Adoration is being held though in many parishes all day as well as churches remaining open for prayer.
My bubble was burst today. Communion in the hand only. I didn't receive. What if this goes on past the end of the month? What about the First Friday and First Saturday. Spiritual Communions won't fulfill the requirements.
As much as I hate to do so, I believe it's far to important to receive Our Lord (in the hand) than not. The devil would just love to see us all choose abstaining for any reason. Christ knows our hearts. We need to receive Him regardless as long & as often as possible. I say that with a bit of chegrin as seldom as I go to daily Mass.
In times past, most Catholics did not receive Holy Communion at each mass they went to. That is why there is a mandate that Catholics must receive at least once a year, during Easter. The merits of hearing mass are tremendous, and does not rely on us receiving Holy Communion. +
My priest has advised our congregation that if you decide to receive in the hand, the hand must be bare of all clothing. Gloves or any other article of clothing is not allowed if receiving in the hand. He is continuing to give communion on the tongue and our holy water fonts are cleaned every weekend after the last mass. He has no intention of leaving us without holy water either. Should Covoid 19 hit our area he has a Holy Water dispenser ready by each of the doors. Our congregation is blessed to have such a faithful holy priest.
I just can’t receive Our Lord in my hands. I can’t. I will have to make acts of spiritual Communion if I ever have to chose. I pray this will be temporary.
Venial sins are forgiven in the penitential part of the Mass. We owe God fourfold in the Mass: The adoration due Him, thanksgiving, reparation and our petitions.
Please reconsider. My local Catholic station runs promos for Eucharistic Adoration. In one, they tell the story of Jesus coming to raise Lazarus from the dead. Martha comes out of the house to meet Jesus on the way to the tomb. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. The point is that there are graces we are given in the bodily presence of the Eucharist that we do not receive whenever two or more of you gather in His name. I understand that you don't wish to dishonor Jesus by touching Him. Yet, if these rules about "hand only" are commanded by the bishop, by obeying the bishop you are honoring Jesus, who set the bishop over you. By refusing the gift of the Eucharist because it's not in the way that YOU desire, you are cutting yourself off from many, many graces that you will need in the days and weeks to come. Lay this before the Lord in prayer and ask Him if He wishes to be united with you whether by tongue or by hand, or if He wishes you to reject Him if not offered on the tongue.
Holy Communion in the hand was allowed as an indult, to those who had already been disobeying the rule of HC on the tongue only. "In truth, the Council gave no permission to allow the Faithful to receive the Blessed Sacrament by hand, nor was it made part of the rubrics for the Novus Ordo missal of 1969. The movement to permit this manner of reception grew in force after the close of the Council. The idea was based on a kind of going back to the tradition that associated reception in the hand with the practice of the early Church. It was also part of the effort to promote the understanding of the Mass as a community meal over the conception of the Mass as primarily a Holy Sacrifice. For his part, Pope Paul VI perceived significant dangers in allowing for the practice. Responding to the pleas of a minority of progressive European bishops to permit in-hand reception, in May 1969, the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship declared that “the Holy Father has decided not to change the existing way [via the tongue] of administering holy communion to the faithful.” (See Memoriale Domini at para. 11.) The Holy See apprehended the gravity of permitting a change in the solemn manner of the reception of the Blessed Sacrament. It recognized that the proposed change “carries certain dangers with it which may arise from the new manner of administering holy communion: the danger of a loss of reverence for the august sacrament of the altar, of profanation, of adulterating the true doctrine.” (See Id. para. 10.) By a two-to-one margin, the bishops worldwide voted in support of the position of the Holy Father. Nonetheless, the pope undercut his own declaration by allowing the various bishops’ conferences the right to permit Communion in the hand in their respective territories via a secret, two-thirds majority vote of the bodies. (See Id. at para. 11-12.)" https://www.catholic.sg/clarification-reminder-reception-holy-communion/ Watch this (very short) video. There is grave danger of desecration every time one receives HC in the hand. +
I have decided to receive on the hand with reverence as directed by the Bishop. I find it difficult but I long to receive the Lord and He knows that. Its not my choice and so I leave it in God's merciful love. Soon we may not be able to receive him or go to Mass
Bishop Athanasius Schneider said in an interview with Taylor Marshall that the hands are full of germs. If the Host is correctly placed on the tongue, it is not a problem. The thinking on Communion in the hand is backward. People can advise all they want, I still cannot do it.
Oh boy, oh boy! I had the most embarrassing thing happen today. I was at Mass and got a spasm of coughing. I don't have a cold and don't have a cough; but do get a bit of asthma from time to time. The cough comes in a spasm and is unstoppable, so I got up and went to the childrens room to avoid annoying anyone. Then the thought hit me. Some of those present will think I have coronavirus. I better not go to Holy Communion, and didn't go. After Mass I asked to see the Priest and let him know not to worry, I do not have a cold or cough, but did not receive Holy Eucharist because I was scared some of those present might panic and think I was about to spread the coronavirus lurgy. Well, the Priest told me off for going to Mass if I had a cold or cough before I opened my mouth to explain what had happened. You might say why did you bother, well I don't know about your parish, but the Church I went to has a lot of complainers who would be complaining to the Priest, or so I feared and thought to arm him with the truth that this person is not suffering from a cold, so no one needs to worry. Don't know why I bothered. Because I am now very annoyed with the Priest for judging me without waiting to hear what I had to say. Then Pope Francis has announced that Priests should go to the sick and give them Holy Communion. I think Pope Francis is living in cuckoo land. I wonder how many Priests will want to risk their health like the holy saints in the wonderful Catholic stories we read about. This coronavirus will certainly show us the men from the boys in the Church. I am waiting for my white lace gloves, and will wear them in case a Priest refuses me Holy Eucharist on the tongue. The Latin Mass Priests have said in their Newsletter that if we have cough or cold it is better to stay home for the sake of not passing infection on to others. But if we attend Holy Mass, Holy Eucharist will be given on the tongue as normal. Thank God.
Wow. He should have let you explain (asthma). I saw a headline yesterday of a person on an airplane (over USA) having a coughing / sneezing fit (allergies??). Other passengers got VERY upset, the flight was diverted. Such misunderstandings (asthma, allergies) might result in others resorting to physical violence in this current social climate.
How awful, Julia. I am saddened to hear that the priest was so harsh with you. Our own shepherds are spreading fear. I know you said you had ordered the white gloves. Do you know if it is permissible to receive Holy Communion while wearing gloves? I am only asking because I was a child the last time I wore white gloves to church, and I believe we were required to remove the gloves before receiving Communion. Granted this was decades ago, so I was wondering if anyone on the forum would have an answer.
Jo, I did ask our senior Priest last week about wearing lace gloves. His answer is no, we are not supposed to receive in the hand with gloves on. The experts will tell you there are more germs on hands than there are on tongues. How come through all the plagues and contagious diseases down the centuries, no one was ever infected by receiving Holy Eucharist, and it was always administered on the tongue until the Liberal, Marxist, Doubters took over our precious Church after Vatican 2, and turned our Holy Sacrifice of the Mass into a community meal where everyone gets a biscuit. Who needs confession when it is time to party, so no one bothers with confession anymore. I am so scared of where this will lead.
Seems that should be considered "okay" at a time like this. The Host is already the Flesh of Our Lord, so whether touching our palms or not shouldn't matter (??).
I'm sorry you had this experience Julia. A rebuke from a priest in those circumstances is so painful. It happened to me once--not same scenario but having to do with Holy Communion He later apologized and offered to give me communion but I politely declined. I did forgive him--he was just reacting. But it leaves a sour note in the air. Try to forget it and move on.
