Holy Communion

[Nihil Obstat]

So if more than one are mentioned within a fairly short period of time, you just keep bobbing? I've always wondered. I'm not in the habit, because I was never taught.

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='thessalonian' date='14 June 2010 - 11:32 PM' timestamp='1276515120' post='2128474']
While I do agree that EU's are used way too much there is no differenece between a Eucharist administered by an EU and a priest. Thou dost protest too much.
[/quote]


[quote name='aalpha1989' date='11 June 2010 - 10:33 AM' timestamp='1276209182' post='2126972']
I would receive Communion from any priest, providing I didn't doubt the validity of the consecration. I really do try never to judge a priest because Our Lady holds them especially close to her heart and I know I've sinned in judging them before.
[/quote]
Good! my dear friend you're very spiritual as always.


Now to the thread not aiming at anyone.

Is the Host in some way diminished by EMHC's or suss Priests? Is the bread and wine the body and blood of Christ absolute or are there varying degree's in the transubstantiation. Firstly, a priest has no extraordinary powers. The bread and wine are consecrated not by the priest alone but by the power of the faithful. The priest being intermediary between them and Christ. Do we have the power to see that the EMHC or priest we don't like has reduced the Host and we need to cross to the other side to get the pure stuff. Sounds a bit physical to me and worse very judgemental. All through scripture Jesus said to those who touched him. "Your faith has healed you!" I have no reservation in touching the Host because firstly I say "I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed." More than that I am doing it because I want a greater union with Christ and I know he loves me and wants me to interact with him. Once when I was an EMHC someone pointed to a host that the aging priest had dropped and was unaware of. So imitating what I had seen once before I picked it up and ate it. Now the floor is quite a dirty place and unworthy of the body of Christ, but I didn't feel that it had been diminished in anyway. If anything it was more. I've had people cross to the priest and every Mass there are those who will not take the blood because they might catch something. I feel deep hurt, not for myself, but for the rejection of Jesus. You see, I often think that transubstantiation involves more than the Host. For the duration of the Eucharist the Priest or EM is not even there. You may see them but it is Jesus who gives you himself. I know this, because I often have tears in my eye at the feeling of Jesus entering my soul. Especially blessing the children, I always kneel down so I can look them in the eye then the child, Jesus and I become for a moment a trinity of love!

[dominicansoul]

in regards to receiving from a priest you don't like, or you have problems with...

St. Teresa of Avila was traveling between visits, and stopped at a little chapel for Mass. She was horrified to see two demons chained to the neck of the priest celebrating Mass...!!!

When the time for Consecration came, the demons became restless, and began to try to tear away from the priest...then Teresa saw Our Lord in the Host, despite the priest's sins, the Lord did not ignore the prayer of Consecration...

...

so, as much as possible, I don't try to see the human giving me the Body and Blood of Jesus, but instead, I try to see the priest...in his role as the alter-Christus...

[holly.o]

[quote name='Mark of the Cross' date='20 June 2010 - 07:38 PM' timestamp='1277073484' post='2131848']
The bread and wine are consecrated not by the priest alone but by the power of the faithful. The priest being intermediary between them and Christ.
[/quote]

?

I've never heard this before. Wouldn't this reasoning mean that a priest celebrating Mass alone wouldn't be actually consecrating the Host? My understanding (which is limited since I'm still a relatively new convert) is that the Eucharist is consecrated [i]only[/i] by a priest - no one else has that God-given ability.

Could someone find this in the Catechism? I need to get to bed soon but I didn't want to not comment on this...

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='holly.o' date='20 June 2010 - 09:04 PM' timestamp='1277085853' post='2131934']
?

I've never heard this before. Wouldn't this reasoning mean that a priest celebrating Mass alone wouldn't be actually consecrating the Host? My understanding (which is limited since I'm still a relatively new convert) is that the Eucharist is consecrated [i]only[/i] by a priest - no one else has that God-given ability.

Could someone find this in the Catechism? I need to get to bed soon but I didn't want to not comment on this...
[/quote]
When a priest celebrates alone he still consecrates validly. Although to be fair, in that case I think we also refer to him being united to the entire Church on earth and in heaven regardless of who is physically present.

Edited June 21, 2010 by Nihil Obstat

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='holly.o' date='21 June 2010 - 02:04 PM' timestamp='1277085853' post='2131934']
?

