Eucharistic Liturgy vs. Communion Service

Our priests are away this week at a priest’s convocation so we will celebrate communion services in the chapel at the regularly scheduled weekday Mass times of 9:00am and 12noon.

In rural areas and mission territories where the shortage of priests is considerable, communion services happen on a regular basis. They take place typically on Sundays, when the community gathers for what would be their regular weekly celebration of Mass.

Some people believe a communion service is a substitute for Mass. Others say that a communion service is a Mass without a priest. Neither is entirely true. A communion service resembles the structure of a Mass in several ways; the community gathers and listens to the Word of God which may be followed by a homily or a reflection. The faithful pray the creed, the intercessions, and the Lord’s prayer and then receive communion hosts that were consecrated at a previous Mass. But communion services also differ from the Mass in many significant ways. In the Mass, the bread and wine are brought forth, prepared, offered and transformed. It is not merely the priest who does all of these actions. The old adage “the priest offers Mass and the people receive communion” misses the broader picture of the Church’s vision of Eucharist. The Eucharist happens because the entire community, priest and people, gather to fulfill the command of Jesus to “do this in memory of me.” Representatives from the community bring the bread and the wine to the altar. In the Eucharistic Prayer, the faithful offer themselves along with the sacrifice of Christ to God. The bread and wine, as well as the gifts of our very lives are transformed by the Holy Spirit. Then we receive what we have offered--the Body and Blood of the Lord, so that we can become all the more that which we already are, the Body of Christ. Our participation in the living sacrifice at the altar--central to the Eucharist--is missing in a communion service.

Pope St. John Paul II, spoke on the topic of Sundays in priestless parishes saying, “This type of celebration does not replace the Mass, but must cause one to desire it all the more.” Pope John Paul II approved the Directory for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest in 1988, which echoes the words of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, “No Christian community is ever built up unless it has its roots and center in the Eucharistic liturgy.”

Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities

Race relations in the United States have reached a new low according to recent surveys. New York Times/CBS News and Washington Post-ABC News polls conducted in July confirmed that a majority of U.S. Citizens believe race relations are bad and are getting worse. Though most people agree that there is a high level of racial discontent, there is no consensus on what to do about it.

That’s one reason the U.S. Bishops have created a task force to promote peace and healing. This task force, led by our own Archbishop Wilton Gregory, will look at ways the bishops can address the issues that underlie racial tensions by listening to the concerns of members in troubled communities and law enforcement, and building strong relationships to help prevent and resolve conflicts. As the chair of the U.S. Bishops, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz said, "I have stressed the need to look toward additional ways of nurturing an open, honest and civil dialogue on issues of race relations, restorative justice, mental health, economic opportunity, and addressing the question of pervasive gun violence.”

Dialogue is only one part of the task. Another is prayer. The bishops have designated this Friday, September 9, as a Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities. September 9 is the Feast of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest and missionary, who was born in 1581 in Catalonia, Spain. Claver left his homeland in 1610 to become a missionary in the port city of Cartagena (now in Colombia), which was a center of the slave trade. Thousands of slaves from West Africa crossed the Atlantic every year in ships that were filthy and disease-ridden. Claver would meet the ships, eager to offer food, medicine, and spiritual support. In his 40 years in Cartagena, it is estimated that he catechized and baptized some 300,000 slaves. At a time when the slaves were treated like animals, Claver saw them as his brothers and sisters and encouraged others to do the same. Claver is the patron saint of slaves, the Republic of Colombia, and ministry to African Americans. His work continues through the Knights of Peter Claver, (the largest African-American Catholic Fraternal Organization in the United States), the Apostleship of the Sea, (a Catholic charity that supports seafarers worldwide), and through the various parishes and schools that bear his name. By having the Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities on the Feast of St. Peter Claver, it is hoped that his mission—to work for justice and to embrace the outcast, continues through us.

This Friday evening, September 9, at 7:00pm, the community of St. Thomas Aquinas will gather, dialogue and pray for peace and for the humility and the courage to imitate the example of St. Peter Claver.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

This weekend we will acknowledge and bless all those who serve our parish as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. At St. Thomas Aquinas, we are fortunate to have more than three-hundred people serving the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking communities. Most of these persons distribute the Body and the Blood of Christ during Mass. But many others take the Body of Christ from the community’s Eucharist to the sick and to others who cannot be present for Mass. Extraordinary Ministers bring communion to nearly twenty homes on a regular basis. They also visit residents at Atria, Benton House, Brookdale, Cottonwood Estates, Crabapple Hall, J Manor, Dogwood Forest, Mayfield Oaks, Roswell Nursing Home, Lee Arrendale State Prison, Hays State Prison and patients in North Fulton Hospital.

