Communion by Hands

March 22, 2007 at 10:17 am (Liturgical)

 

The sacrament of the Eucharist is a true feast where Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is being offered and eaten in the form of bread. The Sacred Host is indeed both physical and spiritual food. Early Christians hold this Holy Bread with reverence as if it is the self-same body of Christ—as the case really is.

 

Within 2000 years of Church history, Jesus Christ in the Sacrament was profaned thousands of times in many different ways by the ignorant and arrogant people who put God to the test. There was a case where a gambler took the communion by hands but did not put it to his mouth, instead his plan is to take it home and feed his rooster by it to win the fight. There are also reports where some groups of persons gather to stab the sacred Bread (stolen from the church) with a knife to blaspheme the Body of Christ. The Church appropriately responded to this by adopting a way of communication that is more fitting for the present situation. That is the one which is commonly used in almost all parishes in the world: from the hand of the minister directly to the tongue of the communicant. This way, sacrileges may be prevented. Secondary benefit is hygienic. We come from different places and we travel from our home to the parish; we touch money, wallets, bags, or the vehicles where we ride on. Putting in mind both the spiritual and physical factors, we may suppose that it is more preferable that we just leave the handling of the Host to the ministers, and to focus ourselves in receiving Jesus worthily.