XXVIII

We are told in CCC 1377 that Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.”  It is not easy to grasp how this takes place but we can understand with different similes.

Some time ago, a preacher who knew how to make religious truths come to life was faced by a hostile crowd. One of them demanded, "How is it possible for bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ?" The preacher looked calmly at the stout questioner for a moment and answered, "You have grown somewhat since you were a child and have more flesh and blood than you had then. Surely, if a human body can change food and drink into flesh and blood, God can do it too." "But how," countered the heckler, "is it possible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a small host?" The preacher glanced up at the sky and down at the street before them and answered, "This city scene and the sky above it is something immense, while your eye is very small. Yet your eye in itself contains the whole picture. When you consider this, it won't seem impossible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a little piece of bread." Once more the heckler attacked. "How, then, is it possible for the same Body of Christ to be present in all your Churches at the same time?" The preacher answered: "In a large mirror you see your image reflected but once. When you break the mirror into a thousand pieces, you see the same image of yourself in each of the thousand fragments. If such things occur in everyday life, why should it be impossible for the Body of Christ to be present in many places at once?

Another example could be, when a speaker speaks to a congregation each member listens to all of what the speaker speaks. Each listener listens to all of what he says in its entirety. The speaker had to speak only once. Or say, when a person comes on TV he is seen on all the TVs all over the world tuned to the channel. The person present in one place is present in all the TVs is an example how one glorified Jesus is present in all the pieces of the Eucharist in his entirety.

XXVII

Not only one hour fasting and interior disposition would suffice, but exterior reverence is also important to the Eucharistic Presence.

“The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.” (CCC 1377; cf. Council of Trent, Session XIII, Canon III)

From this doctrine, we know that our Savior is present, whole and entire (body, blood, soul, and divinity), in the whole Host. Further, we know that the whole Christ is present in each part of the Host. Hence, it is clear that the whole Christ is real and truly and substantially present in even a small particle of a Host or in a small drop of the Precious Blood.

And, we further maintain, no part of the Host is a mere part of Christ, but each part of each Host is the whole Christ present in his entirety.

Hence, if a Catholic believes in the Eucharist – that Jesus is truly present in the Host – then he is already acknowledging that a relatively small piece of what-looks-like-bread is, in fact, Jesus. Now, if a regular Host can become the whole Jesus, why would we doubt that a small Host can be the whole Jesus?

Therefore, those who are not careful with the Eucharistic particles, or who outright deny that Jesus is present in even small pieces of the Host, either do not believe in the Eucharist at all or are very foolish (since their own reasoning is self-contradictory).

A piece of the Host which is visible to the human eye (under usual conditions and without assistance) as what appears to be a piece of bread, is surely Jesus. However, those particles which are so small as to be invisible to the human eye, or to be indistinguishable from a particle of dust – these cannot any longer be the Eucharist. They do not have the bread quality in them.

The Church teaches that the Eucharistic Presence remains “as long as the Eucharist species subsist”. This means that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, so long as the Eucharist retains the accidental properties of bread and wine. Hence, if a Host is dissolved in water (as is done when the Host has become putrefied, as through vomiting after the reception of Communion), upon being dissolved it is not longer the Eucharist. Likewise, the Precious Blood, when the Chalice is purified with water is no longer the Eucharist.

In order to teach his disciples that the Eucharist is truly his own Flesh and Blood, he first instructed them to gather up the “fragments” which were left over from the multiplied loaves – if such care was taken for the mere symbol of the Eucharist, how much more must we care for the Real Presence!

Even in those cases where the particle is so small as to cause some doubt as to whether or not it is the Eucharist, the priest and the people ought to exercise extreme caution. This is one reason why communion in the hand was not permitted in the Church for so many centuries. If the minister of the body can feel any particle between the fingers, there is a bowl with water kept on the credence table to dip and clean your fingers before you leave the sanctuary. 

XXVI

The discipline of fasting before communion has a long history, as Pope Pius XII states in his 1953 apostolic constitution, "Christus Dominus":

"From the very earliest time the custom was observed of administering the Eucharist to the faithful who were fasting.

