"Traditional" Catholics don't like the idea of receiving Holy Communion in the hand, and this is fine; if they prefer to receive Communion directly into the mouth whilst kneeling, even with the Novus Ordo Missae this is acceptable. I've grown up with taking Holy Communion in the hand, and to be quite frank and I don't see what the big deal is about it: when Christ distributed the bread, his body, at the Last Supper, he didn't get his apostles to kneel before him and avoid touching the bread at all costs. Anyway, that being beside the point, I did some digging around and found this snippet form St. Cyril of Jerusalem regarding Holy Communion in the hand:
"When you approach Holy Communion, make the left hand into a throne for the right, which will receive the King. Then with your lower hand, take the consecrated Host and place it in your mouth" (~350 A.D.).
Just as our bodies become the tabernacle of the Body of Christ when we consume Holy Communion, our hands become, like St. Cyril suggests, the throne on which Our Lord and King will sit. Before Christ resides in us, we must first welcome him with great respect and reverence.
For more information about Holy Communion (the Eucharist), follow this link.
God bless.
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