Dear friends,

We conclude our present journey through the Liturgy.

The purpose of all Liturgy is to glorify God and sanctify His people.  Having offered Christ, and ourselves, to the Father in praise and thanksgiving (actually, having joined Christ in offering Himself, and us with Him, to the Father in love and obedience), we prepare to complete the Eucharist by feeding on the food which gives us life, the Body and Blood of the Lord. 

The Communion Rite begins with the Our Father, that special prayer taught by Jesus to His disciples, the prayer that expresses the way a disciple is to live his/her life.  It is prayed by the community together and is followed by an expansion of the last petition, the priest enumerating the evil from which we pray to be delivered.  It is all concluded by an ancient doxology found in some of the manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew, “for the kingdom, the power and the glory.”  (Because it was found in some of these manuscripts, other Christians have included it as part of the Our Father). 

The Communion Rite continues with the Rite of Peace, the rite by which the Church asks God to grant peace and unity to all her members.  It is during this rite the community shares a symbolic gesture of peace, thus a willingness to be instruments of that very prayer for peace.  Frankly, I sometimes wonder what could possibly be in the mind of those who refuse to do so.  Are they saying they don’t want the Church to be blessed with unity and peace?

In preparation for Communion, the community once again asks mercy from the Lamb of God, whose sacrifice takes away the sins of the world and then the community, in an act of humility, acknowledges its unworthiness of this great gift in the words of the centurion.  The community then comes forward to be fed on the Body and Blood of the Lord, poured out so that we might live His new life.  In the Communion Procession, the community moves toward the Gift we are to receive with solemnity and dignity.  This is not like standing in line at the bank or the DMV.  The procession is, itself, a sign of our unity, both with Christ and with one another.  It is culminated by an act of reverence when we get to the minister, either a simple bow of the head or a genuflection.  However, it should not be so prolonged as to retard or delay the movement of the procession, especially here at Mount Carmel when the communion line is so long.  Communion may be received on the tongue or in the hand.  If the latter, the right hand should be placed under the left hand which is held palm open and facing upward.  The host is then placed in the left hand and the communicant takes it with the right hand and places it in the mouth.  For a left-handed person, the hands are reversed.  No one should grab the host out of the minister’s hand. 

The distribution of communion is followed by a few moments of silence for each individual to commune directly with the Lord Who has just been received in this Blessed Sacrament.

The Communion Rite closes with the Prayer After Communion in which the priest prays for the community to be enlightened, encouraged and inspired by these rites as it journeys through this life to eternity.  The Concluding Rites include the Blessing,

 
Invoking God’s blessing on all present and the Dismissal, a sending forth of the congregation to be actively engaged in the Lord’s work on earth.  And so the congregation goes forth, singing the praise of God for having gathered us together and gifting us with the very life of Jesus. 

As we opened today’s look at the Liturgy, I called what we have been doing a journey through the Liturgy, and that is what I hope you saw it as.  It could have been far more exhaustive, for the Liturgy is ever so rich in history and meaning.  However, what I hoped it would be was a brief glimpse at what happens when we gather Sunday after Sunday so that with this understanding, everyone would better appreciate how the Liturgy impacts on our life.  It is a journey during which we should be enlightened, challenged, nourished and fortified with all we need to reach our goal.  I hope it has helped.

I will be taking a break from this focus on the Liturgy during the summer but will return to it in the fall as we approach the changes that we will need to understand and appreciate. 

God Bless,
Fr. Ron