This article, _The Day the Host was Dropped_, was posted on the Ars Orandi Traditional Catholic facebook page today.
Comment:
A couple of years ago, I came across a paper by a priest friend in which he offered the history of Communion in the Hand. While declining to present his personal opinion on this practice, he clearly noted that its history in America was marked by open dissent and rebellion against Rome.
Currently, even though the Church designates the preferred manner for reception of Holy Comminion to be on the tongue while kneeling, most of our churches in America not only refuse to abide by this preference, but have either removed or currently have no communion rails.
To add to this architectural obstacle, individual accounts and personal experience provide evidence that, in parish sacramental preparation classes, communion in the hand and communion on the tongue are taught as equally acceptable options for receiving communion. In many cases, communion in the hand is even given a sort of pride of place in the teaching method.
In addition to the questionable promotion of communion in the hand, most parishes employ extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion in a manner which is at variance with prescriptions laid out in Church documents.* The result is that every Sunday and weekday the laity are witness to small platoons of these people distributing Holy Communion.
Mass instructs in many ways, by word and by example. Tragically, in our time, one lesson that comes through with all too much clarity is that dissent most effectually imposes change.
*Here's a link to a rundown of documents related to extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. It also includes a brief history of the practice of receiving communion in the hand. The article includes the author's opinion, though my main concern in providing this link is the concise manner in which the documents are presented. That being said, this article, along with the link from Ars Orandi, make a good case against the current use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion in most of our parish chuches in America.
