The
proper attitude for receiving Holy Communion is
kneeling and
on the tongue
Updated - Ranjith denies!
Vatican to Outlaw
Communion in the Hand?
By John Vennari
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The
proper attitude for receiving Holy Communion is |
A
controversy has arisen even since I first posted this story this morning (Feb.
25).
The Turin-based La Stampa reported
that the
Two points
mentioned by La Stampa were norms that Sunday sermons should be no more
than 10-minutes in length, and a ruling that outlaws Communion in the hand.
But
according to Father John Zulhsdorf's webpage "What Does the Prayer Really
Say", Archbishop Ranjeith denies the story, saying there will be no new pronouncements on the matter of the celebration of the Mass
Fr. Zuldsdorf quotes Vatican Radio:
"The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Abp. Malcolm Ranjith, has denied today what is contained in an article published with today’s date on the daily La Stampa.
" The article mentions a supposed 'turning point in the Vatican
against – it is written – the ‘extravagances’ in Mass and to review
some recent practices such as communion in the hand."
"Abp. Ranjith notices that there is in the article a collage
of sentences pronounced by him in different contexts which have given
rise to out-of-place construction."
The distribution of Communion on the
hand has been widespread since Vatican II. The practice came about by
ecumenically-minded priests distributing Communion according to the Protestant
method.
Yet Protestants introduced Communion
in the hand in the 16th Century to manifest their rejection of
belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; to emphasize the fact
that the bread used in their services is simply ordinary bread that can be
handled by anyone; and to manifest their rejection of the sacramental priesthood.
Recently, Archbishop Ranjith wrote
an Introduction to a book entitled Dominus Est in which the author,
Bishop Athanasius Schneider, analyses the question of kneeling and receiving Communion
on the tongue.
Archbishop Ranjith opens his
introduction noting that all throughout Scripture, both in the Old Testament
and the New, kneeling is the proper attitude of those in the presence of
Divinity. He gives examples of Solomon, St. Peter and
Ranjith then makes the direct
application: “Even in the Church, the deep conviction that in the Eucharistic
species the Lord is truly and really present, along with the growing practice
of preserving the Holy Sacrament in tabernacles, contributed to practice of
kneeling in an attitude of humble adoration of the Lord in the Eucharist.”
He then addresses the modern abuse
of Communion in the hand. He writes, “…speaking of Communion in the hand, it
must be recognized that the practice was improperly and quickly introduced in
some quarters of the Church shortly after the Council, changing the age-old
practice and becoming regular practice for the whole Church.”
“Whatever the reasons for this
practice,” he says, “we cannot ignore what is happening worldwide where this
practice has been implemented. This gesture has contributed to a gradual
weakening of the attitude of reverence towards the sacred Eucharistic species
whereas the previous practice had better safeguarded that sense of reverence.
There instead arose an alarming lack of recollection and a general spirit of
carelessness. We see communicants who often return to their seats as if nothing
extraordinary has happened... In many cases, one cannot discern that sense of
seriousness and inner silence that must signal the presence of God in the
soul.”
Archbsiop Ranjith commends Bishop
Schneider for focusing on a historical-theological consideration “clarifying
how the practice of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling has
been accepted and practiced in the Church for a long period of time.”
Ranjith concludes:
“Now I think it is high time to review and re-evaluate
such good practices and, if necessary, to abandon the current practice [of Communion
in the hand] that was not called for by Sacrosanctum
Concilium, nor by Fathers [of Vatican II], but was only accepted after its
illegitimate introduction in some countries. Now, more than ever, we must help
the faithful to renew a deep faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the
Eucharistic species in order to strengthen the life of the Church and defend it
in the midst of dangerous distortions of the faith that this situation
continues to cause.”
Whatever
the truth of the matter regarding any possible upcoming Vatican instruction,
we should continue to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the
elimination of this abuse.
Let us further pray that the Vatican
soon eliminate the most widespread abuse of all – the Novus Ordo Mass itself;
an ecumenical liturgy written with the help of six Protestant ministers that
Cardinal Ottaviani warned “represents in its whole and in its details a
striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as codified by
Session XXII of the Council of Trent”.
Related links:
Hundred Gather
in California for Conference on Tridentine Mass
go to http://www.cfnews.org/CA-Conf.htm
Communion
in the Hand is Sacrilege
go to http://www.cfnews.org/sacrilege.htm
Posted: Feb. 25, 2008
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