Unity, Kneeling, and Communion

Jul 16

Letter from the Pastor

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 17, 2022

I would like to pick up on the theme of unity and communion that I spoke of in last weekend’s letter. I was commenting on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Desiderio Desideravi. Have you read it yet?

Some of our new visitors might wonder why some people kneel and some don’t during the Eucharistic Prayer. The question is as old as the tradition is here at St. Francis. As I mentioned in last week’s letter, the Eucharistic celebration unites us with the sacrifice of Christ and with one another. The three main churches of our parish all have halls attached to the church. Because there are no kneelers in the halls those gathered there remain standing during the Mass. The tradition has therefore developed over the decades that the entire congregation remains standing as a sign of our unity and communion with one another as pray before the Lord.

Another question you might have is our custom of the distribute of communion in the hand only. This only begin when Covid became such a threat and there were so many unknowns. The primary reason was to keep everyone as safe as possible. At that time, I spoke with Bishop O’Connell and explained that we are not a typical parish where we know everyone who sits in the pews. We don’t have the same 4 Masses every Sunday throughout the year but expand and contract depending on the time of the year as we welcome visitors from a variety of places.

We are now in the peak season and our parish has been transformed from a “regular” parish with 4 Masses on the weekend to four churches with 16 Masses every weekend. For the distribution of communion, we depend on over 80 Eucharistic Ministers to help distribute communion.

Although the reception of communion on the hand was reintroduced to the church in the 70’s, it had been a long standing tradition in the early church. Recognizing that our theology and customs do change over time, it should never diminish the reality and mystery that is happening when we receive communion. In Pope St. John Paul II Apostolic Letter, Dominicae Cenae, on the mystery and worship of the Eucharist, he refers to those “receiving the Lord Jesus in the hand, do so with profound reverence and devotion.” That is always the expectation when anyone comes to receive communion.

That being said, I do know that there are some who would prefer to receive communion on the tongue. Before this practice started here at St. Francis, I asked the Eucharistic Ministers if they would be comfortable distributing communion in this manner. There were a few that said yes but the majority of them said they were not. Now that we have made some progress with the virus, I asked our Director of Worship to once again ask the question. A few more said yes, but, at this point, we would not have enough to cover even one communion line at all of our Masses. I can appreciate the desire to receive Holy Communion on the tongue out of reverence and respect for the sacramental presence of Christ in our midst. For those so inclined, I would ask your patience during this unique time in history and the same appreciation for the complexity of the reality here at St. Francis and of the wishes of those people of good will who help with the distribution of communion.

No one ever said unity was easily accomplished. May the Holy Spirit continue to fill us with the insight and wisdom to pursue Jesus’ ultimate prayer “that all may be one.” [Jn 17:21]

Peace and All Good!