September 25, 2021 - Pastor Message
December 21, 2024THE MASS EXPLAINED PART 6: THE COMMUNION RITE
THE MASS EXPLAINED PART 6: THE COMMUNION RITE
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).
Having reflected last week on the Eucharistic Prayer, in which, by the grace of God, we transform bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, we reflect this week on the Communion Rite, in which we receive that Body and Blood and the gift the sacrament brings. The Communion Rite begins with the Lord’s Prayer, recalling our shared adoption as God’s children under our one heavenly Father which is accomplished by our communion with Christ, his only begotten Son.
We then exchange the sign of peace our peace with God and with one another accomplished by the sacrifice of Christ who washes away the sins that divide us: “For he is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it” (Ephesians 2:14-16).
This is followed by the hymn, “The Lamb of God,” echoing John the Baptist’s words to his disciples of the saving, unifying power of Christ’s sacrifice: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), which themselves recall the sacrificial lamb of Passover, whose blood unites the Israelites and saves them from death (Exodus 12), and the victorious lamb who conquers evil and ushers in the kingdom of God (Revelation 5). While this hymn is being sung by the people, the priest carries out the Fraction Rite, breaking the bread become the Body of Christ as a symbol of the breaking of Christ’s Body on the cross and of the unity our reception of his Body brings, all of us symbolically sharing the one Bread of Life.
All of this culminates in our reception of Holy Communion, which is introduced by a repetition by the priest of the words of John the Baptist, to which the people respond with words based on those of the centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed” (Matthew 8:8). This humble expression of our faith in Christ’s healing mercy leads us directly into Communion, and the shared posture (standing), gestures (bowing before receiving Communion), prayer (“The Body of Christ...Amen), and Communion Hymn externally express the internal Communion we receive and enjoy through the sacrament. After the hymn is over and all have received Communion, we enter into a brief period of silent reflection to enter more deeply into the mystery of our Communion with Christ and each other, letting the entire Communion Rite sink in personally.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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