The Most Holy Trinity: Reverence for the Eucharist
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This week, I would like us to focus our attention on matters concerning the Eucharist. We have recently held trainings for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and next week there will be more communication about updated policies and procedures. Next weekend will be the Feast of Corpus Christi (the Body and Blood of the ord). On that day, those who were trained will be commissioned as extraordinary ministers, with the permission of the bishop. Although this was a typical practice in the past, it has recently fallen out of practice, so we will revive it now.
Some practical things that will change include the filling of pyxes (for ministers to bring communion to the homebound). In accordance with Canon law and archdiocesan policy, pyxes may not be filled in the communion line. Those ministers who are commissioned to distribute the Eucharist and bring communion to the sick, should place their pyx on the altar before Mass and retrieve it after Mass. Please see the bulletin next week for further details.
In all the documents about the Eucharist and distributing Holy Communion, the Church exhorts us to show reverence in how we approach the sacrament. Reverence is, essentially, the highest form of loving attention. Irreverence, on the other hand, is practically the same as carelessness. Reverence is an attitude that unites the soul and the body in a harmonious external expression of internal love. The particular forms of that external expression matter less than the fact that we express with our bodies the love that we feel in our hearts. I have seen with sadness many distributors in our family of parishes handle communion without an appropriate proper expression of loving attention. One common failing is the way in which The Precious Blood is carried. Let us give greater loving attention to the living Presence of the Loving God among us, in His Body and Blood.
As an interesting, practical note, psychologists in clinical studies have discovered that the most reliable way to inspire random acts of kindness to strangers is to evoke an experience of awe. Awe helps to draw our attention away from ourselves and towards our neighbor. It reminds us that the world is not about us. If we practice, we can always foster an attitude of awe to the goodness of things around us. Awe and reverence are not simply about worship at Mass, but should be an attitude of our whole existence. We should revere one another and all of God’s beautiful creation. Our reverence at Mass should be the source and summit of our attitude towards all of life. As we contemplate the Eucharist, let us experience awe at the presence of God in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Church, in our own hearts, in our neighbor, and in the world.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Henry
