Mary’s Hands - A Christmas Wish
When I made my first communion, which was sixty-one years ago on November 22nd, a date that’s easy to remember because that is the day the first and only Catholic president was assassinated, we went up to the altar in our little blue suits and little white wedding dresses, knelt down in a long line along the Communion rail, the altar boy thrust the paten under our chin, the priest said “The Body of Christ,” you said, “Amen” and you received the Real Presence.
We had been strictly trained that we were not worthy to touch the host—which is true if we are honest about it--and that the most reverent way to receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity was on the tongue. Similarly, we were instructed not to chew or chomp on the host—although some readings of John’s gospel have Jesus suggesting exactly that—but let it dissolve in your mouth. The concept of reverence for the Eucharist was drilled into us through classes and practice, over and over and over again. As it should be. If you really believe in the Real Presence.
So, most people my age have a deeply ingrained reverence for the body of Christ. But in 1969, the Holy See, through the document Memoriale Domini, restored the first through ninth century practice of receiving the bread in the hand. Makes sense since this was how Jesus instituted the sacrament. (That having been said, reception on the tongue, because of the reverence it demonstrates, is the universal norm of church law.) So, since 1977, when the United States bishops implemented receipt of communion in the hand, I have unquestionably done so.
Recently, though, there has been a revival of receiving Jesus on the tongue. Some communicants kneel to receive; some stand and receive and the tongue; and then there are the majority that still receive in the hands. But there is a noticeable increase in the more traditional way to receive Holy Communion.
To me, this trend seems hard for the priest--with so many scenarios and angles--and I am sure it is somewhat stressful since the very last thing the priest wants to do is drop the host. In the old days, there was an altar server with a paten to provide some comfort that the host didn’t fall.
But the increasing number of people receiving on the tongue made me question whether or not I should begin receiving on the tongue out of reverence and humility. That, after all, is the basis of this movement.
I was praying about this and, as often happens, the Holy Spirit touched my heart. (Some might use the word “discern,” a word I think is overused. Some people seem to want to discern whether to have Ruffles or Doritos.) If you really believe this is the body of Christ—which I do—then this is the real, true Jesus. The same Jesus that resurrected after three days in the tomb, the same Jesus that died on the cross, the same Jesus that broke the bread at the Last Supper, the Jesus that turned over the oxcarts, that taught about the Kingdom. And, yes, the same Jesus that was born in a stable, visited by the Magi, worshipped by the shepherds. It is also the very same Jesus that the Blessed Mother held in HER HANDS.
In that sense, we can view Communion as receiving the baby Jesus in our hands just like Mary did--what a sweet and tender truth. We are in the very place our Blessed Mother was in on that first Christmas. Holding her beautiful little boy in a loving, reverent and awed-filled way. Since that moment of God given enlightenment, I pray each time before I receive Communion, that my hands are as pure and clean as those of our Mother Mary when I hold Jesus in them.
My Christmas wish for you is this.
When you receive communion on Christmas Day, I pray that you realize that your hands have been transformed into Mary’s hands, holding her baby, our newborn king, our savior. Holding Jesus in your hands places you right in the middle of that first Christmas.
I hope you can see it. I hope you can feel it. Because it is truth. I pray that holding Jesus on Christmas helps you realize the enormous love God has for each of us such that He would humble himself in this way for our salvation. That realization might just be the best Christmas present ever.
Show a Little Faith.