) and of course everything sacred eventually goes out the window, leaving the Church no more relevant than the nearest hobby club or branch of social services. That is what is forbidden, not receiving Communion in the hand.. Are you suggesting the Apostles saw no more mystical significance at the Last Supper than at breakfast that morning, Kathleen? Pope Pius XII (Dogma of the Assumption) “..It is traditional to kneel when kissing the Pope’s ring. Instead, the Church’s official answer to this question is contained in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), which contains all the norms pertinent to the celebration of Mass, including the distribution of Holy Communion. ** I would like to point out that Catholics who choose to receive Holy Communion whilst standing (or those who cannot kneel on the ground), and to receive in the hand with reverence, are not committing any Church disciplinary infraction. Irreverence and disbelief in the Real Presence of Our Lord has increased as the posture of kneeling has been lost. Ginny @ 23:30, January, 2nd – very good point about the altar rails. If the distribution of Holy Communion is thereby significantly interrupted or delayed, or if a kneeling communicant cannot seem to stand back up without stumbling into the person behind him, it may be entirely reasonable for a priest to object. All it does is mess up the communion line and causes the person behind you to trip over your feet. I’m really sorry to hear this has happened to you too; I know exactly how upset you must feel, not so much for the personal snub, but for the affront towards the King of Kings. Here are some excerpts which I think connect well with what you’ve written (and which the priest in question would do well to read! The tradition of kneeling for Communion is slowly returning, assisted in part by the reemergence of the altar rail … Though I often wonder how many, steeped in either indifferentism, or individualism take the time and effort to wade through the ENORMOUS amount of “disinformation and inherited prejudice” we are constantly bombarded with, to seek and find Truth and ‘the pearl of great price’! A celebrated saying of Saint Augustine, cited by Pope Benedict XVI in n. 66 of his Encyclical Sacramentum Caritatis, (“Sacrament of Love”), teaches: “No one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it” (Enarrationes in Psalmos 98, 9). etc. Blogging is all very well – and an important service to the Church – but until proper canonical action is taken (and that can only happen if you follow the protocols) then this will just continue. Prayer, repentance, reparation, humility – all are needed in these times as we cry out to the Lord, “Mercy!” Yes, as another Michael said at 23:20 yesterday, such priests really do need our prayers. We must learn to rough it, for Christ’s sake, and in imitation of Him. Demon – I have to say that you should not receive Communion in your hand. Katrina Fernandez (Crescat) wrote an article last March where she reports how she was: “Denied Communion on the Tongue at My Grandmother’s Funeral…”! I think you have rather missed the point here. I am after all, the only person whose behavior I can adjust and adjust I must in response to all that God has done for me. Standing doesn’t seem right to me on one hand. I cannot imagine any Anglican priest I have met refusing communion on the grounds of kneeling or standing – they can both be issues for people who are old, or disabled in some way. The argument that at a meal we should stand rather than kneel is hardly convincing. Receiving the Sacred Host on the tongue is the normative way of receiving Holy Communion in the Latin Rite. Receiving the Sacred Host on one’s knees and directly onto the tongue (from the consecrated hands of the priest) should not be restricted to a Latin or Tridentine Mass (in theory), but where, if anywhere, is one able to receive Our Blessed Lord in this humble, reverent way at a Novus Ordo Mass? However, if you were close enough to someone with a similar attitude to the Blessed Sacrament, are you seriously suggesting that you wouldn’t say anything to them about it, just because you don’t have a God-like knowledge of their intentions, etc? Posted on January 11, 2008 by canonlawmadeeasy Q: In my parish, people normally receive Holy Communion standing, but there have been some people who knelt down before the priest when their turn came to receive. Despite the chaos of the battlefield, what we see is a beautiful moment of sublimity and transcendence. Back to the bottom line – me and how I behave. It wouldn’t work as too many have stiffened their necks and deafened their ears and would rebel further should corrective measures be applied I think. They have been commemorated forever afterwards by His consecrated ministers (priests) in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Nor do I believe my unconsecrated hands should touch His Most Sacred Body, so I receive on the tongue. The intent is not for us to mindlessly perform a ritual, but to intentionally set aside time to remember what Jesus has done and why He did it … The article is not about the return of altar rails at all really – these just happened to come into the last bit of the conversation when we were calling for the need to reclaim all that is holy, reverent and sacred at Holy Mass. They are not equal. Many believe that receiving Communion in the hand is a means of making the Eucharist seem simple, yet others believe that it … Finally, the priest came over and said, “Get up son, we don’t do it that way here.” My friend said, “So, you are refusing me Communion?” The priest said, “Yes I am.” He got up, walked out and reported him to the chancery. God actually warns us about taking communion without considering what it means and why we’re doing it. Every day we hear cases of horrendous Eucharistic abuses. In this particular instance, we would not even need to admonish or counsel the priest in question – it would be a question of contacting his superiors and submitting our concerns about the way in which the Mass is conducted, etc. In my church in great billing village Northampton uk we still have the rails & the gates I kneel down on my right knee before priest then stand & recieve by tongue I would say just under half the people recieve by tongue. I dare you, the next time you're at Mass, to commit to trying to receive Holy Communion by kneeling down and on the tongue. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 2004, with then prefect Cardinal Francis Arinze, stated in Redemptionis Sacramentum that: “…it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling…”(91) and “each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue…” (92). –Martin. On one occasion I noticed that the priest stopped and spoke to one of these people before giving her Communion, but I was too far away and couldn’t hear what he said. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. girm 160-161). Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. P.P.S. letter. St. Paul uses unequivocal language in describing the nature of the Eucharist by using the language of homicidewhen he describes the sin of those who do not recognize Christ’s body in this sacrament and therefore receive him unworthily. He remained. Acknowledge Him and adore Him under the appearance of bread and wine. If I can find the video again I’ll post it here. It has always seemed to me ‘right and fitting’ to fall to my knees, to receive my Lord and Saviour. He immersed himself into Our Lord’s Passion and Death at every Mass in such a way that all who witnessed them were bowled over in wonderment. Finally, on October 7, 65 Polish doctors and professors published an open letter in a daily newspaper, in which they affirmed that the way of receiving communion standing and in the hand is more conducive to contagion than receiving it on the knees and on the tongue. That we succumb to believing the darkness is stronger is the Big Lie pedaled by the forces of that same darkness. …but if you asked each and everyone of them if they believed that Jesus Christ was present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity upon said Altars, they’d all say “Yes, of course I do,” and wonder why on earth you’d think they really didn’t believe. ], (Bossy old thing, Gin-girl is – isn’t she?. Thank you very much for your very interesting stories and for offering me your support. In a break-neck culture which places the greatest emphasis on self, receiving communion kneeling down and on the tongue is so entirely other. In the past Cathy has published articles both in scholarly journals and on various popular Catholic websites, including Real Presence Communications and Catholic Exchange. Feel free to share with me his address. The issue of kneeling to receive Holy Communion is a good example of this. ______, Yes, Dietrich von Hildebrand is truly one of the most outstanding Catholic philosophers of our times. Those priests who refuse communicants the Sacred Host, not for any dubious motive (like those cases mentioned in the above text) other than their distaste for this pious form of receiving the King of Kings, are disobeying the laws of the Church. I suppose if a person had a charism to effect the healing process for these particular types of persons, then it would happen. For many years I have been kneeling to receive Holy Communion on the tongue. May 8, 2014 #17. Pacelli and the 1917 Canon Law Code!! Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 19, 2020 / 04:00 pm MT ... Man dies on his knees in front of altar in Mexico City church . But that is all I’m responsible for. On weekday masses at my parish it would be easier to hopefully get the priest to allow us to kneel along altar rails as less people attend weekday mass at least it would be a start! Ginnyfree. ROME, February 22, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — The head of the Vatican department overseeing liturgy is summoning the Catholic faithful to return to receiving Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling. It increases reverence for the Holy Eucharist; It is less likely that a non-Catholic will receive communion in … God bless. The issue of kneeling to receive Holy Communion is a good example of this. We must start with ourselves always, of course, but we are called to tend to the needs of one another as well, and this includes helping them back on track when they have gone off the rails. There are no physical altar rails at a battlefield Mass, yet it is just as Holy and Sanctifying. I thank you for all that you have done in order to promote ways to receive Communion on your knees and on your tongue. One could almost come away with the idea nowadays that the more quirky, blasé, novel and flippant way one receives the Holy Eucharist, the better!… His explanation was only to say that “this is the way we do things here [i.e. I have met the Bishop of Granada; he confirmed one of my sons a couple of years ago. Its contents constitute the Church’s approved, official liturgical norms, which are not open to interpretation or variation. Jesus gave bread and wine to his disciples; he did not say “There it is. Despite some initial fears, I have never had a problem with this practice. I very much doubt it. 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. While the Church has allowed people to stand for the reception of Holy Communion in more recent times, the option of kneeling to receive has always remained possible. I’m a klutz so it is better if I simply bow. Does anyone know why, when putting quotations in italics, the gap between the last and penultimate paragraphs is always somewhat shortened? 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. The establishment of the Ordinariate will, I think, prove to be one of the great moves for facilitating genuine Christian reunion; and Summorum Pontificum has already helped a great many movements get off the ground, the long-term effects of which will I’m sure be felt even more keenly in years to come. It is sufficient, though I’d prefer to be kneeling for my own reasons. “Pope Pius XII (Dogma of the Assumption) “..It is traditional to kneel when kissing the Pope’s ring. I was blessed; at the same time as I began to meet and make friends with like-minded traditional Catholics, all the holy Catholic devotions that had so nourished the Church for centuries started to make a slow comeback, bringing with it a call to reclaim the Sacred in the Liturgy. I just want to add that the last paragraph in Michael’s comment at 15:57 is very important. First of all, it is important to note that liturgical laws—i.e., laws pertaining to the celebration of Mass and other liturgical actions—are for the most part not even addressed by the Code of Canon Law (c. 2). This is not the language of pure symbolism… ( Log Out /  However, he laid the groundwork; the rest is now up to us. An ongoing sorrow of course (for all of us who hold a deep love for the Holy Eucharist) is the way the Body of Christ is offended by this sort of behaviour. After the person ahead leaves the Communion line place one’s left foot slightly forward and slightly to the side. “…in the case of others, whilst we cannot know the secrets of their hearts (and so cannot know the full extent of their culpability), we can make assessments about their behaviour being sinful or not…” I truly admire you. Last Sunday, as I chanced to be paying a visit to see an old friend who lay dying in hospital, on leaving I went into an unknown nearby church for Holy Mass to offer prayers for him. And like St Padre Pio, all the many other holy priests and saints who have truly made the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the centre of their lives. Pictured above are two United States Marines receiving Holy Communion from a military chaplain on Iwo Jima in 1945. **. The most recent edition of the GIRM, with some permitted local adaptations, was approved for use here in the United States in 2003 by the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, with the authority of Pope John Paul II. When there’s a rule, though, that no priest can refuse to give Communion to someone who wishes to receive it on the tongue, while kneeling, then the priests here follow that rule. I suppose the question is – did the Apostles at the Last Supper kneel down and take bread from Christ’s hand into their mouths?

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