What do communion servers say

I was surprised by how few names I actually knew. They filed by quickly — a rush of children from Sunday school I had to squat down awkwardly to serve them , a woman I thought I recognized from the grocery store, a guy who I always say hi to but whom I know nothing about. I recognized one woman who had been sitting near my seat. I had purposefully introduced myself to her during our greeting time because she was sitting by herself, and I know what that feels like. I expected something big to happen, some climax.

I was surprised and disappointed when I saw the line begin to dwindle. As soon as it had begun, the line dwindled. The band began to play more softly, and I reluctantly put the bread back on the altar. It suddenly looked more ordinary to me now that the service was concluding. I took my place back among my friends, and we stood while the benediction was read and we were dismissed.

On the drive home, I was still reeling from the experience. He gave us communion to help us remember, but also as a promise for our future. When we take communion, we experience the kind of divine oneness that we have to look forward to, all contained within a few moments of edible eternity.

She specializes in seventeenth-century British devotional poetry, early modern political culture, and affect. Her current book project explores the affective and political dimensions of religious experience in early modern poetry.

She teaches classes on British literature and academic writing, including one class that integrates poetry with community service and political activism. Kate Norlander gives us a picture of one of the most stunning experiences of the Urbana conference. Emerging Scholars Network director Mike Hickerson shares rules he and his wife use to maintain the balancing act of dual careers.

Looking back on her years since law school, Vicki Dearing relates the creative ways God has led her. Skip to main content. In Focus. February 20, About the Author. See other contributions by this author. Comment via Facebook. Related Articles. Arts, Books, and Media. These are simple gifts, but they were foreshadowed in the Old Testament and chosen by Christ himself for the Eucharistic sacrifice.

When these gifts of bread and wine are offered by the Priest in the name of the Church to the Father in the great Eucharistic Prayer of thanksgiving, they are transformed by the Holy Spirit into the Body and Blood of the only-begotten Son of the Father.

Finally, when the one bread is broken, the unity of the faithful is expressed and through Communion they "receive from the one bread the Lord's Body and from the one chalice the Lord's Blood in the same way that the Apostles received them from the hands of Christ himself. As grain once scattered on the hillsides was in this broken bread made one so from all lands your church be gathered into your kingdom by your Son. Christ is "truly, really, and substantially contained" 18 in Holy Communion.

His presence is not momentary nor simply signified, but wholly and permanently real under each of the consecrated species of bread and wine. The Council of Trent teaches that "the true body and blood of our Lord, together with his soul and divinity, exist under the species of bread and wine.

His body exists under the species of bread and his blood under the species of wine, according to the import of his words. The Church also teaches and believes that "immediately after the consecration the true body of our Lord and his true blood exist along with his soul and divinity under the form of bread and wine.

The body is present under the form of bread and the blood under the form of wine, by virtue of the words [of Christ]. The same body, however, is under the form of wine and the blood under the form of bread, and the soul under either form, by virtue of the natural link and concomitance by which the parts of Christ the Lord, who has now risen from the dead and will die no more, are mutually united.

Since, however, by reason of the sign value, sharing in both eucharistic species reflects more fully the sacred realities that the Liturgy signifies, the Church in her wisdom has made provisions in recent years so that more frequent eucharistic participation from both the sacred host and the chalice of salvation might be made possible for the laity in the Latin Church.

Christ's presence in the Eucharist challenges human understanding, logic, and ultimately reason. His presence cannot be known by the senses, but only through faith 22 —a faith that is continually deepened through that communion which takes place between the Lord and his faithful in the very act of the celebration of the Eucharist.

Thus the Fathers frequently warned the faithful that by relying solely on their senses they would see only bread and wine. Rather, they exhorted the members of the Church to recall the word of Christ by whose power the bread and wine have been transformed into his own Body and Blood.

The teaching of St. Cyril of Jerusalem assists the Church even today in understanding this great mystery:. We have been instructed in these matters and filled with an unshakable faith that what seems to be bread is not bread, though it tastes like it, but the Body of Christ, and that what seems to be wine is not wine, though it tastes like it, but the Blood of Christ.

