11. PRACTICAL GUIDELINES

Here are some practical tips for those who wish to receive communion on the tongue:

• Signal your intention by keeping your hands together in a prayerful position.
• Open your mouth wide enough so the priest can easily place the host on your tongue. Make your mouth into a landing pad, not a quarter slot.
• Hold still: Don’t move your head, neck, tongue, mouth, or body.
• Close your mouth as soon as the priest’s hand is away from your mouth to reduce the risk of dropping the host.
• Please do not chew the Holy Eucharist. Let it soften in the mouth and then swallow.

By doing this, you’ll avoid having the smallest particle of Our Lord stuck in your teeth where it might be desecrated later by coming into contact with the profane.