Catholic Online Forum

During communion, you know some people receive communion on the tongue and others in their hands, someone once told me that you have to make the sign of the cross if you receive it on the tongue, but you don't have to if you receive it in your hands. Is that true? And why so?

Another question I have is about the different ways of making the sign of the cross - I think there are three, the first with five fingers of your hand (5 wounds of Christ), then you can do it with three fingers, and there is another way, I think? What is the third way, and what is the significance of the second and thrid way?

And, a question about going to the novena prayers at Church i.e Novena to St. Antony - they always get us to go up and kiss something - I hate to admit the fact I don't really know what's going on, but just follow what everyone else does. Can someone please explain it to me so that I am not in complete darkness on the topic please?

Thanks.

And please keep my journey of faith in your prayers, as some of you already know, I am in the RCIA at the moment and hope to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigils of next year (March 30th 2013).

GBY x

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Kim
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Umquam Fidelis

Twitter: @klegah
Blog: www.vocationoperation.blogspot.com

Source Wikipedia
However I heard this from a Catholic priest as well

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Simon

Kim,
I don't think you have to make the sign of the cross at all during communion. The priest makes the sign for everyone before he himself receives. Also, when receiving at the Extraordinary Form, you don't say "Amen," because the priest does it for you.



I sign myself using two fingers, signifying the divine and human natures of Christ. (I understand that this is the typical Western way to make the sign.) The Eastern way uses three fingers to signify the Trinity and they touch the right shoulder first before the left.

There is also the Spanish way in which using your thumb, you first make little crosses on your forehead, on your lips and on your chest (much like what you use before the Gospel reading at Mass) but with the final tracing of one large cross from forehead to breast and from shoulder to shoulder. This is done while silently praying, "By the sign of the Cross (on forehead), deliver us from our enemies (on lips), O Lord our God (on chest). In the Name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit (the regular sign of the Cross.) Amen."



It's called the "blessing of the relic of the saint" (i.e. Saint Anthony.) The relic is enclosed in a reliquary, by which the saint blesses us and we hope for him to grant our petitions and intercede for us before the Lord.

Most people kiss the relic (the priest wipes the reliquary with a purificator before offering it to the next person), but in my parish, the priest merely presses the relic on our foreheads, as if the saint is kissing us.



You're welcome.



I will pray for you at Eucharistic adoration starting tonight.

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Pax et bonum,
Marie

JMJ

I attend both the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo; in the TLM all kneel at the communion rail, the most profound sign of respect, no sign of the cross is required but some do cross themselves due to a custom they inherited; in the Novus Ordo a profound bow is or should be practiced, in some cases a genuflection is practiced but not in the churches I attend.

I cross myself using three fingers as I was taught way back in the '40s although I occasionally get a bit sloppy and resort to two fingers or even just my index finger.

Usually we are kissing a reliquary although on some occasions we are kissing a symbol such as the cross during lent or a statue of the infant Jesus at Christmas.

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BobA

Kim, the "rules" for receiving Communion vary just a bit from location to location, so what's true here in the US may not be true for you.

If I recall correctly, the universal norm for receiving Communion, that is the whole Church worldwide, is kneeling on the tongue. However, allowances are made in various locations to accommodate what's considered local custom. In the US, it's most common to see people standing and receiving in their hand.

The GIRM calls for a sign of reverence just prior to receiving the Sacraments. Again in the US, because that's where I live, most of the people who do that make a bow and sign of the cross. Most of the people in my parish genuflect, at least as well as they are able. There are a lot of elderly people and pregnant women in my church on any given Sunday.

I don't recall that a sign of reverence after receiving the Sacrament is required. I've made a Sign of the Cross pretty much ever since I was a child, regardless of how I received, because I think of it as staring my prayer of thanksgiving right there and then.

Whoever said that those who receive on the tongue need to make a Sign of the Cross and those who receive on the hand do not was mistaken. We should all approach the Blessed Sacrament with great reverence. St. Therese of Liseiux wrote a prayer in which she compares receiving the Eucharist to being a drop of water falling into the ocean. We are not consuming our Lord so much as we are taking our own teensy space within His Body. Our attitude should be mindful of that reality.

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Rose West
"May God help us not to spoil His work" (Bl. Mother Theresa)

It seems to me there is no universal norm any longer regarding the manner in which Holy Communion is received. GIRM 390 states that it is for the Conference of Bishops to formulate the adaptations indicated in the GIRM, one of which is the manner of receiving Holy Communion. The GIRM I have in front of me has the U.S. adaptations incorporated within the GIRM itself, with no separate "U.S. adaptations" chapter and no other indication that there is some universal norm from which the U.S. is "adaptating." I suspect it is this way with all other countries? At any rate, even a trip to vatican.va and clicking on the GIRM there takes me directly to the GIRM with U.S. adaptations. Therefore, if there is still a universal norm, I would appreciate if someone could cite the document and the paragraph.

GIRM 42, regarding gestures and bodily postures, states that attention must be paid to what is determined by the GIRM and by the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God.

