Below is a reflection of "The Communion Rite"
Families and the Eucharist
In the Communion Rite we step back and think about this great gift of Jesus which we are about to receive. We gather as unique individuals at the Mass, but when we pray The Lord’s Prayer, we remember that we come together as God’s children.We pray in community for reconciliation and for forgiveness. Even the smallest child enjoys participating in the Sign of Peace, the next part of this rite. This peace gesture is an expression of reconciliation. We grasp the hand of Christ by holding the hands of the parishioners around us. We are totally aware of the Body of Christ at this moment. We pray for peace and unity for the Church and for our human family. As the Bread is broken, we pray,
“Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” We remember the loving sacrifice of Jesus and ask for all of God’s blessings. We then move forward in procession to receive Christ in Holy Communion. We make the choice to take Jesus into our bodies, hearts and souls. Placing one hand over the other, we form a throne in order to receive the Kings of Kings. We say “Amen” before receiving Jesus. This is our “yes,” and we truly believe that we receive Jesus Christ.
For an activity for The Communion Rite go to: https://stmargaretmary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/communion-Youth.pdf
Did you know?
The Lord’s Prayer is a community prayer for reconciliation and forgiveness. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Roman Missal). Following our prayer to “deliver us from evil”, comes a prayer said by the presider alone, called the embolism. This short prayer continues the final petition and adds a plea for peace.
Copyright © 2008, World Library Publications, the music and liturgy division of J.S. Paluch Co., Inc. Used with permission.
The sign of peace, sometimes referred to as the kiss of peace, flows directly from the petition for peace of the Lord’s Prayer and is another opportunity for reconciliation. In the words of the great Holy Thursday hymn Ubi Caritas: “Therefore when we are together, Let us take heed not to be divided in mind. Let there be an end to bitterness and quarrels, an end to strife, And in our midst be Christ our God. Where charity and love are found, there is God” (Sacramentary).
Copyright © 2008, World Library Publications, the music and liturgy division of J.S. Paluch Co., Inc. Used with permission.
In the early church, the consecrated bread and wine were divided by the priests and deacons for distribution to the faithful. In later centuries, as the faithful began to receive communion less often, the rite of the breaking of the bread became largely symbolic. In the renewed liturgy, an effort has been made to restore the ancient meaning to this rite, also called the Fraction Rite. The action of breaking the sacred Host symbolizes Christ’s body broken for us, so that when we receive holy Communion we may be one, united in Christ.
Copyright © 2008, World Library Publications, the music and liturgy division of J.S. Paluch Co., Inc. Used with permission.
During the invitation to communion we respond, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only as the word and we shall be healed”. This prayer is based on the centurion’s prayer in Matthew 8:8 in which he asks Jesus to heal his servant. The centurion’s humility and faith amazed Jesus and Jesus granted his prayer saying, “Truly, I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matthew 8:10). We, too, are to come forward with the same sense of humility and faith.
Copyright © 2008, World Library Publications, the music and liturgy division of J.S. Paluch Co., Inc. Used with permission.
Communion is a communal sacrament beginning when the first person receives the Body and Blood of Christ (the presider) and concluding when the last person receives. The procession itself, as well as the singing and praying of the community as one, expresses the unity of the gathered assembly. Communion is also a private moment, when each Christian individually approaches and, one by one, receives God’s own gift of self.
Copyright © 2008, World Library Publications, the music and liturgy division of J.S. Paluch Co., Inc. Used with permission.
Communion is a moment of decision and action, a moment when we let Jesus serve us, when we are challenged to declare our faith in him, as the disciples did at the Last Supper. Communion is not brought to us where we are; we do not pass a plate along each row. No, we move, we stand up, we go forward to the altar. We make a choice. We do not receive the Body and Blood of Christ in silence, but with song and with dialogue, saying “Amen!”
Copyright © 2008, World Library Publications, the music and liturgy division of J.S. Paluch Co., Inc. Used with permission.
When you come forward to receive the Body of Christ, make a slight bow and “do not come with your hands outstretched or with your fingers open, but make your left hand a throne for the right one, which is to receive the King” (St. Cyril, in his fourth-century instructions to the neophytes of Jerusalem). A slight bow is also appropriate when receiving the Blood of Christ. Christ Jesus is wholly present under the appearance either of bread or of wine in the Eucharist. Furthermore, Christ is wholly present in any fragment of the consecrated Host or in any drop of the Precious Blood. Nevertheless, receiving Christ in both forms allows the Eucharist to appear more perfectly as a banquet, a banquet that is a foretaste of the banquet that will be celebrated with Christ at the end of time when the Kingdom of God is established in its fullness (cf. Eucharisticum Mysterium, no. 32).
Copyright © 2008, World Library Publications, the music and liturgy division of J.S. Paluch Co., Inc. Used with permission.
Christ is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Through his death and resurrection, he conquered sin and death and reconciled us to God. The Eucharist is the memorial of this sacrifice. The Church gathers to remember and to re-present the sacrifice of Christ in which we share through the action of the priest and the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ actions transcend time, which is part of creation. “Passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation” (Heb 9:11). Jesus does not sacrifice himself again and again. Rather, by the power of the Holy Spirit his one eternal sacrifice is made present once again, re-presented, so that we may share in it.
Copyright ©USCCB, The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, Washington, D.C. 2001.
Consecrated Hosts, also called the “Blessed Sacrament”, are reserved after Mass in the tabernacle for two reasons: for distribution to the dying (Viaticum), the sick, and those who legitimately cannot be present for the celebration of the Eucharist; and for adoration. The Blessed Sacrament can be exposed for communal prayer during the Rite of Solemn Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, or for private prayer when the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle. When the Blessed Sacrament is present in the tabernacle, a candle in a red globe will be lit and located near the tabernacle.
Copyright ©USCCB, The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, Washington, D.C. 2001.
More information on the Communion Rite can be found here:
Liturgy of the Eucharist
or you can download the PDF
