A recent article by John-Henry Westen for LifeSiteNews is drawing attention to a renewed debate over reverence for the Holy Eucharist, following a striking claim involving Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
According to Westen’s report, Fr. John Perricone recounted a personal encounter with the saint during an interview on Pints with Aquinas. When asked what was the worst evil she had witnessed in her lifetime, Fr. Perricone said Mother Teresa responded: “Communion in the hand,” adding, “What dishonor to Our Blessed Savior.”
The account quickly went viral, prompting critics to circulate photographs that appear to show Mother Teresa receiving or distributing Holy Communion in the hand. However, Westen reports that Fr. Perricone has not wavered in his testimony. “I don’t know what to say,” the priest said, “except the saint spoke that unsparing judgment,” according to LifeSiteNews.
Westen’s article addresses the images being used to challenge the claim, noting that some depict Mother Teresa acting as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. Under Church law, such a role is permitted “only when there is a genuine need and insufficient priests or deacons,” particularly in mission territories where clergy may not be readily available.
Other images, the report suggests, may not clearly show her receiving in the hand, but rather reaching for the Eucharist or folding her hands in preparation to receive. Westen emphasizes that these photos do not definitively establish her personal preference for the practice.
The article also points out that within her own religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, sisters were instructed to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, reinforcing a culture of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.
Westen further situates the discussion within broader concerns raised by recent popes. Pope John Paul II, while allowing the indult for Communion in the hand, expressed concern about abuses and emphasized reverence, even choosing to distribute Communion on the tongue at papal liturgies. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, continued this practice and formally encouraged the faithful to receive while kneeling and on the tongue.
The LifeSiteNews report concludes by highlighting Mother Teresa’s lifelong devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and her service to the poor. Her reported words, described as an “unsparing judgment,” are presented as a call for Catholics to reflect more deeply on how they approach the Blessed Sacrament and to foster greater reverence in receiving Holy Communion.
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