Receiving Holy Communion the Proper Way

A family kneeling at a Communion rail did not receive the Eucharist. I suppose that they were ignored by the priests at the Mass as there is a conflict right now in the particular diocese over the traditional Latin Mass which now seems to have spilled over into how to receive Holy Communion.

I wrote a email to their (not my) bishop months ago about a separate issue of the Latin Mass and the body of my letter read:

“I am a 'Communion in the hand' person who never spoke a word of Latin. I don't attend the Latin Mass. Yet there is something that I see going on with the youth and the Latin Mass. This subset of kids that want a deeper relationship with God seem to flock to this Latin rite. I don't know why but as a mother of four different types of (adult) children I learned to adjust to whatever leads to the desired outcome in my children. Also, as a teacher teaching Reading, I needed to help my students achieve the goal of learning to read differently depending on what each student needed. Some students needed phonics introduced (70%), while others needed to trace words in sand (maybe 10%). My adult kids still go to Mass and Confession I think because of these adjustments. When I see the many young people attending the Latin Mass well that is a happy problem to have. Please help them worship God! Give them back the sand so they can! “

The body of the response to my email by the bishop's office read:

“ I know that this is a challenge for those who prefer this form to that of the Novus Ordo. I hope that you and those who are challenged by the change are willing to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit through the Church's Magisterium in this moment. Know that, unless otherwise directed by the Holy See, our Diocese will continue to follow the protocols outlined in Traditionis Custodes as have been previously published.

I promise you and all the faithful my prayers during this time of transition.”

As a child in the 70s I recall how difficult it was for some members of my parish when it fully implemented the Vatican II changes. I guess I became sort of used to changes.

When I was an Eucharistic Minister at Penn State in the 80s I distributed Holy Communion once when they needed someone on the fly. It was the late Mass of the Sunday and I wasn't scheduled. In the middle of Mass before the distribution, Father asked if there were any Eucharistic Ministers available as they were one short. I raised my hand and Father told me to come down. I went down the steps of the Forum classroom to help out the priest.

A week later when checking into my dorm after midnight on a Saturday night/Sunday morning the guy checking me in said, “Hey I know you! You were the girl that gave out Communion last week while wearing the Molly Hatchet tee shirt. It was so cool when you walked down and the back of your tee shirt had those axes dripping blood. So cool!” 

In honesty I received the tee as a gift and forgot I wore it to Mass that day. This is maybe not the most desirable way to distribute Holy Communion, but it was an unforeseen event. But on a campus with over 50,000 students and a quarter of them being Catholic, I don't think it was happenstance that the guy at our dorm check-in station happened to be at the Mass and noticed my tee shirt. I think it was the Holy Spirit actually.

For some reason I don't understand, God used the tee and the Holy Communion line as a teachable moment. It was a Divine Act to get kids to Holy Communion in a classroom that showed porn movies on Saturday and then hosted Mass on Sunday (as it was the only space available for Mass then). But this is the nature of God, always seeking us out at every inappropriate setting.

My point is we are a Church of all types, all different needs, all different temperaments. Is it so bad to be a bit more opened-minded on all sides of the issue of how to receive the Holy Eucharist? After all, none of us are really worthy of the greatest gift we have ever received—Jesus Christ healing us with His Body and Blood.