Who Receives Holy Communion First? ISSUE: May the extraordinary ministers or the congregation receive communion at the same time as the priest? May anyone receive before the presiding priest?

RESPONSE: No. According to the rubrics in the Sacramentary’s “Order of the Mass,” the presiding priest self-communicates before distributing Holy Communion to anyone else. Only concelebrating priests may receive at the same time as the principal celebrant.

DISCUSSION: In recent years, two wrongful practices have emerged. In some places, the extraordinary ministers receive Holy Communion at the same time as the priest. Before the Agnus Dei, he gives them the Blessed Sacrament to hold. When he receives, they also receive. In other places, the faithful receive Holy Communion before the presiding priest. Whatever the motivation for these practices, they are wrong. Priest in persona Christi and in nomine ecclesiae The priest acts not only in the person of Christ, but also in the name of the Church. He is the official representative of the Universal Church within the assembly. As Vatican II teaches, “Acting in the person of Christ, he brings about the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of all the people.”1 The Catechism of the Catholic Church further explains: “In the name of the whole Church” does not mean that priests are delegates of the community. The prayer and offering of the Church are inseparable from the prayer and offering of Christ, her head; it is always the case that Christ worships in and through His Church. The whole Church, the Body of Christ, prays and offers herself “through Him, with Him, in Him,” in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to God the Father. The whole Body, caput et membra, prays and offers itself, and therefore those who in the Body are especially His ministers are called ministers not only of Christ, but also of the Church. It is because the ministerial priesthood represents Christ that it can represent the Church.2 When the priest receives Holy Communion, he does so as Christ the Head giving Himself to His Body and Bride, the Church. In his act of receiving Holy Communion, he provides the most full sign of the timeless union of Christ and His Bride. Because of this important sign, his receiving first makes our receiving more meaningful. Liturgical Norms To protect the role of the priest, liturgical norms require him to receive first. As taught by the Church, liturgical norms are not something that can be changed by anyone, even a priest. Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (SC), no. 22, provides the basic guidelines on modifying the liturgy: · Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See [the Pope and those directly under him], and, as laws may determine, on the bishop. · In virtue of power conceded by law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of bishops’ conferences, legitimately established, with competence in given territories.

· Therefore no other person, not even a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority. The General Instruction to the Roman Missal (GIRM) and other documents regulate the proper celebration of Mass. The GIRM, no. 31 provides that a priest has discretion to modify some parts of the Mass: It is also up to the priest, in the exercise of his office of presiding over the gathered assembly, to offer certain explanations that are foreseen in the rite itself. Where it is indicated in the rubrics, the celebrant is permitted to adapt them somewhat in order that they respond to the understanding of those participating. However, he should always take care to keep to the sense of the text given in the Missal and to express them succinctly. The presiding priest is also to direct the word of God and to impart the final blessing. In addition, he may give the faithful a very brief introduction to the Mass of the day (after the initial Greeting and before the Act of Penitence), to the Liturgy of the Word (before the readings), and to the Eucharistic Prayer (before the Preface), though never during the Eucharistic Prayer itself; he may also make concluding comments to the entire sacred action before the dismissal. Distributing Holy Communion to extraordinary ministers before the Agnus Dei is not a legitimate introduction, instruction or conclusion. The priest distributing Holy Communion to the faithful before receiving himself is not a legitimate introduction, instruction or conclusion. Both acts are innovations of discipline, which is not acceptable. Regarding reception of Holy Communion at the same time as the celebrant, liturgical laws only allow concelebrating priests to do so. Concelebrating priests share in the role of the celebrant. While the celebrant presides over the Mass, the concelebrants are united to him in their ministerial priesthood and share his role in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice. In the GIRM (nos. 242-244), we find the following: When this prayer before Communion is finished, the principal celebrant genuflects and steps back a little. Then one after another the concelebrants come to the middle of the altar, genuflect, and reverently take the Body of Christ from the altar. Then holding it in their right hand, with the left hand placed below, they return to their places. The concelebrants may, however, remain in their places and take the Body of Christ from the paten presented to them by the principal celebrant or by one or more of the concelebrants, or by passing the paten one to another. Then the principal celebrant takes a host consecrated in the same Mass, holds it slightly raised above the paten or the chalice, and, facing the people, says the Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God). With the concelebrants and the people he continues, saying the Domine, non sum dignus (Lord, I am not worthy). Then the principal celebrant, facing the altar, says quietly, Corpus Christi custodiat me ad vitam aeternam (May the body of Christ bring me to everlasting life), and reverently receives the Body of Christ. The concelebrants do likewise, communicating themselves. After them the deacon receives the Body and Blood of the Lord from the principal celebrant. The last sentence of this liturgical law makes it clear that even the deacon does not receive at the same time and in the same way as the celebrant. This should clear up any ambiguity about whether it is permissible for extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to receive at the same time as the celebrating priests. If deacons, who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders and are ordinary ministers of Holy Communion (Code of Canon Law, Can. 910, § 1), are not to receive in this way, then clearly extraordinary ministers should not.

