Sharings

Dear Editor,

This past June, my parish celebrated its 50th anniversary. One of the most moving moments of this happy celebration was the dedication of the new altar. This altar, carved by a parishioner from redwood that grows in our mountain community, was anointed with oil during the anniversary Mass. The oil was rubbed into the surface of the altar by our bishop and then wiped clean by our pastor. It is now ready for service. [Click here for photo]

Dear Editor,

The following are some thoughts and responses that have come forth from reading the article “The Endangered Eucharist” by Paige Byrne Shortal (ML 29:6, p. 12).

A key insight, obviously from observed experience, is “that an increasing number of Catholics don’t notice the difference between the word service and the celebration of the Eucharist, other than the length and that we left out ‘the priest’s part’.”

Our parish will gather as community in a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest two or three times a year. My sense is that the difference between this service and Eucharist is understood. I am not so sure that it is known.

Consider the similarities. The community gathers. We hear God’s active presence in the world proclaimed through selected readings from sacred scripture. We listen to the Word being broken open in effective preaching. We share the Lord’s Prayer and a sign of Christ’s peace with each other. We receive communion. We sing hymns with which we are familiar.

Liturgy is the work of the people. The people are present and they work. They have done “their” part. “In communion we receive Christ’s own Body and Blood under the [form] of bread … in a presence that is qualitatively different: He is substantially present”  (Michael Witczak, “The Manifold Presence of Christ,” ML 29:6, p. 6).

I believe that it will take a while for the full and fundamental difference between a Sunday Celebration and Eucharist to become known.

Are we prepared, as children, catechumens and candidates, to celebrate Eucharist?  Or, is the focus on preparation to receive communion?  If our preparation is to receive communion, the Sunday Celebration in the Absence of a Priest fulfills that for which we have been prepared.

If our preparation is to celebrate Eucharist, the community will not only miss the “priest’s part” but their part in this celebration as well. It may be that some expansion of the role of the gathered community in the Eucharistic prayers is needed to anchor the community in Eucharist.

What do YOU Think?
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