Having spent the entire Mass listening to the Word of God, increasing our hunger for the Lord, and praying through the Eucharistic Prayer, we now come to the moment of supreme joy, in which we come forward to receive Our Lord in this greatest of all gifts, the Holy Eucharist.
I have actually been thinking about this particular article for some time now, as I have often caught myself thinking, while distributing Holy Communion each day at Mass, noticing various things: “I’ll address that in a future article when I write about receiving Holy Communion.” Well, now that that point in these reflections has come, I fear that I might not have enough space to put in writing all of the things that have been running through my head, but let me make a few observations.
First of all, please know that receiving Holy Communion at Mass is NOT required. It is absolutely encouraged, but there may be circumstances when it is not possible to receive Holy Communion. I could dedicate a full article, or two or three, on this topic, and perhaps that can be an appendix to these articles, but I just want to put that point out there. The obligation to attend Mass each Sunday and Holy Day is not an obligation to receive the Eucharist. Again, it is highly encouraged, but not absolutely required, and it is indeed virtuous to refrain from receiving if one is aware that they are not in a position to receive Our Lord. If you are not able to receive, I highly recommend that you make an Act of Spiritual Communion.
Next, let me say just a few things about our bodily postures when receiving Holy Communion. Let me set the context by quoting what the Bishops of the United States have written on this topic:
The General Instruction asks each country’s Conference of Bishops to determine the posture to be used for the reception of Communion and the act of reverence to be made by each person as he or she receives Communion. In the United States, the body of Bishops has determined that “[t]he norm… is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling” and that a bow is the act of reverence made by those receiving (no. 160).
Working backwards, the normal reverence made before receiving Holy Communion is a bow. It is not uncommon for some of the faithful to genuflect before receiving Holy Communion. Although I have no objection to this personally, I am mindful of what the Church is asking of us. I can assure you, the Lord will not be offended if we put aside our preference for the sake of obedience what the Church asks of us.
Note also that the Church’s norm for receiving Holy Communion is standing, however in this case, there is an explicit permission given for receiving while kneeling if an individual member of the faithful should wish to receive in that way. Once again, I offer no opinion on preference, for the Church offers both as valid options, but please avoid falling into playing the comparison game that often comes at this point of the Mass. To presume that you are more reverent by kneeling to receive Holy Communion can be prideful. If you receive while standing, and presume that those kneeling to receive are overly pious and somehow trying to make a show, that can be uncharitable. So let us always keep obedience to the Church in mind, practicing humility regarding the legitimate preferences that can be exercised, and in all things, let us have charity in our hearts toward others as we prepare to receive the sacrament of charity in the Eucharist.
Well, this is what I was afraid of – having more to write than can fit in one article. I will return in our next installment with a few more reflections on how it is we receive Holy Communion at Mass.
Father Alford