Our Communion Stretches Even unto Quarantine
I am thankful for reading a recent article by Fr. Lawrence Farley, and particularly for the additional perspective he has added to my thinking about what "going to church" means in the wake of these worldwide quarantining measures to fight the spread of this virus. He wrote at length about the importance of the gathering of Christians as being central to the purpose of the Eucharist, and thus to the meaning of "the Church". That "gathering" aspect is not something I had dwelled on much. I would like to add another layer to what he said.
He said, "The Eucharist is what Christians do on Sunday when they gather together in the Lord’s Name, and the celebration of the Eucharist presupposes a previous gathering." That is true. Otherwise, a priest would be allowed to celebrate by himself. The Church is the "ekklesia" (Greek ἐκκλησία, 'gathering'), the community of believers, which is seen in beautiful perfection when we partake of the Eucharist.
While still holding that to be true, there is another place our union is seen: the Proskomedia. Before Liturgy starts, the priest and the deacon commemorate names of the faithful, both living and reposed, especially those of the local parish. With each name commemorated, a small particle of bread is pricked out of a loaf and placed on the paten, where the Mother of God and all the saints also have their piece of bread. During the Liturgy, in the Great Entrance, these gifts to God are carried to the altar table.
You are mystically on that paten, just like Christ is. And importantly, this is still true even if you are not physically present in Church. Christ's portion is placed in the chalice to commune the faithful. Then, when the chalice is returned to the altar, all those particles, with everyone commemorated, are placed into the chalice, into the Body and Blood of Christ. The reposed faithful, all those commemorated during Proskomedia, all the saints, the Mother of God: we all are united into Jesus Christ. This mystery reaches far beyond merely those we see standing with us in the church building.
So, we commune with Christ and with the faithful when we partake of the Eucharist. We also commune with Christ and with the faithful when we are commemorated at Proskomedia and are then united into the Body and Blood of Christ in the chalice. That should be of great encouragement in these days when we do not have access to the Eucharist.
And it seems we could take it one step further. Beyond Proskomedia, any time we speak of the Eucharist, we would say we are united with Christ and the whole Church, right? If, then, we are united with the whole Church and not just those particular faithful around the world partaking at approximately the same time, we are surely united to everyone in our local parish, whether they are present or not. And again, what an encouragement that is, when we cannot be present.
The Eucharist certainly extends beyond time and space. We see this clearly in the communion of the sick. If my priest brings me Communion in the hospital, that small portion was set aside way back on the previous Holy Thursday. I am obviously not communing only with those present in my local parish back on that one day of the year. I am united to Christ...along with everyone else who is united to Christ.
Most of us have not experienced a physical separation from the Church before. Our time of quarantine is helping shed light on our faith and practice, and in turn, refine how we think about "going to church". We are united together in the Eucharist; we are united together in the commemorations at Proskomedia; we are mystically united together with the whole Church even when we cannot be physically present. Glory to God!
And not to leave you hanging at the end here, but we also commune with Christ, and thus with all those in union with him, when we commune with Christ at the altar of our hearts, as Bishop Alexis recently reminded us. With that in mind, I return to Fr. Lawrence to help us end: "Let us use this time of abstinence to grow closer to Christ through fervent prayer and to let it sharpen our appetite for the Eucharist."
He said, "The Eucharist is what Christians do on Sunday when they gather together in the Lord’s Name, and the celebration of the Eucharist presupposes a previous gathering." That is true. Otherwise, a priest would be allowed to celebrate by himself. The Church is the "ekklesia" (Greek ἐκκλησία, 'gathering'), the community of believers, which is seen in beautiful perfection when we partake of the Eucharist.
While still holding that to be true, there is another place our union is seen: the Proskomedia. Before Liturgy starts, the priest and the deacon commemorate names of the faithful, both living and reposed, especially those of the local parish. With each name commemorated, a small particle of bread is pricked out of a loaf and placed on the paten, where the Mother of God and all the saints also have their piece of bread. During the Liturgy, in the Great Entrance, these gifts to God are carried to the altar table.
You are mystically on that paten, just like Christ is. And importantly, this is still true even if you are not physically present in Church. Christ's portion is placed in the chalice to commune the faithful. Then, when the chalice is returned to the altar, all those particles, with everyone commemorated, are placed into the chalice, into the Body and Blood of Christ. The reposed faithful, all those commemorated during Proskomedia, all the saints, the Mother of God: we all are united into Jesus Christ. This mystery reaches far beyond merely those we see standing with us in the church building.
So, we commune with Christ and with the faithful when we partake of the Eucharist. We also commune with Christ and with the faithful when we are commemorated at Proskomedia and are then united into the Body and Blood of Christ in the chalice. That should be of great encouragement in these days when we do not have access to the Eucharist.
And it seems we could take it one step further. Beyond Proskomedia, any time we speak of the Eucharist, we would say we are united with Christ and the whole Church, right? If, then, we are united with the whole Church and not just those particular faithful around the world partaking at approximately the same time, we are surely united to everyone in our local parish, whether they are present or not. And again, what an encouragement that is, when we cannot be present.
The Eucharist certainly extends beyond time and space. We see this clearly in the communion of the sick. If my priest brings me Communion in the hospital, that small portion was set aside way back on the previous Holy Thursday. I am obviously not communing only with those present in my local parish back on that one day of the year. I am united to Christ...along with everyone else who is united to Christ.
Most of us have not experienced a physical separation from the Church before. Our time of quarantine is helping shed light on our faith and practice, and in turn, refine how we think about "going to church". We are united together in the Eucharist; we are united together in the commemorations at Proskomedia; we are mystically united together with the whole Church even when we cannot be physically present. Glory to God!
And not to leave you hanging at the end here, but we also commune with Christ, and thus with all those in union with him, when we commune with Christ at the altar of our hearts, as Bishop Alexis recently reminded us. With that in mind, I return to Fr. Lawrence to help us end: "Let us use this time of abstinence to grow closer to Christ through fervent prayer and to let it sharpen our appetite for the Eucharist."
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