This appendix should be read in conjunction with Lesson 13 of "This is my Body".
Special Note – In this lesson the word “locally” is as prescribed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. For those who live outside the United States, we encourage the investigation of the norms set by the local bishop(s) and comparing your findings with the universal norm.
Saint Augustine eloquently expresses the order to which our actions should be governed at Mass when he writes, “O sacrament of devotion! O sign of unity! O bond of charity!”[1] Adoration and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is primary. Unity with Christ the Head of the Body is secondary. The bond of charity between the members of the Body of Christ, which is only possible due to our unity with the Head of the Body, is tertiary. Members cannot be united to each other if they are not first united to the Head.
Gestures can express unity. Member to member and member to Christ
First, we will consider the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) adapted for the United States. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal was canonically approved for use by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on November 12, 2002. It was subsequently confirmed by the Holy See by decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on March 17, 2003.
The priest then takes the paten or ciborium and goes to the communicants, who, as a rule, approach in a procession. The faithful are not permitted to take the consecrated bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them from one to another. The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm. When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.[2]
The gestures and posture of the priest, the deacon, and the ministers, as well as those of the people, ought to contribute to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity, so that the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration is evident and that the participation of all is fostered. Therefore, attention should be paid to what is determined by this General Instruction and the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination or arbitrary choice. A common posture, to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the Sacred Liturgy: it both expresses and fosters the intention and spiritual attitude of the participants.[3]
The focus therefore is on “the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the Sacred Liturgy.”[4] To foster this unity among the members of the Christian community the bishops prefer that all the faithful have common gestures. Common gestures at each part of the Mass help express unity of the members. They are also a sign of unity to those who are not yet in full communion. The common gestures and responses as well as the participation of the members in those gestures and responses are impressive to the baptized who seek full communion with the Church. They long to understand these gestures and responses and also participate in them. To the unbaptized these gestures and responses are a witness to the unity that the members of the Body of Christ share. This unity is expressed from the beginning, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”[5] The unbaptized are invited to share in this communion through the waters of Baptism.
Unity among members is not the only focus of liturgy. The focus of liturgy is twofold; the unity of the members of the Body, and the unity of the members of the Body with Jesus Christ the Head. The members could appear to be, or actually be, united with each other while at the same time be separated from their Head, Jesus Christ.
The word “liturgy” originally meant a “public work” or a “service in the name of/on behalf of the people.” In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in “the work of God.” Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church.[6]
Our gestures and postures should express unity not only member to member, but also member to Head.
Gestures can also give a false sense of unity.
The Blessed Sacrament supersedes gestures in giving unity.
Second, we consider what the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has said regarding the reception of Holy Communion:
“It is difficult for some of us to embrace this emphasis on Mass as the action of a community rather than an individual act of my own faith and piety, but it is important that we make every effort to do so.”[7]
The idea that “It is difficult for some of us…” seems to imply that those who put an emphasis on the Mass as an act of faith and piety are incorrect. Faith is a theological virtue, and piety is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Mass is never just an individual Act of Faith and piety, or just an action on the part of the community. It is always both an individual act of faith and piety and an action of the community. The Mass is both vertical and horizontal; the vertical leads us to overflow into the horizontal, as love of God leads us to overflow into love of neighbor. Saint John Paul II said,
Because this type of “vertical” communion—koinonia—makes us one with the divine mystery, it produces at the same time a communion—koinonia—we could call “horizontal”, or ecclesial, fraternal, capable of uniting all who partake of the same table in a bond of love. “We who are many are one body”, Paul reminds us, “for we all partake of the one bread” (1Cor 10:17).[8]
At the Mass there is a focus on community, but from where does that community come? The Blessed Trinity is the community; an eternal exchange of love, into which we enter at the Mass. One of the first prayers of the Mass is an invitation, not to “create” community, but rather to “enter into” community, the grace, love and communion of the Blessed Trinity. For this reason the priest prays, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”[9] We do not create community at Mass, rather, we enter into community.
The new edition of the General Instruction asks the Conference of Bishops in each country to determine the posture to be used for the reception of Communion and the act of reverence to be made by each person as he or she receives Communion. The Conference of Bishops of the United States has determined that in this country Communion will be received standing and that a bow will be the act of reverence made by those receiving. These norms may require some adjustment on the part of those who have been used to other practices, however the significance of unity in posture and gesture as a symbol of our unity as members of the one body of Christ should be the governing factor in our own actions.[10]
What should be the governing factor in our own actions at the Mass? This document states that “unity as members of the one body of Christ”[11] should govern our actions and that the unified posture and gesture is a symbol of our unity. Our unity however comes not primarily in a gesture or sign but in an act - the reception of the Eucharist. The action of Holy Communion is between the communicant and Christ Himself, just as reconciliation is between the penitent and Christ Himself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches this point: “Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the faithful in one body—the Church”[12] The reception of Holy Communion is what brings unity, not the gesture in which they receive our Lord. A gesture is a sign pointing toward the deeper reality. The members of the Body of Christ are united by Jesus Christ the Head. It is in our unity with Jesus Christ that we are united with each other. If one communicant stands to receive Jesus, while the next communicant kneels to receive, they are not in disunity because they receiving the same Jesus.