The uncomfortable questions that deserve answers.
There is no sugar coating this topic. After all, Holy Communion and Jesus present in the most Holy Eucharist is a topic that deserves all of our attention and an honest reflection.
Let’s start with how we receive Holy Communion. What a controversial topic! You wouldn’t think so in the Catholic Church-but here we are still debating one way or the other. Let’s dive in:
First- let’s get this one out of the way. IF you receive Holy Communion on the tongue and a priest DENIES you to receive that way, you have a case to present to higher authority. Meaning, there is no, zero, zilch, dispensation that states you can not receive on the tongue. Not anywhere in Canon Law. Now if you are denied receiving on the tongue, I wouldn’t make a spectacle of it, but you do you have the right, after Mass, to approach the priest or call the diocese and voice your complaint. If that were to happen to me-it hasn’t yet- I would simply receive however I am allowed because I feel receiving the Eucharist at Mass is better than not being able to receive at all. Moving on…
We live in a world today that is full of hatred for Catholicism and our most precious Lord. Did you know there is a term “Black Mass” where Satanic groups perform a ceremony or celebration. Basically it is a mockery of the Catholic Mass. These “Black Masses” use stolen hosts from people who “pose” at Catholic Masses as a communicant receiving Holy Communion in the hand and instead of consuming the host, they put it in their pocket. THEY TAKE JESUS AND PUT HIM IN THEIR POCKET AND GO AND DEGRADE HIM AT THE BLACK MASS. Let that sink in. Could you even begin to imagine what they do with stolen hosts? How awful it must be! Receiving on the tongue ensures that this does not occur.
Pausing for a moment: How many of you do not even believe Jesus is present in the Most Holy Eucharist? I would imagine at least half of my readers-if we are having an honest reflection. Sure maybe you believe the Eucharist is a symbol of Christ, but that it is TRULY our Lord? If this is you, I strongly encourage you to begin a deep dive into furthering your spiritual reading on Catholicism. I can tell you a personal experience of receiving Holy Communion while at mass during a spiritual retreat. As I knelt down to receive the Eucharist, I was overcome with emotion. Tears begin streaming down my face and all I could think of was how unworthy I was to be able to be given the grace of consuming Jesus and having Him within me. To the point that after I make it back to my kneeler to pray after receiving, I was literally sobbing. Like big ole, can’t catch my breath sobs. I was embarrassed because I couldn’t get it together but I had no idea where this was coming from. I tried to calm myself down but as other people went to receive Communion, I just kept weeping. After Communion was completed, before the priest gave the Prayer after Communion he paused at the altar and said- not verbatim because I can’t remember exactly as it was a whirlwind: “When you receive Holy Communion, you are receiving Jesus and the emotion that is felt should be felt every time. That is how important understanding His presence in the Eucharist is and the power it has in us.” Since that moment I still get in my feelings when receiving Holy Communion. Not the sobbing feelings like I experienced, but at least a heart rate increase, unworthiness mixed with solemn emotion.
After all that being said, touching my most precious Jesus with my unconsecrated, unworthy hands is something I do not wish to do. So is it wrong to receive that way? Absolutely not! You are free to choose either to receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue. Isn’t America great? All about choices! I am merely a source of information to help you make your decision if you are discerning one way or the other.
Let’s talk about receiving Communion in the hand and Eucharistic Ministers. Some of you might be familiar with the name Maria Simma. Her amazing book “Get Us Out Of Here,” answers questions about her interactions with the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Holy Souls visit Maria and request certain things or prayers to get them out of Purgatory. Or they come to visit her telling her why they were sent to Purgatory. It is a powerful book and one that I encourage you all to read. Some souls of Purgatory tell Maria Simma that the sin for which they have to suffer the most is because they have received Communion in their hand.
The rule: When the size of the congregation or the incapacity of the bishop, priest, or deacon requires it, the celebrant may be assisted by other bishops, priests, or deacons. If such ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are not present, “the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, i.e., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose. In case of necessity, the priest may also depute suitable faithful for this single occasion (GIRM 162). In my opinion, “Extraordinary” does not refer to the difference between the faithful having to wait two minutes instead of ten to receive Communion.
Back to Maria: “One day, a woman who distributed Communion, urged other women to do the same, she passed away. Before the funeral, the coffin was open for family and friends to give the last salute. Then it was closed. However, a close relative arrived late and asked the priest to open it so that he could also say goodbye to the deceased. The priest lifted the cover of the coffin and looked inside. Several saw that the woman’s hands had turned black. This sign, for me, as for the rest, was God’s confirmation that unconsecrated hands cannot distribute Jesus during Communion.”
WOW! I think, if the Eucharistic Minister had black hands-what would mine look like if I received Communion in the hand?
Let’s see what St. Pope John Paul II says: “I cannot be in favor of the Communion in the hand and I cannot recommend it. The priest has a primordial responsibility as a ‘servant of the Holy Eucharist and of all the Holy Forms’, primordial because it is complete. Touching the Holy Creations is a privilege of the ordained ones” (Dominicae Cenae II) Ooh JP2 surely didn’t sugarcoat anything did he?
Let’s go back to Maria: She calls Communion in hand “the work of the devil.” “Many are for, due to lack of obedience to the Holy Father, lack of love for the Holy Mass, lack of love for prayer and fasting, not having read the breviary, and I repeat, for the Communion in the hand… The souls of Purgatory have told me that no Pope to this day has supported the Communion in the hand, a rite that was promoted by a group of cardinals and bishops. All the Popes knew very well that the Communion in the hand was against the veneration of the Holiest of the Holy Ones. …I know a very good woman who doubted this and simply asked Jesus himself to send her a clear signal so that she could be clarified. Jesus did it! The next time the priest came to give Communion, he put the Eucharist in the palm of her hand. As soon as he did it, the Host rose from her hand, went up and disappeared into the air. This little miracle was also seen by several witnesses…”
I guess what I am getting at is that knowing all of this information, there is a part of me that feels so strongly about not receiving Communion in the hand. We haven’t even touched base on the fact that you can leave particles of Jesus on your hand or to fall on the ground for people to step on. There is a powerful video titled “Jesus is on the floor” on YouTube if you want to expand that thought.
Finally, please don’t think I am bashing Eucharistic Ministers. I do believe there is a time and place when they are needed. For instance, if you are at a mass with 2000 people and only one priest. I can see how having someone else there to help you distribute Holy Communion would be helpful. Or when you have only one priest at your parish and you use Eucharistic Ministers to distribute Holy Communion to the sick and the homebound. Or bring Communion to the elderly in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Or to the imprisoned. I do think we need Eucharistic Ministers and their work is very special to allowing everyone access to the most precious body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The information I have presented is just the tip of a big iceberg of information regarding the matter. I encourage you to do your research, pray about your decision and ask Jesus to guide you. No matter how you receive Holy Communion, whether in the hand, or kneeling on the tongue, I ask that you keep the most reverence when doing so. Also to only receive Communion if you are in a state of grace. Meaning you have made a recent visit to the confessional. Remember, you are about to consume our Lord, Jesus Christ and He deserves all of our respect and complete attention.
Hugs and Loves,
Ali
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” John 6:51
