Faith

OSV News photo/Bob Roller

The Communion Rite -- some preliminaries

Friday, April 24, 2026Faith

Submit a Letter to the Editor

'... the priest must remember that he is the servant of the sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass.'

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

As noted last week, the many "moving parts" of this section of the Mass led to many variations in its celebration.
This is a good place to recall some general principles that apply to liturgy in general, and so obviously to Mass. Some of these you might recall from references in previous columns.
The Second Vatican Council, in its liturgical constitution, "Sacrosanctum Concilium" (SC), gave this direction:
"SC 22. 1. Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, as laws may determine, on the bishop.
"2. In virtue of power conceded by the law, the regulation of the liturgy within certain defined limits belongs also to various kinds of competent territorial bodies of bishops legitimately established.
"3. Therefore, no other person, even if he be a priest (the Latin is "Sacerdos," which includes both bishops and presbyters), may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority."
When the Code of Canon Law's revised version was promulgated in 1983, it virtually repeated the conciliar law:
"Can. 846 1. In celebrating the sacraments, the liturgical books approved by competent authority are to be observed faithfully; accordingly, no one is to add, omit, or alter anything in them on one's own authority.
"2. The minister is to celebrate the sacraments according to the minister's own rite."
General Instruction on the Roman Missal of 2012:

"23. Moreover, in order that such a celebration may correspond more fully to the prescriptions and spirit of the sacred Liturgy, and also in order to increase its pastoral effectiveness, certain accommodations and adaptations are specified in this General Instruction and in the Order of Mass.
"24. These adaptations consist for the most part in the choice of certain rites or texts, that is, of the chants, readings, prayers, explanations, and gestures which may respond better to the needs, preparation, and culture of the participants and which are entrusted to the priest celebrant, the priest must remember that he is the servant of the sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass.
"25. In addition, certain adaptations are indicated in the proper place in the Missal and pertain respectively to the diocesan Bishop or to the Conference of Bishops, in accord with the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (cf. nos. GIRM 387, 388-393)."
Next, there is the following regarding those who would "cross-pollinate" the current Roman Missal with words, gestures, actions, or postures from the previous liturgical books:
"It must never be forgotten that the Missal of Pope Paul VI, from the year 1970, has taken the place of that which is improperly called the 'Missal of St. Pius V' and that it has done this totally, whether with regard to texts or rubrics. Where the rubrics of the Missal of Paul VI say nothing or say little in specific in some places, it is not therefore to be inferred that the old rite is to be followed."
This must be read with the constantly repeated law "the priest must remember that he is the servant of the sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass."
The following might be of interest to readers as we examine the Communion Rite in the coming weeks.
First, there is the text of the Roman Missal regarding the Communion Rite. The texts and rubrics are in the Missal numbers 124 through 139; you can check the whole Order of Mass here and find those numbers: www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/roman_missal/roman_missal_order_of_mass.htm.
And the General Instruction on the Roman Missal about the Communion Rite numbers 80 through 89, that is available here: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-2.
The following document is composed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and approved by the Holy See and regards not only Communion under both kinds, but also some other directives about the distribution of Communion: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/norms-for-holy-communion-under-both-kinds.
These three documents are also part of the introductory material of the Missal and are in all editions of the Roman Missal 2012. They contain papally approved liturgical law for the United States of America.
The following is a document from 1996 from the U.S. Bishops and appears in many worship aids: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-Eucharist/guidelines-for-the-reception-of-communion.
Finally, some pastoral guidance from the bishops regarding those with celiac disease and alcohol intolerance: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-Eucharist/celiac-disease-and-alcohol-intolerance.
This seems like a lot of background material, but in the coming columns, you might see reference to one or several of these documents. It is important for readers to keep in mind that these are the best means for us to keep OUR public, liturgical prayers OURS. And to avoid the temptation to make OUR prayers MY prayers.