Abstinence from food and drink is in accord with that supreme reverence we owe to the supreme majesty of Jesus Christ when we are going to receive Him hidden under the veils of the Eucharist. And moreover, when we receive His precious Body and Blood before we take any food, we show clearly that this is the first and loftiest nourishment by which our soul is fed and its holiness increased. Hence St. Augustine gives this warning: 'It has pleased the Holy Ghost that, to honor so great a Sacrament, the Lord's Body should enter the mouth of the Christian before other food.'

Before the time of Pius XII the Eucharistic fast was from midnight onward and included water. This also meant that Masses were only celebrated in the morning.

Pius XII mentions some of the difficulties preventing many from receiving Communion. Among them are the shortage of clergy, especially in mission lands, and the pace of modern life in factories and offices which include night shifts. He also desired to open up the possibility of celebrating Mass in the evening on important feasts so that more people could attend.

Thus, among other things he established that water and medicine would no longer break the fast. He also mitigated the fast under certain circumstances. In 1957, with the document "Sacram Communionem," he changed the law again, to require only a three-hour fast.

Pope Paul VI brought in the present discipline in November 1964, and this forms the basis of Canon No. 919.

Canon 919
1. One who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion.
2. A priest who celebrates the Most Holy Eucharist two or three times on the same day may take something before the second or third celebration even if the period of one hour does not intervene.
3. Those who are advanced in age or who suffer from any infirmity, as well as those who take care of them, can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have taken something during the previous hour.

How many times per day can one receive Holy Communion?

One of the significant changes for the faithful in the Code of Canon Law which was promulgated in 1983 was the permission to receive Holy Communion more than once per day. In the past the law set certain conditions, such as participation in a funeral, marriage or ordination Mass. The new canon, however, simply states,

c.917 A person who has received the Most Holy Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only during the celebration of the Eucharist in which the person participates. 

920 §1. "After being initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, each of the faithful is obliged to receive holy communion at least once a year."

920 §2. "This precept must be fulfilled during the Easter season unless it is fulfilled for a just cause at another time during the year."

In the past, people spent a lot of time in mortal sin, or at least in a state unworthy to receive the Eucharist. Therefore for someone to receive it was a major life event. This kind of culture was undone by Pope St. Pius X at the turn of the 20th Century.

(One probable reason why the Church prescribed the law to receive communion at least once a year may have been that due to long fast the faithful may have been unprepared for receiving communion most of the days of the year.)

Frequent Communion increases our love for God and for our neighbor, which expresses itself in action, which makes us more like Christ.

Venial sins are forgiven when we receive the holy communion with proper repentance.

Physically, frequent Communion relieves us of our passions. Priests and other spiritual directors who counsel those who are struggling with passions, especially sexual sins, often urge frequent reception not only of the Sacrament of Confession but of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. By receiving Christ's Body and Blood, our own bodies are sanctified, and we grow in our likeness to Christ. In fact, as Fr. John Hardon points out in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, the Church teaches that "A final effect of Communion is to remove the personal guilt of venial sins, and the temporal punishment [earthly and purgatorial] due to forgiven sins, whether venial or mortal."

XXV

Reception of Communion

RECEIVING THE HOST:

When you come up to receive the Host, you have the option of receiving in the hand or on the tongue. If you choose to receive in the hand, remember to hold your hands to receive the Host instead of taking the Host out of the priest’s hands! (It is the gift of God. Gift is received not snatched) St. Justin Martyr described receiving in the hand as “making a throne for the Lord,” your left hand over your right, so that you can then pick up the Host with your right hand to consume the Body of Christ. (If you’re left handed, you may want to reverse the order of the hands.) The priest or extraordinary minister holds the host in front of you and says, “The Body of Christ,” to which you will respond by bowing your head (not your full body) and saying “Amen.” No other gestures of reverence are necessary. And you immediately consume it before moving away from the station.

