I have received on the tongue for about the past 12 years. It was not long after my reconversion and my deepening love
for the Blessed Sacrament that I saw that I could no longer receive this way.
Yet I have been an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion since in my 20s. I no longer serve at Mass but did for years. I saw grubby hands reach out in boredom for the Sacred Host. We would find Hosts in the missals and in the Church. Reverence had taken flight to a large extent.
Now I still take communion to the hospitalized and homebound for we do not have priests who wish to do this.
If the laity did not step up here, our sick would not recieve Holy Communion. But I will be willing to let this go if our priests and deacons would visit the sick.
For Communion, I like a rail the very best of all.
I saw grubby hands reach out in boredom for the Sacred Host. We would find Hosts in the missals and in the Church. Reverence had taken flight to a large extent.
Not surprising at all. I recall one of the male EMHCs at my previous parish would douse himself with cologne; the hosts he distributed bore that fragrance.
You are absolutely correct when you say that reverence took flight. In the Maronite Catholic Church, there are NO EMHCs. Communion is distributed by intinction and only by the priest with the words: "The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be given to you for the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life." Infants and young children who have not yet received the Sacrament of First Communion are blessed when Father touches their heads with the base of the ciborium. This is reverence!
At one time I had considered becoming a EMHC but I was raised by the good sisters who told us only the priest may touch the host. Our pastor is bi-ritual (Maronite & Latin Rites). He assists the RC diocese by saying mass at priestless parishes in order to consecrate enough hosts for their weekend lay run services. Like you, he has shared stories about people receiving in the hand. He actually had to chase down one communicant when he noticed they had dropped the host into their jacket pocket.
If the laity did not step up here, our sick would not recieve Holy Communion. But I will be willing to let this go if our priests and deacons would visit the sick.
Absolutely right!! Last year I was hospitalized twice. My pastor came to administer the Sacrament of Healing on both occasions. Hospital staff were surprised to see a priest in the hospital. Like you, he often visits the sick and says Mass at a local Catholic hospital. When he approached one bed ridden Catholic woman, to bring her communion and chrism, she turned him away. Essentially, she turned Christ away.
We need to come up with a better way to catechize Catholics in this country.
Just this morning I found a Sacred Host on the floor about half way down the church under the pew. I consumed Him.
It may not be right to blame the practice of Communion in the hand, but it no doubt facilitates the sacrilege.