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After the Doxology and the Great Amen which conclude the Eucharistic Prayer, we begin the Communion Rite. This includes not only the actual reception of Holy Communion, but also the prayers and gestures by which we are prepared for Holy Communion. This week we will examine this first preparatory part of the Communion Rite.

First, the priest invites the congregation to join in praying the Lord’s Prayer, saying, “At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say…” This introduction reminds us not only that we pray using the very words that Jesus Himself taught us when he was asked by His disciples how to pray (cf. Luke 11:1-4), but also that it truly is an extraordinary thing to call upon God as “Our Father,” which we can do because, through our Baptism, we participate in the Sonship of Jesus Christ. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that “The Lord’s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers…. In it we ask, not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them” (STh II-II, 83, 9). It also makes fitting preparation for Holy Communion, because in it we explicitly ask that we be given our “daily bread.”

Next, we exchange the Sign of Peace, which is not merely a common or secular greeting, but a liturgical act. Looking at the prayers which accompany it help to understand its meaning. The sign of peace is introduced by the priest saying, “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. Who live and reign for ever and ever.” It is no worldly peace whose sign we exchange, but the peace of Christ, which “the world cannot give” (John 14:27). Primarily, then, the sign of peace is not about something that we give to one another, but about something we receive from Christ. This is reinforced by the priest celebrant addressing the people directly, “The peace of the Lord be with you always,” to which they respond, “And with your spirit.” This greeting and response, like the other liturgical greetings of the Mass, reinforces the complementary relationship of the baptismal and ministerial priesthood. Only then does the deacon or, in his absence, the priest himself, invite the congregation, “Let us offer each other the sign of peace.” Secondarily, though, the sign of peace does also recall Christ’s instructions in the Gospel, “Therefore, 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” (Matthew 5:23-24). It is a reminder and a preparation for the fact that the reception of Holy Communion also brings us into deeper union with one another, in Christ.

The Fraction Rite follows the sign of peace. At this time, the priest takes the large host that has been consecrated, breaks it, and places a small piece of it into the chalice, saying quietly, “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.” This mingling is a sign of the Resurrection, although we might need to back up a little bit to understand that in the context of the Mass. During the consecration, the bread and wine were consecrated separately. This signified the separation of Christ’s Body and Blood, which was a sign of His death. When the Body and Blood are mingled during the fraction rite, it is a sign of the reunion of Christ’s Body and Blood, or a sign of His resurrection. Usually while the fraction rite is occurring, the Agnus Dei is also being prayed or sung: “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God… have mercy on us. Lamb of God… grant us peace.”

As the Agnus Dei finishes, the priest prays his own preparatory prayer for Holy Communion. There are two options for this prayer in the missal, to be said quietly: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who, by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, through your Death gave life to the world, free me by this, your most holy Body and Blood, from all my sins and from every evil; keep me always faithful to your commandments and never let me be parted from you,” or, “May the receiving of your Body and Blood, Lord Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but through your loving mercy be for me protection in mind and body and a healing remedy.”

The congregation once again kneels in adoration before Christ truly present in the Eucharist, and the priest holds the host and chalice aloft and proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” Here, the priest cries out like John the Baptist when “he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29), and also quotes the angel who speaks to St. John in his great vision of the heavenly liturgy, “Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

All respond together, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed,” paraphrasing the centurion whose servant was healed by Christ: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8). This is no contradiction to the Church’s teaching that certain conditions must be met in order to receive Holy Communion worthily (i.e., being in the state of grace, and having observed the Eucharistic fast), but is a reminder that Holy Communion is a gift, and that the Eucharist – like all the Sacraments – is a precious treasure which has been entrusted to the Church by Christ, not because of our merits, but because of His tremendous love for us.