I've never heard this before. Wouldn't this reasoning mean that a priest celebrating Mass alone wouldn't be actually consecrating the Host? My understanding (which is limited since I'm still a relatively new convert) is that the Eucharist is consecrated [i]only[/i] by a priest - no one else has that God-given ability.

Could someone find this in the Catechism? I need to get to bed soon but I didn't want to not comment on this...
[/quote]

I could be wrong about that since I'm no authority on Catholic teaching. If I am then I will withdraw it. But I imagined that numbers are not important, so for sure the priest is the only one who can consecrate the Host and he can do it alone if need be. But The Mass is not just about the priest, it is about the body of Christ and all are part of it. So I imagined that we are all in it together. Do you think our prayers have no value in this part of the Mass? Maybe you are right. Also Priests are special people but they have no power above normal people. They are subject to faults and failings. In our parish I know a number of lay people who I would think could be more Holy than many priests.
Hopefully I won't get into an argument about this. I like to write freely but if you think I contradict Church teaching then I am happy to withdraw it. I will do some study about that myself.

[quote name='dominicansoul' date='21 June 2010 - 01:53 PM' timestamp='1277085193' post='2131931']
I don't try to see the human giving me the Body and Blood of Jesus, but instead, I try to see the priest...in his role as the alter-Christus...
[/quote]

That's what I was trying to say but not doing as good a job as you.

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='21 June 2010 - 02:17 PM' timestamp='1277086631' post='2131947']
Although to be fair, in that case I think we also refer to him being united to the entire Church on earth and in heaven regardless of who is physically present.
[/quote]

Yeah that to. Thanks Nihil!

Edited June 21, 2010 by Mark of the Cross

[Norseman82]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='10 June 2010 - 03:24 PM' timestamp='1276197897' post='2126908']
I think the only time I would purposely move to another line is if it was an EM that I knew was in public scandal. So far that has never happened to me. [/quote]

The only difference between you and me is that is has happened to me.

Edited June 21, 2010 by Norseman82

[john654]

Hi,
I quit my job, sold my house and moved out of California to protect my family from the parish I attended for 50 years.

John

[holly.o]

[quote name='Mark of the Cross' date='20 June 2010 - 11:33 PM' timestamp='1277087621' post='2131956']
I could be wrong about that since I'm no authority on Catholic teaching. If I am then I will withdraw it. But I imagined that numbers are not important, so for sure the priest is the only one who can consecrate the Host and he can do it alone if need be. But The Mass is not just about the priest, it is about the body of Christ and all are part of it. So I imagined that we are all in it together. Do you think our prayers have no value in this part of the Mass? Maybe you are right. Also Priests are special people but they have no power above normal people. They are subject to faults and failings. In our parish I know a number of lay people who I would think could be more Holy than many priests.
Hopefully I won't get into an argument about this. I like to write freely but if you think I contradict Church teaching then I am happy to withdraw it. I will do some study about that myself.
[/quote]

OK... I think it was just your wording that threw me off. The links to the section on the Eucharist & the priest in the CCC are here: [url="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c1a3.htm"]Eucharist[/url] & [url="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c3a6.htm"]Holy Orders[/url]. So I need to read up about those things, too.

Sorry to interrupt the topic!

[Gal. 5:22,23]

[quote name='DevotedtoHim' date='09 June 2010 - 03:18 PM' timestamp='1276111095' post='2126405']
This weekend I found myself in the very awkward position of being in line to receive Holy Communion from a priest that I have had very big problems with. I moved and received from another priest. I am wondering if that has ever happened to anybody else.

Katherine
[/quote]

This reminds me of a quote from St. Francis of Assisi. He was asked, “Brother Francis, what would you do if you knew that a priest celebrating Mass had three concubines on the side?” Francis replied, “When it came time for Holy Communion, I would go to receive the sacred body of my Lord from the priest’s anointed hands.”

I try to keep this in mind when my personal opinions or frustration with liturgical abuses tempt me to take my eyes off of Our Lord in Mass. But it's difficult, it's really really difficult.

[aalpha1989]

[quote name='Gal. 5:22,23' date='21 June 2010 - 01:24 PM' timestamp='1277141070' post='2132243']
This reminds me of a quote from St. Francis of Assisi. He was asked, "Brother Francis, what would you do if you knew that a priest celebrating Mass had three concubines on the side?" Francis replied, "When it came time for Holy Communion, I would go to receive the sacred body of my Lord from the priest's anointed hands."

I try to keep this in mind when my personal opinions or frustration with liturgical abuses tempt me to take my eyes off of Our Lord in Mass. But it's difficult, it's really really difficult.
[/quote]

! Best post of the thread!

