How to use the Communion Cloth?
The Communion cloth should be held in such a way as to receive the sacred Host in case it should fall
In Traditional Latin Masses around the world, the "Communion Clothes" are being used more and more.
The Communion Cloth has been part of the Rituale Romanum at least up until 19621 , but it almost disappeared from the Catholic Churches everywhere.
With its resurgence one might ask how to use it properly.
Pope Saint Pius X, in his 1908 Catechism, answer this question in the #48:
48 Q. How should the Communion cloth be held?
A. The Communion cloth should be held in such a way as to receive the sacred Host in case it should fall.2
The Communion Cloth should be used as an extra layer of precaution to prevent the Sacred Host reaching the floor or the altar rail in case it fall.
The Catholic Encyclopedia3 also points out that the Communion cloth should be large enough, about “two feet wide”, so the communicant could actually take his both hands underneath and “hold it under his chin” so this can be “in such a way as to receive the sacred Host in case it should fall”.
In 1932, Fr. James O'Kane, commenting the Rituale Romanum , cites a more detailed instruction from St. Charles Borromeo on this topic:
St. Charles gives several most useful instructions on this subject. According to these instructions, the communicant, in receiving the Blessed Sacrament, should hold the Communion cloth with both hands under the chin. He should keep the face somewhat elevated and open the mouth, so that the priest, in placing the Sacred Host on the tongue, may not be obliged to touch the beard, lips, or teeth. 4
Finally an illustration that, perhaps, is close enough to what St. Charles Borromeo described with some do's and don'ts .
Here are some rubrics of the Rituale Romanum from 1962 on Communion cloth “Therefore, if some are to communicate during Mass, the priest having consumed the Precious Blood and before taking the final ablutions (...) the assistant extends the communion cloth before the communicants” (Rituale Romanum. Sensus Fidelium, 1962, sensusfidelium.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Roman-Rite.pdf. Accessed 3 Feb. 2023, p. 01)
Pius X, Pope St.. Catholic Catechism of Saint Pius X. Kindle Edition, 1908, (p. 70).
Schulte, Augustin Joseph. “Catholic Encyclopedia.” Www.newadvent.org, 1907, www.newadvent.org/cathen/01356c.htm. Accessed 3 Feb. 2023.
O’Kane, James. Notes on the Rubrics of the Roman Ritual. James Duffy and Co, 1932. (p. 284)