Part Eight
The rites of communion in the Roman Missal: the Our Father, the prayer after the Our Father, the Lord’s Prayer, the exchange of peace, the breaking of bread, the prayer before communion, communion and the prayer after communion.
The main objective of the communion rites is that the faithful are well disposed to receive his Body and Blood (OGMR 80). The emphasis is on the words: well disposed. We shall also see how it is desired that the faithful receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Unfortunately, what is recommended by OGMR 80 is not always followed in celebrations.
a) The presence of Christ under the two Eucharistic species
It is important to emphasise the context in which the rites are celebrated. Now, the Ritual of the Rite of Communion Outside the Mass and Eucharistic Worship, in theGeneral Introduction to n. 6 states: In the celebration of the Mass the principal modes of Christ’s presence in the Church are gradually brought out. He is present in the first place in the very assembly of the faithful gathered in his name; he is present in his word when Scripture is read in church and commentary is made on it; he is present in the person of the minister; he is present finally and above all under the Eucharistic species: a presence, this, absolutely unique, because in the sacrament of the Eucharist there is the whole Christ, God and man substantially and uninterruptedly. Precisely for this reason, the presence of Christ under the consecrated species is called real: ‘real not by exclusion, as if the others were not such, but by antonomasia (= Christ himself).’ (Ritual, p. 15, no. 6. The Ritual quotes, H. CONGREGATION OF RITES, Instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium, no. 49, A. A. S. 59 (1967), pp.566-567.
It is necessary for this progression of presence to appear. This progression begins in the Eucharistic prayer with an ascending movement: the priest and the assembly address the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
In the dialogical structure of the liturgy, it is Christ who speaks to the Father, represented by the various ministers. There is a phrase by St Augustine, quoted in the Liturgy of the Hours, that sums up this concept: Jesus Christ prays for us; he prays in us; he is prayed to by us. These various dimensions exist in the liturgy: he prays for us, in fact there are moments when the priest is interceding for his people and for the world. There are times when we pray together, as in the case of the Our Father, and there are times when we address him as God.
In this phase of the Eucharistic prayer we have this direct prayer to God but, within this, a new movement appears that can be called descent, in which God’s presence is in the Eucharistic species: bread and wine. This movement ends with the great doxology and with the amen, already emphasised by St Justin (cf. St Justin, Le due apologie, San Paolo, Rome, 1983, p. 118, no. 5) we move towards a movement directed towards the assembly. This is followed by prayers that lead us to communion with the body and blood of Christ.
b) The rites of communion
The rubrics for the Lord’s Prayer are in function of the reception of the body and blood, as is the case for the sign of peace. This must be exchanged in a sober manner (OGMR 82).
This is because it can happen that the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer underlines a sense of communion and unity that is almost constructed, when what creates unity is to communicate. The rite of peace is secondary to communicating. The placement of the sign of peace in the Roman rite creates difficulties, unlike the Ambrosian rite.
This sign in the history of the Roman rite has atrophied. Instead, this has not happened in the Ambrosian rite, because the exchange of peace is placed before the presentation of the gifts, as it should also be in the Roman rite.
The breaking of bread takes place with the help of the deacon or a concelebrant if the bread has a certain size or shape. Indeed, the fraction of a large host is the best sign that we are all part of one bread, because we constitute one body.
The placing of a small part of the host in the chalice: in the Roman Mass, when the celebration of the Mass began in the various parishes, a piece of the bread from the bishop’s Mass was taken to the various parishes to express the unity of the local Church.
The silent prayers of the priest began in the Middle Ages when the private mass had come into use. These prayers served for the concentration of the priest and to combat the heresies that had arisen concerning the real presence of Christ. Today, if we want to implement Sacrosactum Concilium n48, which emphasises that the assembly is the subject of the celebration, I maintain that it is good to say them aloud and in the first person plural, because it is the celebrating assembly that prepares to receive the Lord under the species of bread and wine and not only the one who presides over the celebration.
The priest displays the bread on the chalice, so that it does not become a second-class Eucharistic species.
(OGMR n. 85): the consecrated hosts are to be distributed at the same Mass (cf. Eucaristicu mysterium, 25 May 1967, nos. 31-32, A. A. S. 59 (1967) 558-559; and SACRA CONGREGATION FOR THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS. INSTRUCTION Immensae Caritatis, 29 January 1973, no. 2 A. A. S. 65 (1973) 267-268).
It is important that the nature of the sign be respected. This requires that the material of the Eucharistic celebration is truly presented as food. It is therefore appropriate that the Eucharistic bread, although unleavened and made in the traditional form, is made in such a way that the priest in the Mass celebrated with the people can truly break the host into several parts and distribute them at least to some of the faithful.
Small wafers are by no means excluded, however, when the number of communicants or other pastoral reasons demand it. The gesture of the breaking of bread, by which the Eucharist was simply designated in apostolic times, manifests more and more the strength and importance of the sign of the unity of all in one bread and the sign of charity, due to the fact that one single bread is distributed to all the brethren (OGMR 321).
Because of the sign, holy communion expresses its full form if it is made under the two species. In this form, in fact, the sign of the Eucharistic banquet is more evident and the divine will to ratify the new and eternal covenant in the Blood of the Lord is more clearly expressed, and the relationship between the Eucharistic banquet and the eschatological banquet in the Father’s kingdom is more intuitive (OGMR 281; cf. SACRED CONGREGATION OF RITES, Instruction Eucharisticum mysterium 25 May 1967, n. 32: AAS 59 (1967) 558).
