Father Wilson's Bulletin Article

Over the next two weeks, 119 young people will receive the Eucharist for the first time at Masses this weekend and next. It is always a joyful time for young people, their families, and our community. The anticipation is exciting and provides a great opportunity for us to review the protocols of receiving the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist.

 

Preparation: A fruitful encounter with God requires some preparation. That is one of the reasons we ask families to prepare their children to receive the Eucharist. The bare minimum of preparation for those in good health and without conditions that might make fasting risky for their health or activity, is to refrain from all food and beverage intake (except water) for at least one hour before receiving. The fast is a reminder that we are preparing to get something better than what this world can offer. It isn’t an arbitrary rule meant to trip people up, but rather a minor act of sacrifice to prepare us to encounter Jesus. Older people may remember a much more stringent fast of days past, which was softened by Pope Pius XII. He did so in response to the fast taking on a life of its own separate from the Eucharist. The less stringent fast keeps Jesus in mind and not the rigor of the fast.

 

Additional appropriate preparation includes praying before Mass and preparing for the readings of the day, especially the Gospel. Reading the Word before Mass helps us to hear the Word more clearly when it is proclaimed at Mass.

 

Receiving: In the mid-1970s, the Holy See permitted the reception of communion in the hand. In so doing, it revived an ancient tradition from the early centuries of the Church. Communion reception on the tongue or the hand is permitted and acceptable, and one should not be viewed as more or less reverent than the other. If receiving on the tongue, the communicant should have their mouth open wide enough with the tongue slightly extended to be able to receive Jesus without contacting the hand of the distributor.

 

Those receiving in the hand should form their hands like a throne for the King by having one hand below the other and allow the distributor to place the Eucharist on the hand, again avoiding skin-to-skin contact if possible. Once received, the communicant clasps the Eucharist, and places it in her mouth. Absent physical limitations that prevent it, the Eucharist should not be grabbed or taken and the hands should not be cupped. The Lord rests momentarily on the throne, before being consumed.

 

Jesus feeds His people with Himself, and it is the greatest gift we can ever receive. Because of its simplicity, it can be easily overlooked in its importance and miraculous presence.

 

Jesus loves us enough to give Himself to us. We ought to be grateful enough to be well-prepared to receive Him with awe, wonder, and reverence.