About the Mass: Communion Rite Overview.

‘COMMUNION RITE:  PART 1: OVERVIEW’

The elements of the Communion Rite are:

• Our Father.
• Deliverance Prayer.
• Sign of Peace.
• Breaking of the Host.
• Lamb of God.
• Communion.
• Silence.
• Prayer after Communion.

The rites of preparation for Communion are a structure link between the Eucharistic Prayers and the reception of the Eucharist.  They are to lead directly to the communion of the people.  Their purpose is to prepare the congregation for its participation in the reception of Christ in the Eucharist.  Mutual love and reconciliation are the seeds and the fruits of the sacraments shared in by the priest and the people.

At this part in the Mass, we are invited to prepare ourselves well for our personal encounter with Christ in the Eucharist.  We are encouraged during this Communion Rite to show forth signs of the fruit of the Eucharist which is the unity of the Body of Christ, being loved by Christ and loving Him through our love of one another.

The Church invites us to view the prayers and actions of the Communion Rite in this light, so that we can enter more fully and ever deeper into our personal encounter with Christ in communion and be as well disposed as possible. We are encouraged each time that we participate in Mass to have a growing desire to express such dispositions as mutual love, unity and forgiveness.  These are not things that we just think about in Mass, but we need to make conscious concrete decisions about how we might express them in our lives. 

I hope that we are all able to seize this wonderful opportunity each time we attend Mass.