Let us not fall into the temptation of the law of least resistance: the less complication the better. Then we accuse the faithful of not being attentive and not participating in the right way, when in fact it is we who, in presiding in the light of the law of least effort, cause the faithful to feel insignificant about what is happening.
The missal is trying to inculcate the opposite: not to preside with the law of least effort.
Where do we stand in pastoral care? In the third edition of the Missal there is a push towards extending the practice of communion under the two species. (OGMR 283). Unfortunately, it is also a question of mentality. In fact, in England it is normal to take daily communion under the two species: at the side of the presider there is a minister with the chalice and those who wish can take from the chalice, or dip the particle in it. There are the various possibilities. Unfortunately, in Italy, when communion is taken under the two species, it is customary for the priest to dip the host into the chalice and then place the host on the tongue of the faithful. I wonder to what extent this is significant, because we are talking from the point of view of the sign: to communicate to the body and blood of Christ. If we think of the Jewish Passover, the two centres of the celebration were connected to two different moments and aspects.
The first part of the Jewish meal centred on the remembrance of the liberation from slavery in Egypt, and the chalice, of course one of many, is in the context of all that God gave to the people: the promised land and the covenant he made with Israel.
In the Mass, the signs of bread and wine also have different meanings, an Easter dynamism: Christ breaks for us and in the chalice he offers his life, in his shed blood. In the Byzantine rite, a little boiling water is infused into the chalice to signify that the blood is that of a living person and not that of a dead person. Now, the dipping of the host into the chalice by the priest and placing it on the tongue loses all meaning of the sign. The sign of eating is lost and the sign of drinking is lost.
c) The arrangement of the sacred vessels on the table.
The arrangement of the sacred vessels on the table: only one bread and only one chalice, it is important that there is the bread and the chalice of the main celebrant, in celebrations one can have other chalices, and other bread, but the bread and the chalice of the president should be clearly visible.
While the president takes communion, the communion song begins. After communion, the assembly experiences a time of silence. Once the sacred silence is over, the whole assembly may also sing a psalm or a hymn of praise or a hymn (OGMR 88). The communion antiphon, as well as the entrance antiphon are read, when the hymn appropriate to the liturgical moment is not performed. The antiphons must not duplicate the chant.
The purification of the sacred vessels: this is the task of the priest, deacon or instituted acolyte. It must be performed with due respect, without lapsing into scruples. The ministers also have the task of consuming the remains of the bread and wine left in the sacred vessels. Everything must be performed at the credence with the utmost care (OGMR 183).
The farewell rites begin with the prayer after communion; this is followed by the reading of the announcements, the greeting and the blessing.
Kissing of the table by the president and the deacon.
The final hymn is optional.
A personal suggestion.
It makes little sense for the final hymn to be performed after the invitation: the Mass is over, go in peace. Then 98% of the celebrating assembly goes out and does not sing.
I suggest having the assembly perform one or at most two stanzas of the final hymn and then say: the Mass is ended go in peace.
The primary and original purpose of the preservation of the Eucharist is the administration of viaticum. This is an obligation for the baptised (cf. Ritual Eucharistic Worship, no. 6). The viaticum is preferred to the anointing of the sick for a person in danger of death. (Cf. Ritual of Anointing No. 30).
Since the time of Justin Martyr (150 A.D.) it was customary to take communion to the sick during the Sunday Eucharistic celebration (cf. Apologie, 118, no. 5). There was no such thing as preserving the Eucharist. The custom arose from the concern that those who died during the week could receive the viaticum.
The secondary purposes of the preservation of the Eucharist are:
the distribution of the Eucharist outside Mass and Eucharistic adoration.
The distribution of communion outside of Mass: the faithful should be instructed to receive communion during the Eucharistic celebration, but priests should not refuse to give communion to the faithful who request it (Ritual, Eucharistic Worship, no. 14). This case rarely happens. It can happen that there are people who are caring for a sick person and cannot participate in the Eucharistic celebration.
There is also the case that it happens in mission lands where the priest occasionally passes through the various villages and, for this reason, the liturgy of the Word is celebrated on Sundays. In this case, the ordained ministers distribute the Eucharist, which is kept in the tabernacle, after the Our Father.
To those who are prevented from participating in the Eucharistic celebration, spiritual food is brought so that they feel more and more a part of the Church living in the community gathered on the Lord’s Day celebrating the Eucharist. Who are these impeded people? The sick and the elderly
Care should be taken to teach the faithful to unite themselves intimately to Christ’s sacrifice in the Eucharist celebrated daily (Ritual, Eucharistic Worship, no. 15).
Harmonisation of Eucharistic worship with liturgical times, so that pious exercises are harmonised with the liturgy (Ritual, Eucharistic Worship, No. 16).
The presence of the sacrament derives from the Eucharistic celebration and tends towards sacramental communion. Through Eucharistic worship, the faithful prolong this presence. The relationship of this worship with the Mass must be evident; anything that could obscure the sign of the Eucharist as food should be avoided in the ornamentation. (Thrones etc.)
During the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the celebration of Mass is forbidden. If, during prolonged adoration, Mass is celebrated in the same nave, adoration ends.
By Fr. Giorgio Bontempi C.M.
