www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Infant Communion: How to?

Being a first time Byzantine Catholic parent, I was curious if there are proper techniques regarding this. I have found some information that is helpful, but wanted to see if there was more of a consensus. Such as, some said that if there is any spit up, some people said to have the child in a bib, or to wipe it with a paper towel and then take it to the Priest for it to be burned. Some say that if any of the Precious Blood spills a little on the child's face to make sure that it is wiped by those assisting the Priest? Problems with children putting things on their mouth afterward? For instance, I see you are discouraged from giving them things to chew on right after, yet, they tend to even chew on their hands.
Is it appropriate if you notice some of the Eucharist near the baby's lips after you return from the line to sort of consume/drink it off of the child yourself? I haven't seen anyone suggest that, just something I was wondering.

Basically, I just wonder what advice or guidelines there is (and regarding infants of different ages and strength), even if coming from a link or previous discussion would be helpful. And blessed Pascha to everyone!

Allow the little ones to come to Christ in the Holy Mysteries, and forbid them not.

Once the Holy Gifts are placed in their mouths, the Lord takes care of Himself from that point.

Christ is risen!

A well trained altar server will place the purificator under the chin of the infant child to catch any stray drops of the Precious Blood. Once the child is communed, he will then dab the lips of the child to be sure that all is well.

I would be surprised if an infant spit up what amounts to a very tiny amount of the Blood of Christ being placed on the lips, but things do happen. I would say that the advice about wiping it with a tissue then giving that to the priest to be burned is good advice.

It was performed as you described today. However, moments later I did notice that near/around her lips was a bit of the dried wine/Sacrament. I still haven't been convinced what to do or what our custom is, and it was already dry so I just accepted it.

The advice about avoiding pacifiers or chewing things for a few minutes afterward seems to make sense, but I am not sure for how long.

Scrupulosity killed the Catholic.

Uh huh!!!

Sir, when it comes to the handling of our Lord in the Eucharist, there is no such thing as being scrupulous. There is, however, such a thing as being indifferent.

\\I did notice that near/around her lips was a bit of the dried wine/Sacrament.\\

Christ's blood is under the appearance of wine, which is a liquid.

NOT a wine stain, which is dry.

However, if you are really concerned, take a moist tissue to clean her face and lips, and then give it to the priest to burn, our you could burn it yourself.

I am well aware of the temptation to scrupulosity, and that some in the Western tradition struggle with this, who are prone toward it or perhaps a bit OCD...

That said, did you not realize that the ideas I was asking for feedback on came from suggestions made on a couple of Orthodox websites. Each was written by a wife of a Priest and made similar suggestions. One published at Orthodoxinfo and the other an independent blog.

And I DO NOT, want to start anyone suggesting/accusing which Church is most scrupulous or over the top in rule following type of thing. I'm just wondering if you realized the source of my concern before associating my question with Catholic scrupulosity....
Although I may find your statement kind of humorous and occasionally/dangerously true enough... and perhaps it was more aimed at myself and my tone/concern. Which is fair enough.

Wipe her mouth with your finger, then stick your finger in your mouth. End of problem. Why must people overthink everything?

But there is such a thing as being over-scrupulous, and you are presenting an excellent example of it.


I'm hardly indifferent, but am capable of some discernment, and happen to know quite a lot about the Eucharistic discipline of the Church from the first century onward, and since it was once the universal practice of the Church for people to actually receive the Eucharist in their hands and take the consecrated sacrament home with them to self-communicate throughout the week, I think Christ in his Eucharistic presence might be just a big more robust and understanding than you are being. Christ would rejoice in the reception of his transforming Body and Blood by a child, and would excuse any accidental profanation that might occur.

Inter alia, it was precisely worries about this kind of profanation that led to the Latin Church removing the Chalice from the laity, and act that coincidentally ended infant communion in the Latin Church. Not the kind of example we ought to be following.

Christos voskrese!