Regarding the reception of Holy Communion by the faithful, the Sacramentary clearly requires the priest to receive Holy Communion first: Facing the altar, the priest says inaudibly: May the Body of Christ bring me to everlasting life. He reverently consumes the Body of Christ. Then he takes the chalice and says inaudibly: May the Blood of Christ bring me to everlasting life. He reverently drinks the Blood of Christ. After this he takes the paten or other vessel and goes to the communicants. The opening phrase of this last rubric clearly prescribes that these actions are to come in sequence. The priest receives both species, and “after this he . . . goes to the communicants.” Common Misunderstandings These illicit practices usually arise from a misunderstanding of the liturgy as a whole. Most Catholics do not know the theological symbols and signs used in the Divine Liturgy. This allows for changes to occur that seem minor to them, but change the meaning of a particular part of Mass, or disrupt the proper flow of Mass as a whole. Consider the Mass like a piece of music written for a ballet. The music represents the actions of the dancers. If you are familiar with the story of the ballet, you can listen to Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite” and know the events of the story. If you don’t know the story or the ballet, the music may be pretty, but it has less meaning. If changed or rearranged, the story changes. You wouldn’t know the changes if you didn’t know the story. The Mass is the same way. If you don’t know the symbols and theological meanings of the actions, the Mass has less meaning. When changed, the changes may seem minor, but the “story” of the Mass changes substantially. Some cite Luke 22:15-19 and 24:30 to justify the distribution of Holy Communion to the faithful before the priest receives. Some interpret this passage to mean that Jesus did not receive at all, but He gave Himself to the Apostles. Isn’t the priest supposed to do what Jesus did? Isn’t the priest supposed to serve the people, and distributing to them first is a sign of service. Besides, when the people receive first, it emphasizes the Royal Priesthood of believers, which is often not emphasized today. The Scriptural argument is inconsistent with Scripture itself. Furthermore, all of these objections tend to pit different liturgical signs against each other rather than emphasizing the harmony of these signs working together. As the Word of God, Scripture cannot contradict itself. If it did, it would be proof of contradictory truths. We know from the other Gospel accounts that Jesus did eat the Last Supper. We also know from the use of the word “again” in Matthew 26:29 and Mark 14:25 that Jesus at least drank His Precious Blood when He instituted the Eucharist. In Luke’s account of the Last Supper, before the meal began Jesus said, “I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Lk. 22:16). Later in the same account, He instituted the Eucharist after having celebrated the Passover meal. We know Jesus ate the supper, and we know He took part in the Eucharist. This statement in Luke referred to something other than the Passover celebration. It referred to the New Passover which He was about to institute by His death and resurrection. He would not “eat” of this “New Passover Meal” until it was fulfilled by His death and resurrection. Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist was not simply an historical event bound by time. Nor is the Mass simply a reenactment of the Last Supper. Rather, the celebration of Mass links the perpetual

sacrifice of Christ on Calvary with His Resurrection, Ascension and our own hope of Heaven’s glory. Likewise, the institution of the Eucharist was Jesus’ sacramental institution of His death and resurrection. Just as Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary is a timeless event, so is the Mass timeless. In a manner that is mysteriously timeless, the Mass links us to Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection and ascension. Just as Christ’s sacrifice was His greatest act of service, so is the Mass itself, in it’s entirety, an act of service for the priest. He shares in both the Royal Priesthood of believers through baptism and the Ministerial Priesthood through Holy Orders. Because of this fact, when the priest receives Holy Eucharist at Mass, he does so not just as “the person of Christ” instituting the sacrament at the Last Supper, but also as an official representative of the Church. His reception symbolizes the unity of the Church in a timeless event in recognition of both service and the Royal Priesthood. The priest offers the sacrifice in the person of Christ, and receives the sacrifice in the name of the Church as a sign of unity with the Church. He then distributes the graces of the sacrifice to the congregation present. When he does not receive first, we lose the sign of the timeless nature of the sacrifice, the symbolic link to the Body of Christ, which is the Church, and the role of the Ministerial Priesthood in service to the Royal Priesthood is diminished. In short, the changes sometimes made de-emphasize the very things that the people who have made these changes want to emphasize. Conclusion The role of the priest during the celebration of Mass includes representation of the Church as well as actions in the person of Christ. Liturgical norms protect this role. As Catholics, to preserve the unity of faith, we must follow these laws given by the Magisterium. We must try to understand the symbols and signs used in the liturgies of the Church. We must also share this understanding with others in the hopes of preserving unity in the Church and fostering greater spiritual growth in others. In this way, the Liturgy of the Mass truly expresses what it symbolizes, that is, the Communion of Saints within the Body of Christ. Further inquiries in this matter can be directed to CUF, your diocesan liturgy office, or, if necessary, the Secretariat for the Liturgy, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 3211 4th St., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-1194. Endnotes: 1 2

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (LG), no. 10. Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism), no. 1553 (emphasis in original).

RECOMMENDED READING: Holy Bible (Catholic Edition) Catechism of the Catholic Church Documents of Vatican II Precis of Official Catholic Teaching on Worship and the Sacraments Mysterium Fidei, Encyclical by Pope Paul VI The Hidden Manna, Rev. James T. O’Connor This is My Body, Mark P. Shea To order, call Benedictus Books toll-free: (888) 316-2640. CUF members receive a 10% discount. Hahn and Suprenant, eds., Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God Leon Suprenant and Philip Gray, Faith Facts: Answers to Catholic Questions Ted Sri, Mystery of the Kingdom: On the Gospel of Matthew

Leon Suprenant, ed., Servants of the Gospel Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Without a Doubt: Bringing Faith to Life To order these and other titles, call Emmaus Road toll-free: (800) 398-5470.

FAITH FACTS—FREE MEMBER SERVICE: (800) MY-FAITH: • “This is My Body”: Chist’s Real Presence in the Eucharist • Ordinary and Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers • Proper Matter for Bread and Wine Used in Consecration • Holy Communion Under Both Species • Proper Reception of Holy Communion • Communion Services • “I Believe in One God…”: The Nicene Creed at Mass • Cross or Crucifix at Mass • The Gloria • Eucharistic Consecration: Kneeling or Standing? • Lay Preaching • Liturgical Dance • Self-Communication

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Last edited: 4/22/2004