How to Receive the Eucharist

By Deacon Nick Schwartz

The Eucharist, like all the great mysteries of our faith, is not something that one can explain rationally. How can Jesus, how can God, be contained in what appears to be a small wafer of bread? Yet that is our faith, that Jesus is truly present on our altars. Once we have received him in the Eucharist, Jesus is present in our very persons, in our bodies. Without a doubt, the Eucharist is a mystery beyond our comprehension. It is with this awareness that we need to approach Holy Communion, that Jesus is truly present, body and blood, soul and divinity.

Now, each of us is baptized into the priesthood of Jesus, and one of the ways in which ordinary baptized Catholics exercise that priesthood is by receiving Holy Communion. It’s an act of worship, and so we do it. We need to come with devotion, humility, reverence and respect. I think that’s what many people complain about in our modern liturgy, the fact that the sense of reverence, of dignity and of awe, has disappeared. But that’s a problem of modern man in general, and as such it is a problem each of us has to overcome individually.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says that when receiving Holy Communion, the communicant should bow his or her head before receiving the Host as a gesture of reverence. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.

Now there are two ways in which Communion is received in the Catholic Church: We receive either on the tongue or in the hand. The priest, deacon, or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion holds up the Host and says, “The Body of Christ,” and the communicant answers, “Amen.” It means, “So be it.” “I agree.” “I believe.” “It is the Body of Christ.” That’s what the “Amen” means: “I honestly believe that what I am about to receive is Christ. And so I say Amen.” If that is not what we mean, then we shouldn’t receive Holy Communion.

No one can dictate how one is to receive Holy Communion. The choice of how one receives the Eucharist, whether in the hand or on the tongue, belongs to the communicant.

If you are to receive on the tongue, keep certain things in mind. First, the head should be bent back slightly. The tongue should come out over the bottom teeth, equal with the bottom lip, giving the minister somewhere to place the Host.

If you’re going to receive in the hand, extend one hand, palm up, and place the other hand, palm up, on top of it. When the minister puts the Host on your hand, take the hand from below, grasp the host and consume it. Do not walk away before placing the Host in your mouth. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. Holy Communion is to be received, not taken or grabbed.

Remember to indicate clearly how you wish to receive. Sometimes communicants come up with their hands out and their mouths open, and the minister doesn’t know which way to give the Host. If you indicate clearly, it’s easier. If you’re going to receive in the hand, be clear about where the Host should be placed so that it doesn’t accidentally fall. By the way, if it should fall on the floor, indicate it to the priest. Sometimes the priest or extraordinary minister doesn’t see it.

When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, after receiving the Body of Christ, move and stand facing the minister of the chalice. The minister says, The Blood of Christ, the communicant responds, Amen, and the minister hands over the chalice, which the communicant raises to his or her mouth. The communicant drinks a little from the chalice, hands it back to the minister and returns to their seat.

Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are not permitted to give an extra Host to a communicant for a person in the pew. Someone needing a Host for a sick or elderly person in the back of church must present themselves with a pyx to the celebrant. If the priest does not know the person, or if they have no pyx, they will be instructed to see him after Mass.

Let me sum up by saying the two main dispositions we need to receive Holy Communion are faith and devotion. Do you remember the story in John’s Gospel that occurs after the Resurrection? Some of the disciples are out fishing, and the boats are coming toward the shore. John sees someone standing on the shore and says to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Peter immediately jumps into the water to make his way to Jesus as soon as possible.

“It is the Lord!”- that’s what our faith demands. It is the Lord that we worship. It is the Lord that we receive in the Eucharist. It is the Lord who gives us this special way to participate in his divine life. It is the Lord who sanctifies us. “It is the Lord!” should be the overwhelming disposition with which we receive the Eucharist.

(Sources: The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Adrian Parcher, O.S.B. “How To Receive the Eucharist” This RockNovember 1997.)