Catholic Answer Series: Reception of Holy Communion

This week in the Catholic Answer Series we will be talking about the reception of Holy Communion. Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is one of the most amazing and spiritually uplifting experiences…and if you are of regular attendance to Mass, then you get to do it every week! By Communion is meant the actual reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Ascetic writers speak of a purely sacramental reception; that is, when the Eucharist is received by a person capable indeed of the fruits but wanting in some disposition so that the effects are not produced; of a spiritual reception, that is, by a desire accompanied with sentiments of charity; and of a sacramental and spiritual reception, that is, by those who are in a state of grace and have the necessary dispositions. For real reception of the Blessed Eucharist it is required that the sacred species be received into the stomach. For this alone is the eating referred to by our Lord (John 6:58). But, I’m not going to get into a full spiritual discussion on the merits and history of Holy Communion in the Church, but rather how we receive the Eucharist during Mass. There are two common ways of reception of the Eucharist; one is on the tongue whereby it is taken directly into the body and the other is onto the hand where the receiver then takes the Eucharist out of the hand and places it into their mouth. Most “traditionalists” as they are referred to, believe that taking Communion on the tongue is the first and only way. I am not this extreme, though I do take Communion on the tongue. But the practice of taking Communion in the hand has been around since 1973 when in the instruction Immensae Caritatis, the Church granted permission because many episcopal conferences had asked for it. Currently, the practice in the United States is that one receives either on the tongue or on the hand at the discretion of the communicant. The General Instruction on the Roman Missal states: If Communion is given only under the species of bread, the priest raises the host slightly and shows it to each, saying, Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ). The communicant replies, Amen, and receives the Sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is allowed and if the communicant so chooses, in the hand. As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes it entirely. Because of widespread attempts to prevent the lay faithful from receiving Communion on the tongue, Pope John Paul II in 1980 reaffirmed that it is the communicant’s choice whether to receive in the hand or on the tongue (DC, no. 11).

We need to receive Holy Communion with the utmost reverence because, in consuming Our Eucharistic Lord, we are joining ourselves to the most important event in human history: Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, through which we were redeemed from sin and can receive the grace to enjoy eternal salvation in heaven. To respond to our Lord’s invitation to receive Him in the Eucharist, “we must prepare ourselves for so great and holy a moment” (Catechism, no. 1385; cf. 1 Cor. 11:27-29). Further, the manner in which we receive Communion “ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our Guest” (Catechism, no. 1387). The Church has provided certain norms to help us humbly and worthily receive Our Eucharistic Lord. For example, in its 1980 document Inaestimabile Donum (ID), the Vatican Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship has decreed that the lay faithful are not to self-communicate: “Communion is a gift of the Lord, given to the faithful through the minister appointed for this purpose. It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice; still less that they should hand them from one to another” (ID, no. 9). However, in 1980 Pope John Paul II decreed that this norm does not preclude the lay faithful from receiving Communion in the hand, noting that, unfortunately, “the free choice of those who prefer to continue the practice of receiving the Eucharist on the tongue is not taken into account in those places where the distribution of Communion in the hand has been authorized” (Dominicae Cenae (DC), no. 11, 1980). The General Instruction reiterates the ban against self-communion. It also provides the posture for the reception of Holy Communion and the gesture of reverence to be given: 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. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm. 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 (no. 160).

A person may receive Communion twice in the same day, but “only during the celebration of the Eucharist in which the person participates” (Code of Canon Law, canons 917 and 921.2). Those in danger of death may receive it outside of Mass (cf. canon 918). A person should abstain from food or drink, with the exception of water and medicine, for at least one hour before receiving Holy Communion, although the elderly and the sick—and those who take care of them—are exempted (canon 919.3; cf. Catechism, no. 1387).

Finally, canons 915 and 916 deal with those Catholics who should not be admitted to Communion, or who should personally refrain from receiving: Those who are excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion (canon 915); A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or to receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of confessing; in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligations to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (canon 916).