Liturgical Rumblings Two: End of Communion Services
This past week has been a busy one. The Bishop of Rockville Centre in New York has banned communion services in his diocese. I am not sure, but this may also include services on Sundays in the absence of a priest. Here is the question: Is this a good thing or a bad thing.
Some would say that it is a bad thing because taking the communion service away deprives people of receiving the Holy Eucharist on a regular or daily basis. People ought to have the opportunity to receive the Body of Christ every day if they desire. I would agree that this is a strong argument.
On the other hand, the removal of Communion Services could be a beneficial thing. Is there a greater good here at work than simply receiving the Holy Eucharist? The Bishop of Rockville Centre seems to think so and I think he is on to something. The greater good is the integrity of the Sacrament of the Eucharist itself. When the Holy Eucharist loses is proximate connection to the sacrifice of Christ, there is a serious danger of making it a horizontal reality alone (common meal) rather than the vertical reality (sacrifice of Christ) that leads to the horizontal dimension (heavenly meal). The other problem is that it takes the priest out of the picture, without whom we would not have the Holy Eucharist.
It would seem that the big problem is one of convenience rather than devotion. If the priest celebrates Eucharist every day, then the faithful have the opportunity to receive the Body and Blood Christ every day. One thing all of us can tend to forget is that the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass requires a personal sacrifice of time on the part of the priest and the laity in general. That simply means showing up. Will we see the end of communion services in the Archdiocese? I seriously doubt it. Short of an episcopal or Roman mandate, it is hard to get the toothpaste back in the tube. Another side to this ending of communion services is whether the imposition of a “Eucharistic fast” is a good thing. Will absence of convenient reception of the Eucharist make the heart grow fonder and yearn for Christ? If it does, it may cause some young men to discern a vocation to the priesthood. That would be a good thing.
Any comments on this (positive or negative) are welcome.
