Catholics prepare changes in communion

Christian Century, Sept 20, 2003

Raising their hands at the Lord's Prayer. Forgoing the handshake and embracing the person in the next seat at the sign of peace. In an extra act of reverence, bowing before receiving the communion host.

And undoing a lifetime of tradition by not kneeling in prayer after communion. Instead, in a sign of the communal nature of the sacrament, worshipers will stand and sing until each person has received the Eucharist.

American Catholics are about to experience major changes in the communion rite as dioceses begin implementing the updated General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

Diocesan bishops are gradually putting in place the changes approved by the Vatican and then by U.S. bishops with adaptations for American culture. The Cleveland diocese, for instance, will begin hearing about the changes in late September and will receive instruction in sermons and bulletins through October and November. Bishop Anthony M. Pilla has set implementation for November 30, the first Sunday of Advent.

"We're taking our time; we're trying to do it well," said Michael G. Woost, who teaches liturgical and sacramental theology at St. Mary Seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio. Perhaps the biggest change "and probably the most problematic change," Murray said, will be getting Catholics to break the habit of immediately returning to their pews to kneel in prayer after communion.

The diocese is encouraging people to return to their pews and continue to stand and sing until everyone has received communion and the priest has sat down to pray. At that point, worshipers will kneel in private prayer. The changes are designed to retain both the personal and social nature of the sacrament, Murray said. Other changes include:

* Asking worshipers to raise both hands upward at the "Our Father," called the Lord's Prayer in Protestant churches. In some parishes, people have a custom of holding hands during the prayer. The raised arms go back to the way Jesus and early church members prayed, diocesan liturgists said. They are a symbol of surrender to God and Christian belief in Jesus' victory over death, Woost said.

* At the sign of peace, there is a tendency now at churches to shake hands with several nearby people. The new rite encourages people to embrace one or two individuals in a serious, sober gesture of reconciliation. "The meaning of the sign of peace is not hail-fellow-well-met," Murray said. "It is a rite of reconciliation, of unions of minds and hearts."

* In a special sign of reverence, Catholics also will be asked to bow before receiving the host that they consider the body of Christ. St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church in Mentor, Ohio, a test parish for some of the changes, already has adopted the practices of bowing before the Eucharist and the raising of hands at the Our Father.

Jeanne M. Tadych, liturgist at St. Bede, said the changes have had a profound effect on parishioners--in particular, bowing before receiving communion."It has a very calming effect. It gives you just a moment of peace to think about what you're really doing," Tadych said. "You're not just rushing through."--RNS