The act of Communion, therefore, is also an act of faith. For when the minister says, "The Body of Christ" or "The Blood of Christ," the communicant's "Amen" is a profession in the presence of the saving Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, who now gives life to the believer.

The communicant makes this act of faith in the total presence of the Lord Jesus Christ whether in Communion under one form or in Communion under both kinds. It should never be construed, therefore, that Communion under the form of bread alone or Communion under the form of wine alone is somehow an incomplete act or that Christ is not fully present to the communicant.

The Church's unchanging teaching from the time of the Fathers through the ages—notably in the ecumenical councils of Lateran IV, Constance, Florence, Trent, and Vatican II—has witnessed to a constant unity of faith in the presence of Christ in both elements. Even in the earliest days of the Church's life, when Communion under both species was the norm, there were always instances when the Eucharist was received under only the form of bread or wine.

Those who received Holy Communion at home or who were sick would usually receive under only one species, as would the whole Church during the Good Friday Liturgy. At the same time an appreciation for reception of "the whole Christ" through one species should not diminish in any way the fuller sign value of reception of Holy Communion under both kinds.

For just as Christ offered his whole self, body and blood, as a sacrifice for our sins, so too is our reception of his Body and Blood under both kinds an especially fitting participation in his memorial of eternal life. From the first days of the Church's celebration of the Eucharist, Holy Communion consisted of the reception of both species in fulfillment of the Lord's command to "take and eat.

The practice of Holy Communion under both kinds at Mass continued until the late eleventh century, when the custom of distributing the Eucharist to the faithful under the form of bread alone began to grow. By the twelfth century theologians such as Peter Cantor speak of Communion under one kind as a "custom" of the Church. In , the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council authorized the extension of the faculty for Holy Communion under both kinds in Sacrosanctum Concilium :.

The dogmatic principles which were laid down by the Council of Trent remaining intact, Communion under both kinds may be granted when the bishops think fit, not only to clerics and religious, but also to the laity, in cases to be determined by the Apostolic See. The Council's decision to restore Holy Communion under both kinds at the bishop's discretion took expression in the first edition of the Missale Romanum and enjoys an even more generous application in the third typical edition of the Missale Romanum :.

The General Instruction further states that "at the same time the faithful should be instructed to participate more readily in this sacred rite, by which the sign of the Eucharistic banquet is made more fully evident. The extension of the faculty for the distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds does not represent a change in the Church's immemorial beliefs concerning the Holy Eucharist.

Rather, today the Church finds it salutary to restore a practice, when appropriate, that for various reasons was not opportune when the Council of Trent was convened in In response to a provision of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal , the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops herein describes the methods of distributing Holy Communion to the faithful under both kinds and approves the following norms, with the proper recognitio of the Apostolic See.

The revised Missale Romanum , third typical edition, significantly expands those opportunities when Holy Communion may be offered under both kinds. In addition to those instances specified by individual ritual books, the General Instruction states that Communion under both kinds may be permitted as follows:. The General Instruction then indicates that the Diocesan Bishop may lay down norms for the distribution of Communion under both kinds for his own diocese, which must be observed.

The Diocesan Bishop also has the faculty to allow Communion under both kinds, whenever it seems appropriate to the Priest to whom charge of a given community has been entrusted as [its] own pastor, provided that the faithful have been well instructed and there is no danger of the profanation of the Sacrament or that the rite would be difficult to carry out on account of the number of participants or for some other reason.

In practice, the need to avoid obscuring the role of the Priest and the Deacon as the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion by an excessive use of extraordinary minister might in some circumstances constitute a reason either for limiting the distribution of Holy Communion under both species or for using intinction instead of distributing the Precious Blood from the chalice.

Norms established by the Diocesan Bishop must be observed wherever the Eucharist is celebrated in the diocese, "which are also to be observed in churches of religious and at celebrations with small groups. When Communion under both kinds is first introduced by the Diocesan Bishop and also whenever the opportunity for instruction is present, the faithful should be properly catechized on the following matters in the light of the teaching and directives of the General Instruction :.

