May a Catholic receive Holy Communion in the hand, or on the tongue? Dr. Brant Pitre walks through the biblical roots, the witness of the Fathers, and the Church's current norms — fairly and without polemics.
Communion in the Hand or on the Tongue: What the Church Actually Teaches
The current norm is direct: the General Instruction of the Roman Missal states the consecrated host "may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant." Dr. Pitre situates that norm inside a long history. On the biblical side he examines the Last Supper, where Jesus "took bread… and gave it to them" (Mark 14:22-24), and the moment Jesus dips the morsel and hands it to Judas (John 13:26). He then follows the practice across the early Church — Pope St. Sixtus, St. Cyprian of Carthage, St. Athanasius, St. Cyril of Jerusalem's famous "throne" of the hands, and St. Basil — alongside the emergence of Communion on the tongue with St. Gregory the Great, the Synod of Rouen, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the rise of Communion rails and kneeling. The session lays out what saints practiced, what councils ruled, and what Rome permits today.
Key passages & sources examined: Mark 14:18, 22-24; John 13:21-30; GIRM nos. 41, 160; St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Catecheses 5.21-22; St. Cyprian, Letters 55.9; St. Athanasius, Festal Letters 5; St. Basil, Letter 93; St. Gregory the Great, Dialogues 3.3; Synod of Rouen (878); St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, q. 82; Memoriale Domini (1969); Redemptionis Sacramentum nos. 90-92.
Is communion in the hand allowed by the Catholic Church? Yes — where the bishops' conference has been granted permission by the Apostolic See, the faithful may receive in the hand; the faithful also always retain the right to receive on the tongue. Dr. Pitre reviews the exact documents.
Is communion in the hand ancient or a modern invention? The video examines witnesses from the 2nd through 5th centuries (Sixtus, Cyprian, Athanasius, Cyril, Basil, Augustine) as well as the later shift toward reception on the tongue — presenting the history rather than a verdict.
What reverence does the Church ask when receiving Communion? St. Cyril's image of making a "throne" of one's hands, bowing before the Sacrament, and St. Augustine's teaching that no one eats without first adoring — all covered in the session.
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It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
