Mass Talks 20: Distribution and reception of Holy Communion

In the popular mind it has come to be thought that the whole purpose of having Mass, even of going to church, is to receive Holy Communion. This mistaken view is a modern one and is the result of both a good and a bad development. The good is that with the relaxation of the Eucharistic fast to just one hour and with the encouragement to receive Communion daily–we are now allowed Communion even twice daily: something unprecedented in the Church’s history–frequent Communion by nearly everyone attending Mass is the norm. The bad thing about this is that with the poor religious instruction of recent years, that realization that Communion is the very flesh and blood of Jesus, God and man, is not necessarily known or embraced by everyone. Moreover, this ignorance also accounts for the fact that many do not know that it’s required that everyone going to Communion must be in a state of grace and that, if one has serious sins–mortal sins–he may not take Communion until first having gone to Confession. So we ask: is God then pleased or outraged by the massive numbers of people receiving Communion nowadays? Only the Lord Himself can answer.

The essential purpose of Mass is not only to provide Communion, but rather to reenact the sacrifice of Calvary. When one understands the necessity in itself of having Mass said as the only perfect act of the worship of the Blessed Trinity and as a means of repairing the injury done both to God and humanity by sin, one sees that Mass must be offered frequently, even if no one but the priest takes Communion. But the priest’s Communion is absolutely necessary to consummate the sacrifice. For this reason, the priest at Mass must receive Communion first. It’s not, as has been foolishly said, that this is a breech in etiquette. It’s rather a requirement that the priest must partake of what he has already offered. And so, the priest by his own hand communicates first the Lord’s Body and then His Blood. Silently, he prays a brief prayer before taking each species: “May the body of Christ bring me to everlasting life” and “May the Blood of Christ bring me to everlasting life.” Once he has done this, if there is no singing of the Communion antiphon, he is to read the Communion verse printed in the altar Missal; otherwise it should be sung by the choir. And then, the distribution of Communion for the people begins using, as much as possible, hosts consecrated at that particular Mass in order to make the point that Holy Communion is the direct result of the consecration of the Mass.

On the people’s part, they receive the whole Christ, whether they take the host alone or, as we do here, the host dipped into the Precious Blood. Both forms are not necessary to receive all of Christ (who, of course, can’t be divided), but this dual form does conform better to our Lord’s invitation both to eat and to drink, and the practice is thus deemed more fitting. The one distributing Communion is to say to each communicant, “The Body of Christ” or, as here, “The Body and Blood of Christ” to which the response “Amen” is to be made. This idea of having the people say amen is an ancient practice of the Church that has been restored in our time. The reason this is important is that it affords everyone the chance to make a statement of Catholic belief at the moment of Communion. That ‘amen’ means that the one about to receive believes this is Christ’s Body and Blood–appearances to the contrary notwithstanding. In the old Tridentine form of the Mass, the priest, in distributing Communion (there were no extraordinary ministers back then), continually said a formula in Latin all the while: “May our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul unto eternal life. Amen.” There was no people’s response back then. Given that faith in the Real Presence is weak these days, the people’s brief statement of faith is a real advantage–but only if they understand what their Amen signifies.

About the posture of the people in receiving Communion, I have already said much some time back. When believers in the divinity of Jesus came to Him in the Gospel, they often knelt down before Him. Kneeling is a sign of reverence that, by its nature, indicates the presence of God. The custom in the Latin rite for many centuries has been kneeling to receive Holy Communion. For this purpose, communion rails were part of Catholic church design. The idea to stand for Communion was the invention of liturgists who thought that the movement to and fro Communion was a procession (which is obvious) but that kneeling interfered with that movement. It was a trivial point but it caught on to such an extent that Communion standing has now been declared the norm in the United States. The Vatican however rightly provided the needed qualification by asserting the right of the people to receive in the traditional keeling posture, the very one you have adopted by choice. Kneeling has, in my view, advantage over standing in that not only does the posture itself indicate adoration and recognition of the Real Presence, but it’s momentary pause in the movement of the Communion line gives the communicant a moment to reflect in reverent preparation for the approach of the priest. I have deliberately tried to minimize the distractions at Communion time so that you may make the most of your reception. Therefore, only rarely do we have communion hymns (the organist or choir sings the chant or other sacred music or the organ plays); the kneeling itself is a moment of repose; and there is usually sufficient quiet time after Communion to make suitable prayers of thanksgiving.

I have often thought–and said–that Communion given into the hands was the most injurious practice ever introduced into liturgical practice. It has caused untold instances of sacrilege and desecration of the sacred species. It has been the most significant factor in the decline of faith in the Real Presence. Although it may have been the ancient practice in the Church, that practice was once stopped because of abuse. One wonders whether one day it will again be prohibited. In any case, when Communion is given by intinction of the Host into the Precious Blood, Communion in hands is strictly forbidden.

After Communion, the remaining hosts are placed into the tabernacle because the Lord’s Presence remains in the Hosts so long as the species remain incorrupt. There the Lord is adored. The sacred vessels, the ciboria, the patens and chalice, in which any particles of Communion may remain are to be purified by the priest. This is done by a washing with water only or both by wine and water. During this purification, the priest inaudibly says, “What we have received by mouth, Lord, may we also take with a pure mind; and may an everlasting remedy be made for us from this temporal gift.” While this procedure may also be done after Mass is finished, we’ve retained the custom of purifying the vessels immediately for the express purpose of indicating that each and every particle of the Host is Christ, whole and entire. These are not mere ‘crumbs’ that have somehow ‘lost’ the Presence of Christ. This point needs emphasis today when the Eucharist is much abused.

May you have an evermore worthy and fruitful Communion with your Blessed Lord!