The Communion Hymn

We've been taught from the time when we were young that when we receive the Eucharist, what we're supposed to do is to return to our pews, get down on our knees and pray. We've been taught that this is the time where we are the closest we can ever be to our God, and therefore, it's the best time to talk to him about our struggles, to thank him for the gift of life and for the gift of his very presence in the Eucharist. This is amiss in itself. In other words, this is not the way in which Mother Church intends for us to receive the Eucharist at Mass. 

I know that I'm going to unruffle the feathers of many by posting this musing. So before I do that, I just want to assure you, dear reader, that like all my liturgical musings, this post is not an attempt to be a critique of anybody, nor is it an attempt to push an agenda in our diocese. Like I've mentioned in all my liturgical musings, I would not be aware of such things today if I had not had the privilege of being taught by my former Parish Priest, who is a trained liturgist. However, the very reason why God has called me to write this blog is to live up to the call of every baptised Christian, which is to make disciples of all nations. This also includes the need to speak the truth, even when it may not be received well by one's audience, which is exactly what Jesus himself did in many instances during his time on earth. 

In the General Instructions of the Roman Missal, with regard to the reception of Communion at Mass, it is written: 

"86. While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant or hymn begins. Its purpose is to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly the “communitarian” character of the procession to receive the Eucharist. 

The singing is prolonged for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful.[cf. Inestimabile Donum 17] However, if there is to be a hymn after Communion, the Communion Chant should be ended in a timely manner.

Care should be taken that singers, too, can receive Communion with ease."

The instructions of the Church make it clear that the nature of the Mass, or any liturgy for that matter is public. The celebration of the Eucharist is not an act of private devotion. It is the corporate prayer of the Church, the highest form of prayer which the Church, as the Body of Christ, offers to God as a community. We do not come to Mass to pray on our own. We can talk to our God anywhere and anytime. We come to Mass to do what we cannot do at home, which is to celebrate the Mystery of Christ as a community of believers. The Mass is not a place for private prayers as it is the prayer of the Church. The liturgy is not about us. 

During the reception of the Eucharist at Mass, the GIRM makes it quite clear that just like the other parts of the Mass, this part of the Mass is communal. It is an act of the entire Church, not just of individual who gather for the celebration. Therefore, if there is a hymn being sung, the right thing to do is to join in the singing of the communion hymn, which is the liturgical action of the Church at that point in the liturgy. It is not a place for private prayers because like I mentioned, we can talk to our God anytime and anywhere. When we come to Mass, the Church is speaking to God. The Church is offering her prayers to God. And when the Church is speaking to God, why would we wish to interrupt the prayer of the Church with our own private prayers?

I know this musing may seem as a shock to many, and I'm pretty sure that when I post this in social media, it's going to spark off some form of debate or argument among the faithful. To some, the way they've been receiving the Eucharist for decades is the way that they feel that they best connect with our God. Some feel that there should be silence at Communion. Let me assure you that this blog is not written with the intent to shut people down for doing things wrong over the years. Nor am I going to insist that all of us must change our way of doing things, just for the sake of being liturgically correct. 

However, I think that we also need to realise that the instructions in the rubrics are not simply there for the sake of being there. They aren't there just written because the authorities wish it so. They are given to us by Mother Church to bring us to an encounter with the Mystery of Christ, which is the focus of every Eucharistic Celebration. A lot of the time, we are reluctant to change because we are sure that God does not mind us breaking the rules of the Liturgy, that he is compassionate and understanding, and that we should just continue to do what we find is most conducive to our spiritual life. And while I don't deny that our God is not going to ask us if we did everything according to the rubrics of the Liturgy when we come face to face with him, we also need to realise that when we refuse to accept the rubrics of the Liturgy, we claim to know better than Mother Church. And that's understandable, as all of us human beings struggle with our egos (and make no mistake, I too struggle). But perhaps the challenge is to move past this, to go beyond seeing the rubrics as just a set of rules meant to be followed, and to allow them to bring us to a deeper encounter with the mystery of Christ. Instead of doing whatever we can to meet our God, perhaps we should all allow our God to meet us where we are, which is exactly what he did when he came down to Earth in a human form. 

The Mass is a communal celebration of the Paschal Mystery, which is celebrated by the entire body of Christ. Instead of wanting to do things our own way, so that we want to come to Church, let us challenge ourselves to BE the Church. That is the call of every single one of us who is baptised.