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The miraculous multiplication of the bread and the fish

The priest genuflects. Taking the host, he raises it slightly over the paten, showing it for Communion to the faithful. He says aloud,

This is the Lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the world.

Happy are those who are called to his supper.

This invitation to share in the sacred meal contains almost the same words used by John the Baptist (Jn 1:29) when he pointed out to John and Andrew the presence of the Lord among men.

Together with the priest, we continue with the same words of the centurion at Capernaum (Mt 8:8), to confess our unworthiness:

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,

but only say the word and I shall be healed.

With gratitude, we declare our wonder before this great gift of God; with confidence, we tell our Lord to prepare our poor hearts. We would like the centurion's faith, humility, and simplicity at least to make our Lord as happy as in that incident.

After having taken Communion under the two species, the priest takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants.[1] He raises the consecrated host slightly and shows it to each one, saying, "The body of Christ." The communicants reply, "Amen", and, holding the Communion plate under their chin, receive the sacrament.[2]

During the priest's and the faithful's reception of the sacrament, the Communion song is sung. Its function is to express outwardly the communicants' union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices, to give evidence of the joy in their hearts, and to make the procession for the reception of Christ's body more fully an act of the community. The song begins when the priest takes Communion and continues for as long as it seems appropriate while the faithful receive Christ's body. But the Communion song should be ended in good time whenever there is to be a hymn after Communion.

If there is no singing, the Communion Antiphon in the missal is recited either by the people, by some of them, or by a reader. Otherwise, the priest himself says it after he has received Communion and before he gives Communion to the faithful.[3]

The Church has always required from the faithful respect and reverence for the Eucharist at the moment of receiving it. The Church's prescription and the evidence of the early Fathers make it abundantly clear. St Cyril of Jerusalem (A.D. 316 ‑ 386), instructing the newly baptized writes, "Come forward also to the cup of his blood, not reaching out with your hands, but bowing and in attitude of worship and reverence"[4]. And St Augustine exhorts, "Let not one eat the body of Christ, without first adoring it."[5] It has been the custom in the Church since the olden times to receive the sacred host kneeling, according to the human way of acting, because this genuflection expresses adoration. More recently, we have been told:

With regard to the manner of going to Communion, the faithful can receive it either kneeling or standing, in accordance with the norms laid down by the Bishop's Conference. "When the faithful communicate kneeling, no other sign of reverence towards the Blessed Sacrament is required, since kneeling is itself a sign of adoration. When they receive Communion standing, it is strongly recommended that, coming up in procession, they should make a sign of reverence before receiving the sacrament. This should be done at the right time and place, so that the order of people going to and from Communion is not disrupted."[6]

For many centuries, Holy Communion had been distributed by having it placed directly on the tongue. This practice is still in force [7]. It expresses the faithful's reverence for the Eucharist, and it is the best way to avoid any profanation. To receive Holy Communion in this way does not detract in any way from personal dignity; rather, it is part of the preparation needed to receive the Eucharist fruitfully.

When the bishops, with the approval of the Holy See, authorize in their territory the reception of Holy Communion in the hand, the faithful need to be instructed on the doctrine of the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharistic species. Thus, we avoid any danger of profanation resulting from dispersing the fragments that perhaps break off the hosts, or from not having clean hands, etc. One cannot say it doesn't matter if these particles stick to the communicants' fingers and end up in pockets or bags containing cigarettes, bubble gum, or lipstick. That would be a glaring lack of reverence for the body of the Lord. Worship implies reverence. Whatever hinders reverence hinders worship.

The same law points out that Communion in the hand can never be imposed in such a way as to exclude or make difficult the traditional usage. And even where the practice of Holy Communion in the hand is lawfully allowed, each Catholic is free to decide on whether he or she will receive the Eucharist in the mouth or in the hand.[8]

In the optional rite of Communion in the hand the communicant should place his cupped left palm upon the right. The minister places the sacred host on the left palm. Stepping aside yet still facing the minister, the communicant conveys the sacred host to his mouth with the right hand. The minister should ascertain that the host is consumed there.

The Amen that the communicant pronounces upon receiving the sacred host is equivalent to saying, "Yes, Lord, I believe. I love you and hope in you. I know my time of waiting is over, for my hope is now made into a reality that fulfills the deepest needs of my faith and my charity. You are mine, and I am yours, wholly made one in this sacrament. My soul worships you in stillness."

The catechism of the Council of Trent makes the following assertion:

It is not the sacrament which changes, as would bread and wine, into our substance, it is, on the contrary, we ourselves who are changed, so to speak, into its nature. So that we can very well apply here those words of St Augustine put into the mouth of our Lord: "I am the food of the strong, believe and you will eat me. But you will not change me into you, as you do with the food of your body, it is you who will be changed into me." [9]

Nevertheless, there is always the danger of our getting used to it and not paying due respect to our Lord present in the sacrament. Our Mother the Church has issued directives that help us to deal with our Lord with exquisite propriety and affection:

Communion is a gift of God, given to the faithful through the minister appointed for this purpose. It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice; still less that they should hand them from one to another.

The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of Mass excessively long.[10] Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.[11]

This is so because the ordinary ministers for the distribution of Holy Communion are the bishop, the priests, and the deacons.[12] The acolyte is an extraordinary minister of Communion who is instituted permanently.[13] In case of genuine necessity, a simple faithful may be appointed by the bishop (or Vicar) as extraordinary minister of Holy Communion (improperly called, lay minister). This appointment is always for a specific occasion or for a time. The extraordinary minister of Holy Communion should be duly instructed and distinguish himself by his Christian life, faith, and morals.[14]

"It is most desirable that the faithful receive the Lord's body from hosts consecrated at the same Mass..." (GIRM, no. 56h). Communion under both kinds is granted by the bishops not only to clerics, but also to the laity on certain occasions.

GIRM, no. 117.

GIRM, no. 56i.

St Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogic Catecheses, 5, 22.

St Augustine, Enarrat. In Ps. 98, 9.

ID, no. 11. The quotation is from the Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instruction Eucharisticum Mysterium, 25 May 1967, no. 34; see also GIRM, 244c, 246b, and 247b. Recently, we have been specifically instructed, "It is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ's faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing." Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, 25 March 2004, no. 91.

Paul VI, instruction Memoriale Domini, 24 May 1969.

Paul VI, instruction Memoriale Domini; also his instruction Immensae Caritatis, 29 January 1973. More recently, we have been instructed, "Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice, if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas where the Bishops' Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him or her. However, special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that no one goes away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand. If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to the faithful. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, 25 March 2004, no. 92.

Part II: The Eucharist, Effects. The quotation is from St Augustine, Confessions, VII, c. 18.

Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, instruction Immensae Caritatis, 29 January 1973, no. 1.

ID, 9-10.

Code of Canon Law, c. 910, 1.

GIRM, no. 65; Code of Canon Law, c. 910, 2.

Paul VI, Immensae Caritatis.

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