on. Making this known recently through the Director of Social Communications, Msgr Gabriel Osu, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins, however, maintained that the ordinary way of receiving Holy Communion remains Communion-on-the-tongue.
Archbishop Martins, also stressed that effective catechesis must be done to prepare the faithful for
this alternative means of receiving Holy Communion, while due reverence to Jesus in the
Holy Eucharist must be maintained.
In a guideline issued to priests and faithful in the new format of receiving the Holy Communion, the
Archbishop cautioned that when the faithful receive the Eucharistic bread in their hand, they must put
it in their mouth, consume the host, immediately before returning to their seats.
According to him, the traditional formulary for receiving Communion must be maintained, when
the Priest says: “The Body of Christ”, the communicant responds, “Amen”.
The following were also listed as precautionary measure when giving out the Communion: “Care
must be taken not to allow the particles of the host to fall or scatter; the communicant must keep his
or her hands clean and maintain a reverential comportment that befits the Body of Christ; the
reception of Communion-in-the-hand excludes the practice of intinction. In the case of intinction, that
is, Communion under both species, the faithful must receive it in the mouth.”
In addition, the Priest or Eucharistic Minister should give the Communion to the faithful
themselves. “The faithful are not permitted to take the host from the Ciborium or Paten; the traditional practice of kneeling, expressing adoration and reverence, before receiving communion must be upheld. This is spiritually significant.” Shedding more light on the significance of kneeling, Archbishop Martins explained, “For in kneeling, a person makes himself small before the presence of God before whom, “every knee shall bend (Phil. 2:10).”
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