8.180. Why do traditional Catholics receive Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling? Isn’t it more respectful to receive in the hand like the early Christians?
The practice of receiving Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue is not just a matter of tradition or external reverence — it reflects deep theological truths about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the sacredness of the priesthood, and the necessity of humility before God. This manner of receiving has been upheld by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries and was universal until the liturgical revolution following Vatican II.
Contrary to modern misconceptions, this posture of reception is not a medieval invention, nor is it a matter of cultural preference. It flows directly from a Catholic understanding of Who the Eucharist is — Jesus Christ, truly present: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. To kneel is to adore. To receive on the tongue is to acknowledge that only the consecrated hands of the priest — an alter Christus — are to touch the sacred Host.
1. A Sacred Tradition from the Beginning
From the earliest centuries, the Church emphasized profound reverence toward the Holy Eucharist. While some early Christians may have received in the hand in rare and controlled circumstances, these instances were not normative, and they quickly gave way to the Church’s insistence on the exclusive handling of the Sacred Species by the priest, particularly in the Latin Rite.
By the 6th century, the Church in the West had already moved to the practice of Communion on the tongue. The Council of Rouen (circa 650 AD) explicitly forbade the laity from touching the Host, establishing that only the priest could distribute Holy Communion.
Pope St. Leo the Great (5th century) taught in his sermons that even those few who did receive in the hand were expected to receive it reverently on a clean cloth placed on the hand, not with casual or ordinary touch. Moreover, women were generally never permitted to touch the Host, even in the earliest Christian communities.
Thus, the idea that “Communion in the hand” was widespread and ordinary in the early Church is false or exaggerated. The Church’s tradition developed toward greater reverence, not less — because a deeper understanding of the Real Presence demanded it.
2. Kneeling: A Posture of Adoration
Kneeling for Holy Communion is an act of profound worship. It expresses interior humility and adoration of the Divine Presence. In fact, the Church mandated kneeling for reception in her official rubrics for centuries, and this was upheld until the 1960s.
St. Paul teaches:
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”
How much more, then, when we receive His very Body into our soul?
The Council of Trent (Session XIII) solemnly reaffirmed the doctrine of the Real Presence and denounced those who failed to show due reverence in receiving Communion. The same Council stated that this sacrament is to be received with utmost humility, in a manner that distinguishes it from all ordinary food.
3. Vatican II and the “Reform”
After Vatican II, the Novus Ordo religion — created by the Modernists — introduced Communion in the hand and standing as part of its broader agenda to de-sacralize the Mass and reduce the role of the priest to a mere “presider.”
The innovation of Communion in the hand was not mandated by Vatican II (which said nothing specific on this issue), but it was promoted later through deception and defiance. The change was introduced illicitly in parts of Europe (notably the Netherlands and Germany) and was eventually permitted by the post-conciliar “popes” through indults and false pastoral excuses.
The result has been catastrophic. Communion in the hand has fostered casualness, irreverence, widespread Eucharistic sacrilege, and a loss of belief in the Real Presence. This was confirmed in a Pew Research study which found that a majority of self-identified Catholics no longer believe that the Eucharist is truly Christ.
From a sedevacantist perspective, this collapse in reverence is not surprising, since the Novus Ordo Mass itself is a counterfeit rite, fabricated by Modernists like Annibale Bugnini, with the assistance of Protestant ministers, to reflect Protestant theology and ecumenical aims.
Even gestures of reverence — like some Novus Ordo clergy returning to distribution on the tongue — cannot undo the intrinsically irreverent nature of the false rite and the illegitimacy of those presiding over it.
4. Why Traditional Catholics Kneel and Receive on the Tongue
Traditional Catholics who remain faithful to the pre-Vatican II Church do not receive standing or in the hand because such practices:
Were forbidden for centuries and only reintroduced through disobedience and false authority
Lead to sacrilege, due to profanation of the Sacred Host and loss of particles
Express a Protestant theology, where the Eucharist is seen as a symbolic meal
Reflect a man-centered liturgy, contrary to the God-centered worship of Catholic tradition
Kneeling and receiving on the tongue is not about personal preference — it is about doctrinal and liturgical fidelity. It is about treating the Holy Eucharist as God Himself, not as common bread passed from hand to hand.
Moreover, the traditional rite of Holy Communion is safeguarded by the validity of the priesthood, the correct intention, and the unchanging Roman Rite — unlike the fabricated Novus Ordo.
| Category | Traditional Catholic View | Modern Novus Ordo Practice | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reception Posture | Kneeling, on the tongue, in adoration | Standing, often in the hand, casually | Kneeling expresses humility before the Real Presence of Christ |
| Theology | Christ is truly, substantially present — worship is due | Often treated symbolically or with diminished reverence | Doctrine of the Real Presence is undermined in practice |
| Priestly Role | Only consecrated hands of a valid priest may touch the Host | Laypeople (“ministers”) handle and distribute the Eucharist | Destroys distinction between priesthood and laity |
| Liturgical Authority | Reception norms come from divine tradition and canon law | Changed arbitrarily by modernist “bishops” and “popes” | False authority has no right to change sacramental reverence |
| Tradition | Unbroken for over 1,400 years in the Roman Rite | Introduced illicitly in the 1960s via disobedience | Discontinuity proves rupture, not development |
| Fruits | Increased reverence, belief, and vocations | Loss of belief, profanation, declining Mass attendance | “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16) |
Summary:
The practice of kneeling and receiving Holy Communion on the tongue is a time-honored tradition in the Catholic Church that reflects a profound theological understanding of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Far from being a sentimental ritual, it is the natural expression of a soul in the presence of its Creator.
Throughout Church history, even when early Christians received on the hand, it was done in a controlled, reverent manner, and the practice quickly gave way to the insistence that only the priest should touch the Host. The Council of Trent codified this reverence, linking posture to belief. Kneeling and reception on the tongue safeguard both the dignity of the sacrament and the faith of the believer.
In contrast, the modern post-Vatican II Church introduced practices that depart from apostolic tradition and dogmatic theology. Communion in the hand and standing was not the fruit of organic development but was forced upon the faithful through liturgical disobedience and false authority structures. The innovators used arguments about “early Church practice” to undermine reverent worship, but in doing so they attacked the very heart of the Church’s sacramental theology.
The Novus Ordo “Mass” and its associated practices — including casual reception of “Communion” — are not just deficient but invalid and dangerous to souls. They reflect a loss of faith in the Real Presence, a denial of the unique role of the priesthood, and a rupture from tradition. Even gestures of reverence within the Novus Ordo cannot salvage what is essentially a man-made counterfeit rite.
This is why traditional Catholics — who have preserved the true Catholic Faith — continue to kneel and receive the Eucharist on the tongue, from validly ordained priests, in the immemorial Roman Rite. This practice is not about nostalgia. It is about faithfulness, fidelity, and reverence for Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Further Reading:
The Catechism of the Council of Trent – section on the Eucharist
The Ottaviani Intervention – a critique of the Novus Ordo Mass
The Great Sacrilege – Fr. James Wathen (a sedevacantist in essence but not in name)
Communion in the Hand and Other Frauds – Michael Davies (a traditionalist, not a sedevacantist)
Mediator Dei (on the liturgy) – Pope Pius XII