Skip to main content
I have designated communion on the tongue the 'middle of the wedge' between Protestant and Catholic culture.

Attached below is a good article on some of the practical aspects of this ancient and venerable practice of the Catholic Church.

Courtesy of SSPX.org

Communion on the tongue unsanitary?

November 22, 2013 
District of the US
Opponents of Communion on the tongue often assert that this practice is unsanitary compared to in-the-hand - but what is the reality?

Pastor's Corner for Sunday, November 24

First published in February 2012, we have republished this piece for reflection.
Communion on the tongue is unsanitary. So authoritatively stated an article published in the Australian Catholic Leader by Elizabeth Harrington, the education official for the Liturgy Commission of the Brisbane archdiocese:
…It is awkward for ministers to give communion on the tongue to people who are standing, which is the recommended posture for communion in Australia, and it is unhygienic because it is difficult for ministers to avoid passing saliva on to other communicants.[1]
This statement (often made by in-the-hand proponents) reveals an ignorance of the Roman Church’s traditional practice and the rubrics for the distribution of Holy Communion on the tongue.
In the first place, the communicant is supposed to kneel; obviously exceptions are made for the handicapped, who usually wish they could kneel. Not only does this show the communicants’ humility in receiving their Divine Eucharistic Lord (i.e., God), but this submissive posture also enables giving the Host on the tongue more practically, safely and… hygienically — in all three cases, much more so than Communion in the hand.
Another interesting aspect is that the traditional form of receiving Communion kneeling and on the tongue demonstrates the Roman character of practicality that pervades its namesake liturgical rite, resulting in a reverent and dignified manner of receiving the Bread of Angels, yet easily and efficiently.
The traditional rubrics of the Rituale Romanum[2] prescribe that the priest is to carefully pick up the Host by Its edge between his right thumb and index finger; no other digits may be used to perform this action. As diligently taught in traditional First Communion classes, the communicant is to tilt his head back slightly, open his mouth and extend his tongue a little creating what is often called “the pillow of the tongue”. The priest then easily places the Host on this “pillow” without touching the communicant’s tongue, mouth, or even lips — resulting in an absence of physical contact between the administrator and the communicant.
But with Communion in the hand, full hand-to-hand contact is made between the administrator (usually the ubiquitous Eucharistic Minister) and the communicants, who often have not washed (or sanitized) their hands prior to receiving. Hence with in-the-hand, there is a very real danger of spreading unwanted germs.
The fact is, before the progressivists’ clamor for Communion in the hand (something we might add episcopal conferences did without the Holy See’s approval[3]), the issue of hygiene was never raised concerning the traditional manner of receiving Holy Communion — and this during an era when the hygienic advocates were in full swing to make the world germ free.
The irony of this charge against Communion on the tongue is that those who promote in-the-hand for non-existent hygienic reasons simultaneously encourage the practice of “sharing the cup” (receiving the Precious Blood communally from a chalice) which the Roman Church ceased in ancient timesprecisely due to hygienic concerns (i.e., because of the backwash of saliva that inevitable occurs from a group of people drinking from the same vessel) — which in turn could lead to disdain of this Sacred Mystery.
This topic in fact provides just one more example of how through Holy Mother Church’s traditional practices, she is solicitous for both our spiritual and natural welfare. On the supernatural side, she provides us with a reverential manner in which we poor and unworthy sinners (“Domine non sum dignus” citing the sentiments of the Centurion) may receive Our Lord’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, yet in the natural sphere, in a way that does not jeopardize our bodily health.
Footnotes
1 This is the archdiocesan newspaper and the article was titled “Communion in the Hand” was published on February 12, 2012, in the column, “Liturgy Lines”. It is currently unavailable online without a subscription.
2 Three editions of the traditional Roman Ritual are currently available from Angelus Press, two in English, a pocket-size and Fr. Philip Weller's The Roman Ritual set (which he intended to also act as a catechism for the laity) and one in Spanish.
Cf. Bishop Juan Laise's groundbreaking book, Communion in the Hand: Documents and History and this webpage featuring a video extract from Cardinal Burke which includes many pertinent links about Communion in the hand.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Little Perspective on Pope Leo XIV

 + JMJ By Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar - https://x.com/edgarjbb_/status/1920590815472108021, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=165004058 The Catholic Church has a new Vicar of Christ.   As discussed in my short series " Who's in Charge? ", we know that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been elected as Vicar of Christ in the recent conclave, taken the name Pope Leo XIV, and been accepted by the moral unanimity of Bishops and faithful in union with the Catholic Church. Roberto de Mattei has written an article for Rorate Caeili ( RORATE CÆLI: Leo XIV and the Future of the Church - by Roberto de Mattei ) that delves into some aspects of this major event in the life of the Catholic Church. The Pope has addressed the Cardinals and made clear some of his thoughts: In this regard, I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council ....

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

What the heck is a congregation of "Pontifical Right"

+ JMJ In a discussion with a friend the question occurred to me that I didn't actually know was is involved in being a religious order of 'pontifical right'. I had a vague notion that this meant they reported to Rome as opposed to the local diocese. I'm also aware that, according to the accounts I have heard, the Archbishop received 'praise' and the written direction to incardinate priests directly into the SSPX.  This is interesting because it implies that the SSPX priests were no longer required to incardinate in the local diocese but in the SSPX. This is something that belongs to an order of 'pontifical right'. Anyway here's some definitions: Di diritto pontificio is the Italian term for “of pontifical right” . It is given to the ecclesiastical institutions (the religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See or approved by it with the formal decree, known by its Latin name, Decretu...

News Roundup: May 13, 2026

 + JMJ Introduction I have set this article to post on May 13th, the anniversary of the first of six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima. Fatima while a historical fact, still seems to point to the future.  Has the consecration been done according to her wishes?  Will another Pope do it again in the face of a world going mad and slipping into the same conditions that fostered two great wars? I don't know.  But I pray that the message of Fatima to repent and do penance is heard in the hearts of Catholics every where.  We carry the light to the world and need to illuminate the 'The Way'. The Catholic Church Obviously, the death of Pope Francis I and the election of Pope Leo XIV is a major development in the Catholic Church and the World. Just what the immediate outcomes of these two events will take some time.  I strongly suspect that there will be no calls of Santo Subito for Pope Francis.  If there is and if they do canonize Pope Francis ....