These lay ministers are called “extraordinary” to distinguish them from the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion, priests and deacons.

Like many lay ministries in the Church, this ministry was born from a need:

The priest may be assisted in the distribution of Communion by other priests who happen to be present. If such priests are not present and there are a very large number of communicants, the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, i.e., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose. General Instruction of the Roman Missal 162

Not only does this ministry fulfill a need, it also touches the hearts of those who participate:

·     When people come to communion, I can see Jesus in their eyes. It’s very rewarding to be able to serve in this way. Maria Murilo

·     I love being able to help, to do as much as I can to serve God. For me it’s a privilege to be able to serve God by distributing the Body and Blood of Jesus. Filiberto Negrete

·     Every day, God is calling me to be more like him, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Being a Communion minister is one of the ways I feel like I am helping others to feel closer to Jesus. Patricia Goldin                                                                                                                                              

·     It is an exhilarating experience and at the same time very humbling. Richard Sugrue

·     Serving as a Eucharistic Minister is a blessing and an honor which constantly creates a change in me and a deeper love of God that enables me to live a better Christian life. Sandra Long

We are grateful for all of our Ordinary and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and we are reminded of the privilege this ministry offers with words from author and pastor, Fr. Austin Fleming:

Yours is a share in the work of the Lord’s Spirit.                                                                              You name for each of us the gifts we have offered and the gifts we receive:                                “The Body of Christ, the Blood of Christ.”                                                                                       You minister holy food to holy people in the holiest of all communions.                                            Let your service at the Lord’s Table make your life                                                                              a table of mercy and welcome for all you know and meet.                                                          From Yours Is a Share by Fr. Austin Fleming

Language Matters

The Summer Olympics are now history as the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, came to a close this weekend. These Games made history for being the first to be held in South America and the first to be held in a Portuguese-speaking country. Portuguese is the dominant language at the games, followed by the two official languages of the Olympics, English and French. But recent Games have shown the use of French on the decline, and that has troubled Francophones who want to preserve their language.

When Barron Pierre de Coubertin, a Frenchman, founded the modern Olympic Games at the turn of the 20th century, he chose French as the Games’ first official language. But as the century progressed, English became the dominant common global language and the use of French at the Olympics waned. That’s why the Games now employ an official whose primary role is to monitor the use of French throughout the Olympics. 

We are passionate about language. It is, after all, our primary means of communication, and it helps to form our identity.

The Church too is passionate about language. Latin has been the official language of the Western Church since the year 384 and for centuries it was the primary liturgical language of the Roman Rite. Debates over the use of Latin in the liturgy have been heated, so much so that the Council of Trent (1545-1563) called anathema anyone who said that Mass should be celebrated only in the vernacular. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), while advocating the use of Latin, opened the door to allow the People of God to celebrate and to express their faith in their own language:

Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its use may be extended.

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #36.

The vernacular quickly caught on, replacing Latin as the primary language of the liturgy. Even though today we pray in our own languages, the issues surrounding the language of the liturgy are not likely to go away anytime soon. As communities in the United States become more diverse, there are likely to be more bilingual, trilingual and multilingual celebrations. All of this is to say that we are challenged to remember what Pope Francis calls the primary language of the gospel--the language of mercy.

Holy Days

On Monday, the Church celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I remember being in Austria on this date several years ago. Observing the Austrians, I could tell that this wasn’t just any day. They came to Mass dressed in traditional Austrian attire: Lederhosen and dirndl, typically reserved for special occasions. The Mass celebrated that day was extraordinary, with part of an orchestra performing Franz Schubert’s Mass in B flat major. In Austria and in many other countries, August 15 is a nationwide public holiday. Parades and other festivals are held to commemorate the feast while banks, government offices, and retail establishments are closed.

The Solemnity of the Assumption, as all holy days, is celebrated differently in different countries. August 15 is not a public holiday in the United States, but it is a holy day on the liturgical calendar. This year, since August 15 falls on a Monday, the faithful are not obliged to attend Mass.

Over the years, there have been many changes in the observation of holy days of obligation. We used to celebrate more than 30 such days!  Now in the U.S., we have six: 

January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension

  (The celebration of the Ascension is transferred to the following Sunday in most U.S. dioceses, including Atlanta.)

August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

November 1, the solemnity of All Saints

December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated. This was a pastoral decision made by the United States Bishops in the early 1990s.

As already noted, the celebration of holy days varies from country to country, but all nations count Sundays as holy days of obligation, making Sunday the primary holy day. Sunday is the day of resurrection, a day to rest, to retreat, to reflect, and to remember the love that gives life and hope to each and every day.