Sunday, April 13, 2025
Holy Week and Receiving Jesus
Our entry into Holy Week begins as we accompany Jesus into his city, Jerusalem, with sweet hosanas and the waving of palm branches. Shortly thereafter, Jesus suffers his passion to the words “crucify him” and the echoing hammer of nails. Between Jesus entry and exit from the city—Palm Sunday and Good Friday—his disciples make preparation for the Passover, Holy Thursday (Mt. 26:17). I was reflecting on the scripture for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and the words and gestures that make it so moving.
Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Last year on Holy Thursday we reintroduced the reception of the Precious Blood. Now is an opportune time to review how to receive the Most Blessed Sacrament. While Catholic doctrine teaches that Christ is received ‘whole and entire’ in just one species (either bread or wine), the fullness of the sacramental sign by which Christ is truly, substantially and really present remains under both the form of bread AND wine. Until the Diocese of Orange grants permission for Sundays, we can only make the Precious Blood available on weekdays.
When one receives the Precious Blood of the Lord, bow your head as you approach the minister and then grasp the chalice after your affirmation of faith, “Amen,” to “The Blood of Christ,” and take a sip before giving the chalice back to the minister. Please do not receive from the chalice if you are sick. Similarly, if you choose to receive communion on the tongue, make sure you extend your tongue far enough so that the minister avoids contact with his or her fingers. If you choose to receive communion in the hand, a very ancient and venerable practice, in the words of many church fathers, “make one hand a throne for the other hand as you receive the King of Glory…,” and consume the Eucharistic bread immediately.
The normative posture for the reception of Communion is to receive the Eucharist standing. While no one would ever be denied Communion if they knelt, the ancient posture of standing for reception of the Eucharist signifies one’s dignity as the Baptized of the Lord, profound respect for the Lord whose Body and Blood we receive and a sign of the Resurrection. In the ancient Church, kneeling was a sign of those who were enduring penance and could not receive the Eucharist. Please receive both the body and blood standing so as not to disrupt the flow of the procession and help mitigate the possibility of spilling the precious blood. You may kneel when you return to your pew.
In Christ,
Rev. Robert P. Capone