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Views from the Choir Loft

Is There a Best Way to Receive Communion?

Andrew Leung · May 21, 2015

HIS IS VERY SAD. Recently I saw this video on YouTube taken during the papal visit to the Philippines in January. What a tragic scene! From the video, you can see the body of our Lord being passed down to the congregation.


HY? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? Maybe they didn’t have good formation; or perhaps they take the Mass too casually because they grow up in a Catholic country. There are many possibilities and I will not get into that. This video led me to start thinking about a “hot” topic: the posture of receiving communion.

In the Liturgy, we adapt different postures and body movements. These postures and movements help us to relate to the liturgical actions and to express our believes. According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, we have the options of receiving communion in the hand or on the tongue, standing or kneeling. The Church didn’t say whether there is a best option, but personally, I think there is a best way to receive Jesus!

It definitely works better logistically to receive communion on the tongue. The incident in the video would not happen if people receive communion on the tongue. This can also avoid many other “accidents”. One can use his common sense to figure out whether he should receive the body of Christ standing or kneeling. There are two questions you can ask yourself: “Who is it I am receiving?” and “Does my physical condition allow me to kneel?” If we realize that Jesus Christ our God is truly present in the Eucharist and we are going to receive him, we will kneel before him! Our postures and actions should express our beliefs in the Liturgy.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it. It’s impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that. A community is calling its very being into question when it suddenly declares that what until now was its holiest and highest possession is strictly forbidden and when it makes the longing for it seem downright indecent.”

— Cardinal Ratzinger, 1997

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