Hymn Gripe

[Caedmon]

Does anyone else take issue with the hymn, "The Bread We Hold in our Our Hand"? Here's the refrain:

"The bread we hold in our hand is the body of the King of heaven."

First of all, I think it's theologically unsound to refer to the Eucharist as "bread." Secondly, I think that this song discriminates against those who receive Eucharist on the tongue. Thoughts?

 

[Rising_Suns]

Does anyone else take issue with the hymn, "The Bread We Hold in our Our Hand"? Here's the refrain:

"The bread we hold in our hand is the body of the King of heaven."

First of all, I think it's theologically unsound to refer to the Eucharist as "bread." Secondly, I think that this song discriminates against those who receive Eucharist on the tongue. Thoughts?

Hi Caedmon, peace be with you,

I think it is fine to use the term "bread" in this case because the chorus immediately defines it as the "body of the King of heaven", which it is. With regards to your second comment, I tend to agree with you on this. I never considered how important it was to receive the Eucharist on the tongue rather than in the hands until I heard that popular quote from Mother Theresa. So we should be encouraging this old tradition rather than the opposite.

But in any case, it's just a song.

May the Lord give you His peace!

-Davide

 

[Highway of Life]

I tend to shy away from songs that sing about God, instead of to God.
The time I feel this is absolutely necessary to sing to God is when we are receiving the Eucharist.

Highway of Life

 

[geocajun]

htl, I agree with that - though I do love it when we sing Ave Maria during the Communion procession

Caedmon you are correct, it would be more theologically correct if it read like this "This which looks like bread, is is the body of the King of heaven."

 

[Paul S]

It's a little troubling, but the Roman Canon itself refers to bread after the consecration. After the consecration of the wine, the oblation says:

Unde et memores, Domine, nos servi tui, sed et plebs tua sancta, ejusdem Christi Filii tui Domini nostri tam beatae passionis, necnon et ab inferis resurrectionis, sed et in caelos gloriosae ascensionis: offerimus praeclarae majestati tuae de tuis donis, ac datis, hostiam † puram, hostiam † sanctam, hostiam † immaculatam, Panem † sanctum vitae aeternae, et Calicem † salutis perpetuae.

Wherefore, O Lord, we Thy servants, as also Thy holy people, calling to mind the blessed Passion of the same Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, and also His Resurrection from the dead and His glorious Ascension into heaven: do offer unto Thy most excellent Majesty of Thine own gifts, bestowed upon us, a pure † Host, a holy † Host, an unspotted † Host, the holy † Bread of eternal life, and the Chalice † of everlasting salvation.

"Which we hold in our hand" is more troubling, since we should be encouraging reception on the tongue.

 

[Caedmon]

It's a little troubling, but the Roman Canon itself refers to bread after the consecration. After the consecration of the wine, the oblation says:

Unde et memores, Domine, nos servi tui, sed et plebs tua sancta, ejusdem Christi Filii tui Domini nostri tam beatae passionis, necnon et ab inferis resurrectionis, sed et in caelos gloriosae ascensionis: offerimus praeclarae majestati tuae de tuis donis, ac datis, hostiam † puram, hostiam † sanctam, hostiam † immaculatam, Panem † sanctum vitae aeternae, et Calicem † salutis perpetuae.

Wherefore, O Lord, we Thy servants, as also Thy holy people, calling to mind the blessed Passion of the same Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, and also His Resurrection from the dead and His glorious Ascension into heaven: do offer unto Thy most excellent Majesty of Thine own gifts, bestowed upon us, a pure † Host, a holy † Host, an unspotted † Host, the holy † Bread of eternal life, and the Chalice † of everlasting salvation.

"Which we hold in our hand" is more troubling, since we should be encouraging reception on the tongue.

I suppose that the "bread" in the song could be thought of as Jesus, the Bread of Life, but you would that they would have made that more explicit, by capitalizing it, for instance. Anyway, I agree with you on the issue of tongue reception. That is the most troubling aspect of this hymn.

 

[Caedmon]

Paul S, just as an aside, I noticed that there are 5 Sign of the Cross symbols in that post-consecration oblation. An older hispanic woman in our parish makes the Sign of the Cross several times consecutively during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and I was wondering if she was following a mass with that oblation from her earlier years in the Church.

 

[Paul S]

Those signs of the cross are made by the priest in the traditional rite. In the rubrics for the new Mass, most of the signs of the cross have been dropped. In my missal, and I'm sure in others, the text includes all the signs of the cross made during Mass.

The text of the prayer is still in the Mass, part of Eucharistic Prayer I, right after the memorial acclamation. The current translation is:

Father, we celebrate the memory of Christ, your Son. We, your people and ministers, recall his passion, his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into glory; and from the many gifts you have given us we offer to you, God of glory and majesty, this holy and perfect sacrifice: the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation.

By the way, in the traditional Roman Canon, the sign of the Cross is made 25 times.

Does this woman also cross herself at the Misereatur ("May Almighty God have mercy on us...")after the penitential rite? That's what's done at the TLM, and if she does, it's likely something she was taught to do growing up and it stayed with her. Many people at my parish also do this.