It is what is italicized by me that makes me wonder what Pandora's box is now opened between traditionalists and liberals. Because, again, there isn't a lot of prescription regarding gestures in the GIRM, and so it seems to me there is going to be a lot of debate between the two camps about what is traditional practice and what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God.

GIRM 43 instructs that, in the dioceses of the U.S., kneeling from the end of the Sanctus until after the Amen is the norm. For those who are not able to kneel because of ill health or lack of space, they "ought" to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the Consecration.

GIRM 160 states that norm in the U.S. is to receive Holy Communion standing, unless an individual wishes to receive while kneeling. When receiving, the communicant bows his head (i.e. not a profound bow), and the host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the communicant's discretion (i.e. NOT at the priest's or EMHC's discretion)

To sum up. If you are in a U.S. diocese:

1) The norm is to kneel during the consecration, and, if unable to kneel for a valid reason, to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects.

2) The posture norm for receiving is standing, and receiving either in the hand or on the tongue, at the communicant's discretion. The communicant may choose to kneel as well.

3) The sign of reverence during reception is a bow of the head, not a bow at the waste.

If you are in another country, you follow the norms established by your conference of bishops. It no longer seems to be the case where there is a norm for everyone and then some countries derogate from it with approval. Each country's conference establishes its own norms.

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

Kim,

A copy of the GIRM for England and Wales can be found here:

http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resourc ... s/GIRM.pdf

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James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)

Thank you, James.

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Dean
Most people's sense of history goes back to breakfast time - Benjamin Netanyahu

Dean,

You're welcome.

By way of comparison:

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James Daly

"It is the Lord." (Jn 21:7)

I hope I'm not be the only one having a problem with the leap from kneeling and receiving communion on the tongue to a nod to the Lord and receiving communion in our dirty hands? Never mind, it is a fruitless discussion.

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BobA

There are also any people at my parish who make the sign of the cross and then raise their hand, I think with fist closed and kiss their thumb. I've never known the meaning of it. It seems fairly common in the Hispanic community but they're not the only ones who do it. Someone (may have been this forum) said that it means their kissing the feet of Jesus. I have no idea.

In Los Angeles, we are required to stand all during communion and sing through all of it until communion is done. After the priest sits down, we get three seconds. Well, I get three seconds to pray because we also receive back to front and I sit in front so I'm among the last to receive.

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Valerie Garcia
vals1990@yahoo.com

"Listen, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou mayest return to Him ....." St. Benedict

Really?

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Bob C

Thank you to all of you who have answered my questions. One of the reasons I was curious to know is because I go to daily mass and I often see people do so many things, I was starting to wonder whether there was a specified way or what the reasons were as such, so thank you for clarifying that.

Please continue to keep me in your prayer, as I will keep you in mine.

GBY x

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Kim
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Umquam Fidelis

Twitter: @klegah
Blog: www.vocationoperation.blogspot.com

I'm afraid the ushers would have to drag me out of church for my kneeling before and after communion. The official instruction of the Church clearly states we can be requested to do such things for "uniformity", a social(ist) concept in my opinion, but cannot be required to do so.

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BobA

The singing is certainly not required. Probably the decision of the Pastor.

I think standing is the norm (per the instructions of Cardinal Mahony, if I recall). But I have seen many people kneeling and I've never seen anyone chastised for doing so. Also the back to front order (mentioned by Val) was instituted by Cardinal M, but some parishes do it and others don't.

I remember these instructions were quite controversial when they came out and we had long discussions about it on the old Compuserve COL.

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

From Cardinal Mahoney's "Gather Faithfully Together"



The repetition of communion hymns drives me up the wall especially since the refrain has to be repeated more often than called for in the text in order to keep the singing up through communion when we have such a large church. Sometimes we sing and then the choir sings and basically doesn't end until the celebrant sits. Now, granted, we now have a second collection so that cuts down on the amount of time to pray after communion (which like I said is practically non existent if you sit up front) but it was this way before the second collection...there was just more singing, the celebrant sitting down, the singing stopping shortly before or after the celebrant sits down and then the celebrant has to leap up for the dismissal because the time is short.

The document also calls for the faithful to lift up their hands during the Our Father (which I don't do because there is nothing in the GIRM that requires it of anyone but the priest) and that as many people as possible should sit around the altar. I'm not certain if it's still going to be done but our original renovation plans included seats surrounding both sides of the altars and in the sanctuary.

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Valerie Garcia
vals1990@yahoo.com

"Listen, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou mayest return to Him ....." St. Benedict

Bob C,



It's been that way for years now.

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Valerie Garcia
vals1990@yahoo.com

"Listen, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou mayest return to Him ....." St. Benedict

I don't understand, they do not let you kneel?

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Bob C

Bob,

See my post.

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David L (CA)
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx

I have been told that one places the thumb over the index finger to form a cross; then kisses the cross. Don't know if that is true, but it makes sense.

I think it is an Hispanic custom which others have picked up.

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- Joe Kelley

Death is only a shadow across the path to Heaven.