If you choose to receive on the tongue, the priest or extraordinary minister holds the host in front of you and says, “The Body of Christ,” to which you will respond by bowing your head (not your full body) and saying “Amen.” After saying “Amen,” immediately open your mouth wide enough for the priest or EM to place the Host on your tongue. Make sure that the priest’s or EM’s fingers are out of your mouth before closing your mouth.  Some people say “thank you” instead of Amen. Don’t thank the priest, it is not his gift for which he is to be thanked. It is the body of Christ and ministers are only custodians.

RECEIVING THE PRECIOUS BLOOD:

At Masses where communion is also distributed from the cup, you have the option of receiving from the cup as well. Receiving from the cup is never required, as the complete Body and Blood of Christ is present in both the Host and the cup. When you receive from the cup, the deacon, acolyte, or extraordinary minister holds the cup in front of you and says, “The Blood of Christ,” to which you will respond by bowing your head (not your full body) and saying “Amen.” When consuming the Precious Blood, take only a sip, so that there is enough for all to receive. If you choose not to receive from the cup, you should stop and bow as you pass the cup out of reverence for the Precious Blood.

If you receive with your hands, you run risk of tiny particle, which still is Jesus Christ, falls from your hand is trampled upon by yourself and everyone else in Church. Christ died for our sins and gave us Himself in the Eucharist to be our food, not to be trampled again by the negligent.

(Pope Benedict’s preference for receiving Holy Communion on tongue: “I am not opposed in principle to Communion in the hand; I have both administered and received Communion in this way myself. The idea behind my current practice of having people kneel to receive Communion on the tongue was to send a signal and to underscore the Real Presence with an exclamation point. One important reason is that there is a great danger of superficiality precisely in the kinds of Mass events we hold at Saint Peter’s, both in the Basilica and in the Square. I have heard of people who, after receiving Communion, stick the Host in their wallet to take home as a kind of souvenir. In this context, where people think that everyone is just automatically supposed to receive Communion — everyone else is going up, so I will, too—I wanted to send a clear signal. I wanted it to be clear: Something quite special is going on here! He is here, the One before whom we fall on our knees! Pay attention! This is not just some social ritual in which we can take part if we want to.")

The prerequisites for the reception of Holy Communion are 1) being in the state of grace, 2) having fasted for one hour (for the sick 15 minutes if possible, no fast if fasting is not possible), and 3) devotion and attention.

2.State of Grace. As St. Paul notes in his letter to Corinthians, reception after examining oneself is a prerequisite for worthy reception, otherwise Communion has the opposite effect from the desired union with our Lord. The scripture tells that Judas received the holy communion and Satan entered into him and he went out of the upper room immediately to betray the Lord. If you’re planning on committing a mortal sin in the days ahead, then you can’t repent. Holy Communion should not be received by people who are objectively contradicting the truth of Christ."

If our mind is still intent on doing the evil, and not ready to repent and the resolution not to sin any more we will get confirmed in the evil intention and the reception of the communion is going to fire back. God does not work against our will. If our will is to commit sin that will is not be changed to change by the reception of the communion.

This is why, out of respect for Christ and our own good, the Church obliges us to be in the state of grace when we receive. It should be noted, however, that some Catholics have the mistaken notion that they cannot go to Communion unless they go to Confession first. This is incorrect. Both the theology of the Church and her law oblige Confession ONLY when there is mortal sin. Confessions of devotion, however, are highly recommended. Thus, two errors are to be avoided, liberalism and rigorism.

If there is a grave sin and there is a practical impossibility to make the confession before receiving the communion, one may with true contrition receive the communion with the condition that one will make the confession at the earliest opportunity.

In "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," St. John Paul II teaches,

Along these same lines, the Catechism of the Catholic Church rightly stipulates that "anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to Communion."

Canon 915 forbids Holy Communion from being given to people who live such sinful lifestyles without repentance. "Those who have been ... obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."

