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Formed in Christ

Distribution of Holy Communion -- Receiving

Friday, June 26, 2026Faith

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Christ is not less present because a deacon or an extraordinary minister is distributing Holy Communion.

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

''As this reception of your Holy Communion, O Lord, foreshadows the union of the faithful in you, so may it bring about unity in your Church. Through Christ our Lord." This is the Prayer after Communion of the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Roman Missal, 2011. It nicely states what happens at our reception of Holy Communion, and points to its desired effects, "union with Christ" and through that unity in his Church. So, receiving is significant -- for each one, for us gathered, and for the Church.
We always receive Holy Communion; we do not take it. It is a gift.
Each may receive in the hand or on the tongue, and that option is the choice of the recipient, not of the minister, ordinary or extraordinary. This includes children, who should be properly catechized both as regards the posture for receiving, i.e., standing, and the option to receive in hand or on the tongue.
Each approaches a minister to receive the consecrated host and responds "Amen" to the minister's prescribed formula, "The Body of Christ." The host is to be consumed then and there in front of the minister.
A sign of reverence -- it may be the prescribed bow of the head, or a sign of the cross, or a genuflection -- is made before receiving. Standing is the proper posture for receiving. The recipient must make it obvious to the minister which option is chosen, either by extending raised hands towards the minister or opening her mouth and extending her tongue.

Christ is really and truly present in the Eucharist in either or both forms, no matter who the minister is, ordinary or extraordinary.
If the preferred practice of Communion under both kinds is offered at the Mass, then, having received and consumed the Body of Christ, the recipient goes to a minister of the chalice.
Each approaches a minister to receive the consecrated wine and responds "Amen" to the minister's prescribed formula, "The Blood of Christ." The Precious Blood is to be consumed then and there in front of the minister. The recipient takes the chalice from the minister, sips from it and then returns the chalice to the minister.
The posture for reception is standing. It is extremely awkward for a recipient to kneel to receive from the chalice.
Interestingly, while there has been some restoration of altar rails and moveable kneelers in some parishes for Communion under the form of bread, there does not seem to be the same for Communion under the form of wine. Perhaps the kneelers or rails also eliminate the possibility of Holy Communion under both kinds, either intentionally or not?
Again, a sign of reverence -- it may be the prescribed bow of the head, or a sign of the cross, or a genuflection -- is made before receiving.
Some practices are not permitted.
A pyx for Holy Communion to the Sick is brought in procession. Each parish should have a procedure for this ministry, which has the minister to the sick receive hosts in pyxes immediately after Communion at Mass and then immediately depart to the sick from Mass.
Some insist on receiving from a priest only. Christ is really and truly present in the Eucharist -- bread and wine become his Body and Blood at Mass. It is a matter of faith that the bishop or priest, by the power of the Holy Spirit, brings this about at Mass. It is NOT a matter of faith regarding the one who distributes Holy Communion. Christ is not less present because a deacon or an extraordinary minister is distributing Holy Communion. There is someone from the early Church who eloquently confirms this, a young martyr, St. Tarcisius. "Google" him.
Another practice that is gaining currency and is questionable at best is so-called "spiritual communion." This uses a prayer from St. Alphonsus Liguori, written for those who could not get to Mass, usually because of some serious illness. It is now presented in worship aids and even projected on screens during the distribution of Holy Communion as an alternative if you cannot be present in the Church, or if you are present but, for some other reason, do not receive Holy Communion.
The pandemic of a few years ago taught us many lessons, among them, that there is no substitute for physical presence at the celebrations of the sacraments, above all at Sunday Mass. Prayers, no matter how beautifully written or how venerable by use, are never equivalent to the sacraments. Remember the cry of the martyrs of the early Church, "We cannot live without the Lord's Day." We cannot live without the Eucharist.