Holy Communion
Received kneeling, on the tongue, after the Confiteor.
What happens
The priest communicates himself under both species while praying the prescribed formulas (Panem caelestem accipiam… Quid retribuam Domino…). Before distributing to the faithful, the server says the Confiteor; the priest gives absolution (Misereatur, Indulgentiam) and shows the Host ('Ecce …'), with the triple 'Domine, non sum dignus.' The faithful receive kneeling, on the tongue, as the priest says 'Corpus Domini nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam. .'
Why it happens
The manner of reception — kneeling and on the tongue — expresses the Church's traditional reverence for the . The form of distribution itself is a confession of faith in Christ truly, really, and substantially present under the .
Sources
- 1962 MR Ordo Missae
- RS X, 6–7