We are convinced of the great spiritual harm inflicted on the Catholic faithful by the practice of Communion received on the hand. We are asking the Holy Father to personally intervene to restore once again the normative practice of reception of Holy Communion on the tongue alone.
We beseech the Holy Father in our petition to decisively act in this way to 'confirm the brethren' in the authentic Catholic Faith and practice of the ages.
The Council of Trent solemnly teaches that 'The faithful of Christ venerates this most holy Sacrament with the worship of 'latria' which is due to the one true God'. This has since been reaffirmed by the Church on many occasions, even for example, during the implementation phase of the Second Vatican Council in 'Eucharistiae Sacramentum' 1967.
Receiving Holy Communion on the tongue emphasises humble dependence and vulnerability before God who gives himself to us in the person of his Son as spiritual food in the sacred Host. We can think perhaps of the dependence of the very elderly or small infants being fed directly into their mouths. Are we not even more dependent on God for the undeserved gift of His grace and saving presence of His Son in the holy Eucharist?
Holy Communion received in the hand can unintentionally communicate a sense that what I have lined up to receive and what has subsequently been given over into my hands is now ipso facto in my possession as mine. It is now in my control like a piece of candy or a coin or token of some kind. The authentic Catholic response on the other hand is to cry out from the heart 'Domine non sum dignus..... Lord I am not worthy....'
This blog has been established to compliment the accompanying online petition to the Holy Father. We would like to provide a resource for Catholics to share their insights and experience of Communion in the hand and on the tongue. This may help us all understand better why one practice is so often harmful to the Eucharistic faith of Catholic people while the other tends to deepen our experience of Jesus' divinity and abundant mercy towards us in the Blessed Sacrament.
This blog has been established to compliment the accompanying online petition to the Holy Father. We would like to provide a resource for Catholics to share their insights and experience of Communion in the hand and on the tongue. This may help us all understand better why one practice is so often harmful to the Eucharistic faith of Catholic people while the other tends to deepen our experience of Jesus' divinity and abundant mercy towards us in the Blessed Sacrament.
The petition should be worded carefully, to ensure a proper answer. As it is now, the Holy See can simply say that the "normative practice" of receiving Communion on the tongue has never been rescinded, and they would be right. The petition should ask, rather, that the indulgence of reception in the hand be rescinded, that a bishop or competent territorial body of bishops no longer have that option.
ReplyDeleteIt is harmful to take Holy Communion in the hand. Communion is food for the soul and it should be taken on the tongue as before Vatican II.
ReplyDelete