Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass

By Deacon Frank Agnoli
The Catholic Messenger

The first chapter of Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside Mass (HC) covers “Communion Service” — the distribution of Communion to a gathered community after listening to Scripture readings. It has its own introduction, and it is worth spending a little time highlighting what is said there. The introductions in our liturgical books help explain the proper way to celebrate a particular liturgy as well as the theology and Church teaching that underpin it.

The first paragraph in this section is key: it stresses that receiving Communion within Mass is “more perfect,” and that the faithful should receive Communion from the bread (ideally freshly baked) that is offered at that Mass (13)! Note: as a routine, we are not to go to the tabernacle for Communion during Mass. In fact, the Missal makes no allowance for this practice at all. I’ll unpack the reasons for this below.

While reception at Mass is preferred, it isn’t always possible. Communion, even in the form of the Precious Blood if necessary, ought to be made available to those unable to join the community at Mass (14); hence, the importance of this ritual book. Receiving outside of Mass joins us to Mass, uniting us to Christ’s Sacrifice (15). There are occasions when this kind of communal “Communion Service” can’t be celebrated (16): on the Thursday of Holy Week, and on Good Friday, Communion may be brought to the sick and dying; on Holy Saturday, only Viaticum (Communion of the Dying) may be celebrated.

Priests and deacons are ordinary ministers of this rite, though it may be used by Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (17). It may be celebrated in a church or chapel, or in another location, such as a nursing home or prison (18). The introduction also addresses details relating to vesture, vessels, and the liturgical environment. Outside of Mass, a lay minister may purify the vessels (62). The Introduction closes with a reminder that those who are to receive Communion need to be “properly disposed” — that is, not conscious of any mortal sin. The faithful must sacramentally confess their sins before receiving Communion. If a confessor is not available, the communicant may make an act of “perfect contrition” with the intention of confessing once a priest is available, and then receiving communion. Perfect contrition means that one is sorry for their sins purely out of love for God, not because of fear of punishment or some other reason.

There are two forms of the rite. The first includes a fuller celebration of the Word of God (see the breakout box). Readings may be taken from the Mass for the day or from the Votive Masses of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Precious Blood or the Sacred Heart (29); these are given in Chapter IV of the ritual book.

As you can see in the breakout, it looks a lot like Mass — except that the offering of the gifts and the Eucharistic Prayer are absent. While that might seem like a small thing, it really is a big deal!

As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, “In the bread and wine that we bring to the altar, all creation is taken up by Christ the Redeemer to be transformed and presented to the Father” (Sacramentum caritatis, #47). The bread and wine — and our gifts for the ministry of the Church and care of the poor —symbolize who we are, all we have done in the previous week (our “work”) and all of creation. Even the “pain and suffering of the world” is taken up in order to be transformed. In other words, everything has value in the eyes of God. There is a powerful dynamic at work here. God has given us the gift of creation and of human work. We offer back to God the “fruit of the earth and work of human hands,” which are transformed, for our sake and for the sake of the world, into the very Presence of Christ. By praying the Eucharistic Prayer, and receiving such a gift in Holy Communion, we are transformed — and make to God the return-gift of a life lived in accord with the Gospel. As the U.S. Bishops put it (Introduction to the Order of Mass, #105):

The procession with the gifts is a powerful expression of the participation of all present in the Eucharist and in the social mission of the Church. It is an expression of the humble and contrite heart, the dispossession of self that is necessary for making the true offering, which the Lord Jesus gave his people to make with him. The procession with the gifts expresses also our eagerness to enter into the “holy exchange” with God….

Such a “divine exchange of gifts” is impossible to see if we routinely use only part of the wine that is presented or distribute Communion from the tabernacle. The symbols of bread and wine, offered and transformed and returned, are powerful if we let them speak. This is one of the key differences between Eucharist and Communion services, and highlights why we ought to receive from what is offered rather than routinely commune from what is reserved in the tabernacle.

Chapter I closes with a brief version of the rite, used when there are only one or two communicants. In practice, this is almost never used.

I will cover Chapter II: Communion to the Sick and Dying in a future edition of The Catholic Messenger.

(Deacon Frank Agnoli is diocesan director of Liturgy and of Deacon Formation.)