“…there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table.”
This lesson is Part 2 of 2, if the introduction paragraph in Lesson Twelve (Part 1 of 2), has not been previously read, then please do so before continuing with this lesson.
This lesson deals with the posture of the communicant during the Communion Rite. There is only one Roman/Latin Mass or Rite, and it has two forms, the Ordinary (Novus Ordo) and the Extraordinary (Tridentine).
The norm for reception of Communion in the Extraordinary form is to receive our Lord on the tongue while kneeling. The preferred norm in the Ordinary form is to receive on the tongue while either standing or kneeling. When permission is given to the episcopal (bishop) conference, communicants may receive, if they choose, in the hand.
On the first day of the Second Vatican Council, then Pope John XIII spoke about there being continuity between what we do now, in the future and what has been “followed for twenty centuries”.
…the Twenty-first Ecumenical Council, which will draw upon the effective and important wealth of juridical, liturgical, apostolic, and administrative experiences, wishes to transmit the doctrine, pure and integral, without any attenuation or distortion, which throughout twenty centuries, notwithstanding difficulties and contrasts, has become the common patrimony of men. It is a patrimony not well received by all, but always a rich treasure available to men of good will. Our duty is not only to guard this precious treasure, as if we were concerned only with antiquity, but to dedicate ourselves with an earnest will and without fear to that work which our era demands of us, pursuing thus the path which the Church has followed for twenty centuries.[1]
New practices may not be introduced in the Church’s liturgy, just as new teachings may not be introduced in her doctrine. Both standing and kneeling is permissible because both have been practiced in tradition of the Roman Rite. In the same way, reception of the Eucharist on either the tongue or in the hand is permissible because both have been practiced in our 2000 year history. We have both doctrine and discipline in the Church. The Real Presence of Jesus (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) in the Eucharist is a doctrine and therefore cannot change. Reception of the Blessed Sacrament, however is a discipline and can change. The Church as the authority change disciplines, but does not have the authority to change doctrine.
There may never be a rupture, only continuity. An example of a rupture is when communicants “take” the host with their thumb in finger, picking up the Eucharist. This action of taking Jesus instead of receiving him on or with the tongue does not have precedence in the tradition of the Church.
What must we do before reception of Holy Communion? Our bodies, expressed through our gestures and postures at the Mass, speak the language of our souls. If we do something with our body, yet do not mean it in our souls, there is duplicity within us. Dichotomy should not exist between the faith we profess from our hearts and the actions we convey with our body.
When we receive Holy Communion, we can remember the importance of two “A’s”: Adoration and Amen.
First - “A” (Adoration) is expressed through the actions of our body; either in kneeling or by making a profound bow.
The document, Redemptionis Sacramentum, from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament published in 2004 gives further instruction on adoration or due reverence before reception of Holy Communion.
The faithful should receive Communion kneeling or standing, as the Conference of Bishops will have determined, with its acts having received the recognition of the Apostolic See. However, if they receive Communion standing, it is recommended that they give due reverence before the reception of the Sacrament, as set forth in the same norms.[2]
Kneeling is already considered a sign of reverence, while standing is not, therefore, if the faithful receive while standing, they should give due reverence. How do we give “due reverence”? This is typically done by a profound bow prior to receiving the Eucharist. A profound bow is a bow from the waist.
Can the Eucharist be received in the United States while kneeling? The Vatican has plainly answered this:
In distributing Holy Communion it is to be remembered that “sacred ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who seek them in a reasonable manner, are rightly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them”. Hence any baptized Catholic who is not prevented by law must be admitted to Holy Communion. Therefore, 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.[3]
If the local norm, as it is in the United States, is to stand, the faithful cannot be denied Communion if they choose to receive kneeling. The local norm is superseded by the universal norm and must receive the recognitio (recognition) of the Apostolic See.
Second - “A” (Amen) is the profession of our mouth. Both “A’s” originate from the depths of the soul, yet are expressed with the body. Note that in the Extraordinary form of the Latin Rite, the communicant does not audibly say, “Amen” because the priest says it as part of his prayer for the communicate.
How should we adore? Saint Francis gives us many great analogies about adoration. He asks, “What does the poor man do at the rich man’s door, the sick man in the presence of his physician, the thirsty man at a limpid stream? What they do, I do before the Eucharistic God. I pray. I adore. I love.”[4] We are allowed to express our adoration either by standing or by kneeling, and in this way we are expressing with our body that which the Church allows and what best manifests the adoration within our soul. When we say “Amen”, we profess our belief in Christ, truly present: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament. We also believe in the Church, which cannot be separated from Christ, because Christ and His Church are One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. We must believe what we pray and live what we believe; therefore when we say, “Amen” or “I believe,” we are called to live the Catholic Faith outwardly in our lives.