He Feeds Me
Posted by: tony on 01/15/2008 03:51 AM
Updated by: tony on 01/15/2008 03:51 AM
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Expires: 02/15/2008 12:00 AM
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Todd from Catholic Sensibility comments on Bishop Athanasius Schneider's statements regarding receiving Communion on the tongue.
Todd writes:
The essay on receiving Communion while kneeling and on the tongue from Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Karaganda, Kazakhstan is getting tons of traction in the blogosphere. CNS mentioned it earlier this week. I wasn’t sure what to say about it. It just struck me as plain wrong.
Bishop Schneider said that just as a baby opens his mouth to receive nourishment from his mother, so should Catholics open their mouths to receive nourishment from Jesus.
The image is strange. I couldn’t help but envision an adult communicant scrambling up into the lap of a bishop to receive Communion like a baby. Maybe the hierarchy is really intent on keeping us layfolk as infants.
Metaphors are really great for giving us spiritual insight. But they don’t travel well beyond the single point or two they stress. My suggestion is to receive Communion with a mindfulness and an awareness, to receive with devotion and in prayer, to stand up in doing so. Likewise we stand tall in the world as an advocate for the Gospel. We don’t need a bishop giving us advice like this.
I, for one, receive on the tongue. I have received this way exclusively for the past few years. I like the rich symbolism of the priest, alter Christus, feeding me with his own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. I also would prefer to kneel. I'm sure my pastor would not discourage it, but as of yet I haven't begun doing so.
Jesus mentions about approaching the kingdom of heaven as a little child. To me this means subsuming my ego and submitting myself completely to Him. An infant is reliant on his parents (especially his mother) for everything. We are reliant on God for everything. By opening our mouth and being fed by Jesus, we acknowledge that. By falling to our knees, we acknowledge Jesus, real and present, is Lord of the universe "before whom every knee will bend in heaven, on earth and under the earth".
Standing definantly holding out my hand for what's due me, is not the posture I'm comfortable taking with my Lord and Savior.
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