By virtue of his sacred ordination, the bishop or Priest offers the sacrifice in the person of Christ, the Head of the Church. He receives gifts of bread and wine from the faithful, offers the sacrifice to God, and returns to them the very Body and Blood of Christ, as from the hands of Christ himself.

In addition the Deacon who assists the bishop or Priest in distributing Communion is an ordinary minister of Holy Communion. When the Eucharist is distributed under both forms, "the Deacon himself administers the chalice.

In every celebration of the Eucharist there should be a sufficient number of ministers for Holy Communion so that it can be distributed in an orderly and reverent manner. Bishops, Priests, and Deacons distribute Holy Communion by virtue of their office as ordinary ministers of the Body and Blood of the Lord. When the size of the congregation or the incapacity of the bishop, Priest, or Deacon requires it, the celebrant may be assisted by other bishops, Priests, or Deacons.

In case of necessity, the Priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion. When recourse is had to Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, especially in the distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds, their number should not be increased beyond what is required for the orderly and reverent distribution of the Body and Blood of the Lord.

All ministers of Holy Communion should show the greatest reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist by their demeanor, their attire, and the manner in which they handle the consecrated bread or wine. Should there be any mishap—as when, for example, the consecrated wine is spilled from the chalice—then the affected "area … should be washed with water, and this water should be then poured into the sacrarium.

When Holy Communion is to be distributed under both species, careful planning should be undertaken so that:. Even when Communion will be ministered in the form of bread alone to the congregation, care should be taken that sufficient amounts of the elements are consecrated so that the Precious Blood may be distributed to all concelebrating Priests. Before Mass begins, wine and hosts should be provided in vessels of appropriate size and number. The presence on the altar of a single chalice and one large paten can signify the one bread and one chalice by which we are gathered "into one Body by the Holy Spirit.

The unity of all in the one bread will be better expressed when the bread to be broken is of sufficient size that at least some of the faithful are able to receive a piece broken from it. When the number of the faithful is great, however, a single large bread may be used for the breaking of the bread with small breads provided for the rest of the faithful.

Sacred vessels, which "hold a place of honor," should be of noble materials, appropriate to their use, and in conformity to the requirements of liturgical law, as specified in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal , nos. Before being used, vessels for the celebration must be blessed by the bishop or Priest according to the Rite of Blessing a Chalice and Paten.

The altar is prepared with corporal, purificator, Missal, and chalice unless the chalice is prepared at a side table by the Deacon and the servers. The gifts of bread and wine are brought forward by the faithful and received by the Priest or Deacon or at a convenient place. The people may gather about the Table to receive the bread and the cup; they may come to those serving to receive the elements; or those serving may distribute the elements to them where they are. A common cup may be offered to all who wish to partake of it; several cups may be offered and shared; or individual cups may be prepared for distribution.

Rather than drink from a common cup, communicants may dip the broken bread into the cup. The bread and the cup may be served by ordained officers of the church, or by other church members on invitation of the session or authorizing governing body.

This tradition of prayer has been passed down with variations through centuries of Christian worship; its origins are thought to be in the third century. If the words of institution have not previously been spoken as part of the invitation or in the communion prayer, I Cor. Having filled the cup, the one presiding is to present it in the view of the people.

Sacramental matter matters! At the same time, the loaf should be modest enough that this precious food is not wasted. Ideally, unless provision has been made to extend the service of communion to the homebound, the whole loaf is consumed by the people of God worship, or reverently immediately afterward. The bread should be whole, unbroken at the start of the eucharistic prayer.

Scoring the bread so that it breaks easily may seem more convenient, but it undercuts the vivid symbolism of the broken body, with all the struggle and effort that entails. It is better to choose bread that is soft enough that it may be readily torn at the appropriate time. It is better to have designated servers — with well-washed hands — break off pieces of bread and hand them to those who are receiving the sacrament.

The taste or goodness of the bread matters too!