by Fr. Tony Schuerger

As we implement The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (generally abbreviated “GIRM”), some have been tempted to dismiss the changes as “mere rubrics” (i.e. rules) for celebrating Mass. This classifies rubrics as belonging to the category of “policies and procedures” for doing something. Our pragmatic American culture views “policies and procedures” as something arbitrary which can be evaluated for their efficiency and usefulness (or lack thereof) or even whether or not they “work for me.” However, thinking about rubrics in this way reveals a limited understanding of the nature and purpose of the liturgy.

Liturgy is a ritual activity and ritual activity is meaningful activity. In ritual, even gestures or actions done for practical reasons without a specific ritual meaning often are assigned meaning over time. One example at Mass is the pouring of water into the wine. Originally, it was a common custom of Mediterranean people to “cut” their wine with some water. Priests from these countries very naturally continued this practice at Mass. Over time, it was given symbolic meaning: the wine symbolized Jesus, the water ourselves. Ultimately a prayer was added: “Through the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” What was a practice of daily life became a meaningful activity in the context of the ritual of the Mass.

Ritual activity communicates meaning in its actions and gestures. A famous example is the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Everything that happens at the Tea Ceremony is done very deliberately in a formal, stylized manner. Each action, each gesture is traditional, and vested with great meaning. It is the formal, repeated, meaningful actions and gestures of the Tea Ceremony that make it such a rich experience for those who participate and such a rich encounter with traditional Japanese culture. In the same way, because the liturgy is a ritual, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal seeks to embody or express certain meanings or values.

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy states the primary value for anything done as part of the liturgical renewal: “It is very much the wish of the church that all the faithful should be led to take that full, conscious, and active part in the liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people, ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people’ (1 Peter 2:9, 4-5) have a right and to which they are bound by reason of their Baptism. In the restoration and development of the sacred liturgy the full and active participation by all the people is the paramount concern, for it is the primary, indeed the indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit.” (#14)

In addition to this central value of “full, conscious and active participation, the revision to the Communion Rite would seem to embody or express six other values:

· Liturgy as “Source and Summit” The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy states “From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, grace is poured forth upon us as from a fountain, and our sanctification in Christ and the glorification of God to which all other activities of the church are directed, as toward their end, are achieved with maximum effectiveness.” (#10)

· Awareness and Reverence for Christ Truly and Sacramentally Present: A sense of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist probably is the deepest belief most Catholics have about the Eucharist. For many years, individual Catholics have expressed this belief when receiving Communion in varied ways, including making the Sign of the Cross before or after receiving Communion, bowing, genuflecting, kneeling to receive Communion. For some, the decision to receive on the tongue (rather than in the hand) is a sign of reverence. The GIRM asks that all join in making a common sign of reverence – a bow of the head – before the Body and the Blood of Christ to express belief in and reverence for Christ’s real presence.

· The Assembly of the Christian Faithful as the Body of Christ: The image of the Church as the Body of Christ is rooted in Scripture and Church teaching. St. Paul wrote: “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10: 17) The whole congregation standing during the entire Communion Rite (Lord’s Prayer to the end of the distributing of Communion) reinforces our community identity as one body, one spirit in Christ. Our standing together during Communion is a sign of our unity and solidarity in Christ.

· The Communal Nature of the Reception of the Eucharist: Closely connected with the previous value, the revisions of the Communion Rite clearly call us to envision receiving the Eucharist as a communal, rather than an individual act. This calls for a change in our devotional understanding of what it means to receive Eucharist. Most of us were trained to think of receiving Communion in terms of “Jesus comes to me” and we were all taught that we should return to our pew, kneel, and offer our personal thanksgiving. Thinking of going to receive Communion as a procession (rather than forming a line), singing together before and after we personally receive as a member of the community, and offering our personal thanksgiving all at the same time (i.e. after everyone has received) helps us to recognize that receiving Eucharist is a profoundly communal act, and not only personal.

· In Order to Give, One Must First Receive: This principle is true in everyday life – you cannot give what you do not have. If you are broke, you have no money to spend and there is nothing you can buy. If you have no presents, you cannot give a gift. This is even more true spiritually: a person cannot share Christ with others without first having received Christ. For this reason, the GIRM instructs the priest to receive Communion before sharing the Eucharist with the Eucharistic Ministers and the Eucharistic Ministers must receive Communion before sharing the Eucharist with the entire community.

· Ministers as Those Being “Sent Forth” to Bring Christ to others: To be a minister is to be one who is called and then sent out. The Gospels tell of Jesus sending out the Twelve and the Seventy-two. St. Paul in his writings again and again speaks of being called by Christ and sent to proclaim the Gospel. The GIRM now calls for the Presider (assisted by the Deacon) to present the ciborium or chalice to the Eucharist Ministers. In doing so, the Eucharistic Minister is “being sent” to minister the Body or Blood of Christ to the gathered community, so that they, in turn, will be sent to bring Christ to the world at the end of Mass.