by Sister Guadalupe Maria Cervantes, PCI Contributor
The final event of the Mass is the Communion Rite. The Eucharist celebration is the paschal meal and the faithful who are properly disposed are invited to receive the Lord’s body and blood as he commanded. We begin with the Lord’s Prayer.
The apostles often saw Jesus praying and were so impressed by the way he did it, that they said, “Lord, teach us to pray (Lk 11:1). ” Jesus responded by teaching them the Our Father. Ever since, saints have outdone themselves extolling the perfection of this prayer.
We say “our” Father because we do not pray alone, but with the whole parish and Church and communion of saints. We say, “Father” because Jesus revealed that God is our loving Father.
The prayer then continues with seven petitions that communicate to us the ideal attitudes we need to be growing Christians. But notice also that the major emphasis in this prayer is that we be free from all distress as we await the joyful coming of our lord Jesus Christ.
This prayer renews the sense that in the Lord’s Prayer we are praying for the coming of Christ. Indeed, he will come to us in the Eucharistic species that we are soon to receive; at the same time, we pray for purification from sin, so that what is holy may, in fact, be given to those who are holy. Also, we pray to him to come to establish the kingdom of God fully upon the earth.
The priest says the prayer that follows the Our Father. In some ways this prayer for deliverance from evil extends the seventh petition of the Lord’s Prayer. The Father’s plan to save us was accomplished in Jesus. We must pray daily that this salvation will become effective in our lives. We respond not with an “amen” in this instance, but rather with an ancient prayer, a prayer that expresses faith in God and how right it is for us to put all of our trust in him.
The first word that Jesus spoke to the apostles after he rose from the dead was “peace.” The priest prays a prayer out loud to Jesus, reminding him of his gift of peace to the apostles. He then asks the Lord to look down upon the faith of the people gathered in this Church and to grant us his peace and unity.
The prayer, coming as it does before Communion, reflects our need to be reconciled with one another. Receiving the Eucharist is a sign that we are in “communion with the Lord.”
Being in communion with the Lord means that we:
Accept Jesus as our lord, have confessed and repented of our sins, and put our total trust in him.
Accept the teachings of the Catholic Church that Jesus founded by making Peter the Apostle the head of the Church and giving him full power to forgive and bind sins.
We are at peace with our brothers and sisters.
The first two senses of “communion” have been experienced in the Penitential Rite and the Profession of Faith. Now we deal with the third in a concrete manner. We cannot be in communion with Jesus if we are not at peace with our brothers and sisters. “If any one says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 Jn 4:20).”
The Rite of Peace The priest or deacon now invites us to share the Lord’s peace with one another. The exchanging of the sign of peace should be peaceful and respectful. It is not a time to lose our focus on the lord Jesus; in fact, we should at this moment reverence the Lord who has come to us in the form of the stranger or friend next to us.
There are some who refuse to give the sign of peace. One never knows what their reason for doing so may be, but whatever it is, do not refuse them the peace that the Lord has given you. Offer a prayer on their behalf. This ritual means to spread the Lord’s peace and to show in action that we are a unity of his presence.
The Breaking of the Bread, Lamb of God . . . While the Eucharistic bread is being broken, we sing or say the “Lamb of God.” As we witness the “breaking of the bread,” try to meditate on the Lord’s presence before us.
It is time to think how the first disciples walked with Jesus but did not know it was he, how their eyes were opened when he took the bread, said the blessing and broke it. We need to do the same. We ask the Lord to open our eyes to the miracle of his presence in the bread and wine that have been offered and through the power of the Holy Spirit have become the body and blood of Christ.
Behold the Lamb of God The priest raises the Blessed Sacrament and, presenting him to us, uses the words from the Scriptures. He declares to behold the “Lamb of God” and how blessed (happy) are we who are invited to partake in his supper. The prayer we say before Communion is taken from the story of the healing of the centurion’s servant (Mt 8:5-8). The servant was cured and Jesus praised the great faith of the centurion. We can say this humble faith prayer in such a way that it will become part of our spiritual attitude toward God and life.