I love St. Francis... thanks for sharing that story!

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='zunshynn' date='13 June 2010 - 12:53 AM' timestamp='1276408421' post='2128015']
I wouldn't ever change lines because I preferred one priest over another, or because I disliked one. I would only do that if I happened to know that a priest is unwilling or will be upset by distributing Holy Communion on the tongue.[/quote]
Same here. I answered Yes to the first question .. but not because I don't like the priest .. but because I specifically know a couple that do not like distributing Holy Communion on the tongue actually :/

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='john654' date='21 June 2010 - 07:41 AM' timestamp='1277120510' post='2132136']
Hi,
I quit my job, sold my house and moved out of California to protect my family from the parish I attended for 50 years.

John
[/quote]

Wow. I hope you like the parish you are in today...

[Resurrexi]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-iJbvAhd90[/media]

[frassati]

I know this has already been mentioned by others, but in my case despite preferring to receive from a priest, I never had much of a problem receiving from an EMHC. That is until I began receiving on the tongue and I ran into the problem of EMHCs nearly dropping the consecrated host out of inexperience or illness (trembling hands), being too short, and there was even one particularly bad experience when I was at a graduation mass - and of course they just have to use the high school grads as EMHCs. I was set to receive from a girl a few years younger than me that I had grown up knowing, after she saw that I was planning to receive on the tongue she quietly said the words "I hate you" before sort of flicking the host into my mouth. I know that she was uncomfortable and probably trying to joke about it but I was absolutely horrified, completely thrown off, and just genuinely saddened by the whole thing. Especially after that encounter I've been more cautious about the manner in which I receive depending on the line I'm in...but when it comes down to it, I should be so consumed with trying to prepare myself to receive Our Lord that the manner of reception or the identity of the minister doesn't belong anywhere on my radar, but unfortunately it sometimes does become an issue.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='frassati' date='23 July 2010 - 12:55 PM' timestamp='1279907723' post='2146858']
I know this has already been mentioned by others, but in my case despite preferring to receive from a priest, I never had much of a problem receiving from an EMHC. That is until I began receiving on the tongue and I ran into the problem of EMHCs nearly dropping the consecrated host out of inexperience or illness (trembling hands), being too short, and there was even one particularly bad experience when I was at a graduation mass - and of course they just have to use the high school grads as EMHCs. I was set to receive from a girl a few years younger than me that I had grown up knowing, after she saw that I was planning to receive on the tongue she quietly said the words "I hate you" before sort of flicking the host into my mouth. I know that she was uncomfortable and probably trying to joke about it but I was absolutely horrified, completely thrown off, and just genuinely saddened by the whole thing. Especially after that encounter I've been more cautious about the manner in which I receive depending on the line I'm in...but when it comes down to it, I should be so consumed with trying to prepare myself to receive Our Lord that the manner of reception or the identity of the minister doesn't belong anywhere on my radar, but unfortunately it sometimes does become an issue.
[/quote]
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. I would be floored as well.

[sixpence]

A question for all you smart people:

When did it become "allowed" to receive the Body of Christ in the hands rather than the tongue? What prompted this change? What was the reasoning behind it, and for what reason do people reject this practice? ([u]aside from[/u] Tradition) Why is the tongue a more "worthy" body part than the hand? I am not trying to cause a debate, just trying to understand. Thanks

[sixpence]

[quote name='sixpence' date='23 July 2010 - 02:51 PM' timestamp='1279911090' post='2146919']
A question for all you smart people:

When did it become "allowed" to receive the Body of Christ in the hands rather than the tongue? What prompted this change? What was the reasoning behind it, and for what reason do people reject this practice? ([u]aside from[/u] Tradition) Why is the tongue a more "worthy" body part than the hand? I am not trying to cause a debate, just trying to understand. Thanks
[/quote]

no one wants to answer my question!! ppthhht!! I shall move it to a new topic in the Questions board! hmph!

[elizabeth09]

I was at this one Church where the preist and the decon only give out Communion. But there was four other people who gave out the Blood of Christ. In this case, I really like this.

[loveletslive]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='19 June 2010 - 01:39 PM' timestamp='1276969142' post='2131504']
So if more than one are mentioned within a fairly short period of time, you just keep bobbing? I've always wondered. I'm not in the habit, because I was never taught.
[/quote]

Yep But it's more of a slight nod so I think most people don't notice unless they know what's going on. My priests usually also nod for the Pope and our patron saint