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Friday, April 17, 2026Faith

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It is this rite in the Order of Mass where most of the questions arise from priests and people, especially about the varying practices that seem to have crept into this rite . . .

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

This next part of the Mass consists of several separate parts. They are all related to each other, as indeed are all the parts of the Mass.
In the coming weeks, we'll look at the parts of the Communion Rite in the Order of Mass as presented to us for our prayer in the current edition of the Roman Missal.
We'll take them in the order that the Missal provides:
-- The Our Father, with its invitation, embolism, and response.
-- The Sign of Peace, which has a greeting from the principal celebrant, a response from the assembly, a request to offer the sign of peace, usually by a deacon. The "sign" is the greeting itself, and may be accompanied by an action.
-- The Breaking of the Bread, which is accompanied by the chanting or singing of "The Lamb of God."
-- The reception of Holy Communion by the ordained, then any assisting ministers, and then the rest of the assembly in the Communion Procession, accompanied by singing.
-- The period of silence follows the reception of Holy Communion and perhaps a song of thanksgiving.
-- The prayer after Communion.
It is this rite in the Order of Mass where most of the questions arise from priests and people, especially about the varying practices that seem to have crept into this rite, sometimes with good intention, often with little consideration of the effect that "my ideas" have on others.

The line, "lots of moving parts," suits this rite well. The moving parts consist of words, gestures, postures, and actions that differ for each section of the rite and may differ for various participants.
Here's a quick look at the outline above:
We all stand for the "Our Father." We stand for the Sign of Peace. We kneel for the Lamb of God and the Breaking of the Bread. Those who will receive Holy Communion stand and process and remain standing for the reception of Holy Communion. On return to their places, either kneeling or sitting is permitted while the Communion procession continues. All stand for the Prayer after Communion.
Looks simple, right? And it is. And this is what the Roman Missal approved by the Holy See for use in the United States of America prescribes for this rite.
Likely you are thinking, but . . . in our parish we do (fill in the blank with the "local custom.") Then you go to visit a family member or friend, and at Mass in that parish, something completely different happens. Then you go on vacation, and another whole set of practices occurs. Flummoxed? Confused? Probably and sadly.
In the coming weeks, we'll look at the various parts of the Communion Rite and the expectations that the Missal has for its celebration.
Please keep in mind that in these columns I try to present what the Church asks us to pray and how the Church asks us to participate in word, song, posture and gesture in our prayer at Mass. We have a great deal of freedom with our personal private prayers and devotions. That freedom does not extend to the Church's liturgical prayers in her liturgical books. Do keep in mind that there might be variations approved by the Holy See for one conference of bishops and its territory, but not for another. There is a great deal of universality (the same everywhere) in various editions of the Roman Missal, and there is not a little bit of locality (differing practices here but not there).
We'll be using the Roman Missal approved by the Holy See for uses in the United States of America, which has been in use since about 2012. Integral to that Missal is much introductory material, including the General Instruction of the Roman Missal with approved adaptations for the United States of America, abbreviated going forward as GIRM, with any paragraph number cited. And additional directives, for example, about the distribution of Holy Communion.
There will be some important general guiding principles for readers to keep in mind, and in next week's column, I'll put them together as a reminder and guide.
The principle that guides all the others is that the Mass and indeed all of the Church's liturgy is that it is the common -- read "our prayer." We make it our own individually by participating with each other in word and song, attentive listening, appropriate responses and by doing and saying all and only the parts assigned to us.
This unity in prayer should lead to the communion in the Eucharist and our reception of the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass.
Some questions and reactions will likely arise in the coming weeks. So don't hesitate to contact me at rmogrady@PilotCatholicNews.com.