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The Drawbacks of Living Hand to Mouth
By Fr. Dennis | April 25, 2005
I posted a comment to Memphis seminarian Patrick Gallagher’s blog about why I usually receive communion on the tongue. I thought I’d repeat it here:
I’ll tell you why I almost always receive on the tongue, and it has nothing to do with any of the liturgical arguments. I only receive on the hand if I doubt Father’s ability to get Jesus safely onto my tongue, or if I have a cold that I’m afraid might be shared with everyone else once Father touches my tongue. Otherwise, I receive on the tongue. Here’s why:First, the universal NORM is to receive on the tongue, which is to say it is normative. In the United States we are “permitted” to receive in the hand, reception on the tongue is also permitted, AND reception on the tongue is the universal norm.
Second, have you ever received in the hand and then noticed little flecks of the host in your palm? What’s the solution? I’ve done both of these: 1) lick my right index finger, then dab it on my left palm until I’ve collected all the flecks and then place them on my tongue, or 2) lick my palm. Either one is kind of not cool from the perspective of other people watching. It’s not polite. If the Eucharist is a meal (yes, it’s a sacrifice, but it’s also a meal), then we should perhaps have some good table manners.
It occurs to me now to add that we probably don’t want to say that Jesus is finger-licking good. And that’s what it looks like to see someone trying to make sure nothing is left in their hand.
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April 25th, 2005 at 2:38 pm
Your right, that would be bad.