Are We Desecrating the Body of Christ By Receiving the Eucharist in Our Hands?

What a joy to pray with the men and women Prayer Warriors in front of Planned Parenthood on a beautiful but cold Monday morning. It is thrilling and heart-warming to be part of such a special group who believes in and practices prayer.

The sad thing is that 75% of Catholics who attend mass don't believe in the real presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine. Through the efforts of the corrupt Catholic leaders involved in Vatican II, all Catholics were encouraged to receive the Holy Eucharist in their hand and then place the hosts in their own mouths.

This is a violation of over 1500 years of tradition where Catholics venerated the Body and Blood of Jesus by kneeling to receive the host in their mouths, while an altar boy held a platen underneath the hands of the priest to ensure not one particle of the Body of Jesus fell to the ground. This was a time of true reverence for our Lord in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Now that we are forced by bishops to receive the Body of Christ in our hands, there is very little true reverence by communicants. It is passed out just like the wafers or pieces of bread in non-Catholic congregations, where no matter the words of blessing, it still remains a symbol of the Body of Jesus rather than the real thing.

When I came back to the Catholic Church back in 1996, receiving the host in my hand by a lay person bothered me. It seemed sacrilegious.

At that time and for many years I struggled with this procedure, However, in the pursuit of greater holiness, I become a lay Eucharistic minister.

Unfortunately, no matter what I did or how much I prayed, it just did not feel right to have my unconsecrated hands touch the real Body of Jesus to give myself and others the host without doing something to ensure parts of the host did not fall to the ground, land on people's clothes or be stuck to their hands.

Recently, I decided to see just what happens when the Holy Eucharist is placed in your hand. I decided to wear tight black leather gloves when I received the host, now only from a priest or deacon.

The first day I was horrified to see white particles of the host on my glove after I used my tongue to consume the host. I licked up these small particles, infuriated at the thought that for the last 24 years I have been a willing party in desecrating the Body of Jesus.

Now, when I receive the Holy Eucharist, I wear black leather gloves, reverently kneel before a priest or deacon, receive the host on the palm of my glove and then initiate the consumption of the Body of Jesus with my tongue, diligently licking up every particle of the host.

This is true reverence. I refuse to desecrate the Body of Jesus any longer. I encourage all Catholics to consider whether you are desecrating the Body of Jesus every time you pass out Holy Communion or receive the host in your hand.

If the host really is the real Body and Blood of Jesus, are the small particles of the host the same as the host? I asked a local priest what he thought and he was totally unconcerned about my fears of desecration.

Now that I know what is actually happening, I believe the lack of reverence by receiving or giving the Body of our Lord is the reason most Catholics don't believe in the Real Presence. If they did truly believe, they would also be horrified by desecrating the Body of Christ by touching the host, allowing particles to remain in their hands and falling to the floor or remain on their clothes.

How do you feel about this issue?

What do you believe is the solution other than the obvious, receiving the host on the tongue, the way it was done for centuries?