Communion Service by Paul Turner

When you cannot participate at Mass, you may share communion at a communion service. These services originated for those who were unable attend the Eucharist due to illness or some other grave reason and had communion brought to their homes. However, now it is common for communion services to occur at church on behalf of people who are quite able to come for Mass but have no priest available that day.

The Mass is the best context for sharing communion because it fully expresses the meaning of the Eucharist. We give our praise and thanks to God, together with an offering of bread, wine, and gifts for the church and the poor. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, and the faithful partake of this communion. The meaning of the sacrifice is most clear when the faithful share communion from the bread and wine consecrated at that Mass.

A communion service may take place in church or at the home of one who is sick. The presider may be a priest, a deacon or a minister of communion. It begins with a greeting, penitential rite, and the celebration of the word of God as at Mass. Next all pray the Lord’s Prayer, exchange a sign of peace, and share communion. A prayer and blessings may conclude the celebration. Music may also be included.

Communion services can never completely substitute for Mass. Only at Mass is there an offering to balance the communion. When Mass is unavailable, other services may also be celebrated: for example, morning prayer, penitential services, or even eucharistic worship.

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Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, MO, holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Sant' Anselmo University in Rome.