But the Church in forming Her disciplines never judges the interior heart of man, which is known to God alone. Rather, Catholic discipline has always focused on the external and public acts of man, which can be judged as being in accord or not with Church teaching. And when man's external actions are gravely at odds with the Church's unchanging moral truths, then Holy Mother Church bans such men from receiving Holy Communion to prevent them from spiritually harming themselves by making a sacrilegious Communion.

XXIV

Last Sunday we saw that the breaking of the bread symbolizes the death of Jesus and the commingling symbolizes his resurrection.

Why do we pray the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), and where does it come from?
    As the priest performs the Fraction Rite, the choir immediately intones the threefold Agnus Dei, “Lamb of God.” St.John the Baptist pointing Jesus to his disciples said, this is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1.29). This lamb is the pascal lamb, originally killed and eaten just before the Hebrews were delivered from Egypt. The blood of the lamb was smeared on the door posts so the angel who slew the firstborn of Egypt would Passover the Hebrew homes. This symbolism presents Jesus as the one whose blood is shed for the saving and deliverance of his people from evil and from death. The lamb is also mentioned in the Suffering servant Song of Isaiah 53. Here the main idea is that the servant of Yahweh takes upon himself the sins of the people, giving his life as an offering for their sin. John’s gospel records that Jesus was crucified at the very time the Lamb of God was sacrificed in the temple on the day of atonement, for the expiation of sins. The words of this great prayer should focus us on the Book of Revelation, a connection that becomes more explicit when the priest, after the Agnus Dei, says, “Behold the Lamb of God…” We have already seen the connection of our Lord to the Lamb of Passover, but here we see the connection to the Book of Revelation – a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem – which declares, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 5:12). Here, in this vision, the angels praise the Lamb of God and we, who join in this heavenly liturgy by our own earthly liturgy, do the same and join with them in this praise, but also plead with him that he may show us mercy as we prepare to receive him in Communion. The priest then elevates the Body and Blood of Christ, proclaiming to all the faithful in words drawn from the Book of Revelation that truly this is the Body and Blood of Christ! How blessed are we truly to be invited to this foretaste of heaven (Revelation 19:1-9)!
    Why do we say, “Lord, I am not worthy…?”
    Now, we can truly understand the reason for our response to this bold proclamation. Here before us is the glory and grandeur of Jesus Christ, present in the Blessed Sacrament, and we have the same reaction as the Israelites when they are faced with the sight of God’s glory – we dare not look, lest we die! Our words echo the sentiments of the Roman Centurion who realizes the true nature of Christ: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed” (Matthew 8:8). Why roof? Here we have a reference to our own bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit – we are not worthy that our Lord should enter under the roof of our own souls, the temple of the Holy Spirit. But with one word, he pours out his mercy upon us and draws us close to himself that we may be made worthy in his sight.

XXIII

 Why does the priest break the host at Mass?
    Following this exchange of peace, the priest begins the Fraction Rite, which includes the singing of the Agnus Dei or “Lamb of God,” the Breaking of the Bread and the Commingling. The Breaking of the Bread calls to mind the great account of the Road to Emmaus in which the disciples recognized our Lord “in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:13-35). This account is clearly a eucharistic reference as the priest performs the same actions of the Risen Christ, who “took the bread, blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them” (Luke 24:30). The early Church Fathers, as well as the great saints and doctors of the Church, have assigned varied and beautiful spiritual meanings to the Fraction Rite. St. Thomas Aquinas gives a beautiful threefold interpretation of the Fraction Rite, illustrating that every liturgical action has a deep spiritual significance with multiple layers of meaning that can only be drawn out through much prayer and reflection. He writes that first it is the breaking of Christ’s body in the Passion. Secondly, it denotes the various states of the mystical body of Christ, the Church. Finally, it represents the distribution of graces proceeding from Christ’s Passion. The breaking of the bread reminds us as St. Paul tells us that we are one body, yet many members, all united in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17).
    Why does the priest place a small piece of the host into the chalice?
    After breaking the host, the priest takes a small piece of the Body of Christ and puts it into the chalice containing the Blood of Christ. As he does this, he prays, “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.” This is known as the commingling and is derived from an ancient sign of unity with Rome. The pope would have a small piece of the host which he consecrated sent out to priests in the city of Rome, who would then place the host into their own chalices as an expression of unity. While this is no longer the case, its rich history can still be called to mind as a sign of that unity with Rome. The great liturgist, Dom Guéranger, also gives us a spiritual insight into this commingling: “Its object is to show that, at the moment of our Lord’s resurrection, his blood was reunited to his body, by flowing again in his veins as before.” This link to the Resurrection is a common insight in the Church. Another less common, but still beautiful, insight is that of St. Alphonsus Ligouri: “This mingling of the holy species represents, too, the unity of divinity with humanity, which was at first effected in the womb of Mary through the incarnation of the Word, and which is renewed in the souls of the faithful when they receive him in the eucharistic Communion.”

XXI

PEACE:

After the our Father, the priest says the prayer for peace with outstretched arms: Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant us peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This peace, this delivery from "anxiety" or "distress" is an important part of being Christ's people. As Jesus told his disciples he would soon be leaving them, he said "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27). This is one of the other prayers that is addressed to Jesus Christ himself, not to the Father.

The highly nuanced and simple beauty of the ritual in the Roman Catholic liturgy finds expression within the Sign of Peace. It is understood not only in the words that are said, but in the gesture, as well as in its location within the Sacred Liturgy.

To the greeting of the priest: the peace of the Lord be with you always, the people respond saying: And with your spirit.  It expresses the reality of Jesus Christ really present in the very person of the priest, who by the unique character he has received in the Sacrament of Holy Orders acts as an alter Christus (another Christ). In contrast, the General Instruction for the Roman Missal (the laws governing how the liturgy is executed) reminds us that when the laity offer peace to one another with the words, "The peace of the Lord be with you always," the response is "Amen." (GIRM 154).Not: And with your spirit.

In receiving the peace offered by God Himself and then turning to one's neighbor and offering the Lord's peace, the splendor of the Church as one Body united under Christ Her head is revealed. Within the expression of the gift of peace we also find the faithful fulfilling the Lord's command as seen in the Gospel according to St. Matthew: "If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (Mt 5:23-24)

The gifts of bread and wine are offered to the Father and in His paternal goodness He sends the Holy Spirit to transform them into the very body and blood of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. But before we receive the Sacred Body and Blood of the Lord, the liturgy has us offer peace to those around us, and thereby recall that we are to be at peace, we are to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters before we partake of the Eucharist.   

The manner in which the Sign of Peace is given varies from culture to culture, but no matter what its expression, it is the call to enter into a life of love — the life of God who is Love. 

The Sign of Peace was reintroduced into the Mass when the Liturgy was reformed after Vatican II. For some people, it was a wonderful opportunity to express their love and sense of community.

The congregation for Worship said, "if it is foreseen that it will not take place properly," it can be omitted. But when it is used, it must be done with dignity and awareness that it is not a liturgical form of "good morning," but a witness to the Christian belief that true peace is a gift of Christ's death and resurrection.

This is a telling moment! In a few moments, we will be sharing communion with those around us. We will come into communion  with - we will become the Body of Christ. This Rite - the Sign of Peace - forces us to realize what that means. Our Communion is not simply a private love-affair with our Beloved Lord. It demands that we recognize Him in those around us - those with whom we have shared communion - and those who are not able to share that communion.

In his book, “How to Understand the Liturgy”, Jean Lebon lays down a challenge: “It (the Sign of Peace) is a point where one sees whether the liturgy holds together. If the congregation has not really been welded together during the course of the Mass, then it is useless and inappropriate to perform this action.”

This seems very stern -but emphasizes the importance of what we say we are doing. If we are who we say we are - the Body of Christ - a gathered community - an assembly of God - a congregation of worshippers - then this is the time to show that that means we see one another and can reach out in love and the peace of Christ to our neighbour.