As a visible sign of our repentance for all our misgivings, we give the sign of Peace to each other…rather we heartily wish, pray, that one finds Peace in his / her own heart. It is worth noting that, we mention the word ‘Peace’ quite often before Holy Communion; * first in the Our Father, where we pray for each other’s forgiveness…thereby making Peace with one other, * then the Celebrant prays “for peace in our days”, * then, a prayer to God to grant peace to the Church. This is the only way, how we can give witness that we are Christ’s disciples; ‘if we love each other as he has loved us.’ * Then, the Celebrant wishes us all: “The Peace of the Lord be always with you.” * the congregation answers: “And with you (thy spirit) too.”
Now, once we have declared, and given a sign, by a handshake, a smile, whatever, that we are all at Peace with each other…so we are really one family in Christ, we can partake of the same food.
During the Jewish Meal, the father used to break the bread.by hand, (no knives were used, because knives were considered to be a tool, a weapon of war, in fact no cutlery was used at all), then he used to distribute a piece, a part to each member of his family, and say a prayer, probably the same prayer Jesus said in the Last Supper, before He was betrayed. According to St.Paul, as we partake of the same food, of the Body and Blood of Jesus, we become one body.
The Breaking of the bread (host) is accompanied by the words, sung or spoken, of “The Lamb of God”. Going back to the Old Testament we find many references to the Lamb. God saved the Israelites who painted the lintel of their doorways with the blood of the slain lamb, which was later eaten by them, before fleeing from Egypt. This lamb was the symbol of the new Lamb of the NewTestament, slain, killed on the Cross, BUT victorious. Whilst the Celebrant shows, presents the Bread, the Host, he says, declares: “This is the Lamb of God, this is Him who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those invited to partake of this meal.” Here we have a flashback to John the Baptist’s words, when he introduced Jesus at the Baptism in the Jordan: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The whole congregation answers in complete agreement with the now famous declaration of the Centurion: “Lord, I am not worthy that you enter under my roof, say but the word and my soul shall be healed.” It is worth noting here that whenever the Centurions are mentioned in the Gospels, they are always commented on favourably (check it with the Gospels).
Before receiving the Holy Body and Blood, the Celebrant prays that he be made worthy of receiving Christ, that it would be of benefit to his spiritual welfare, that it would not be a condemnation to his soul, if he is unworthy, and never to be separated from God. This is similar to the advice given to us by St,Paul before approaching the Communion Table: “Let each one examine his conscience and then partake of the Bread and drink of the Cup.” (liberal translation)
Those, of us, who receive the ‘sacred host’ on our hands, should hold the palm of our left hand in the shape of a bowl, a throne, with fingers closed, placed on the right hand open palm, to receive on the ’throne’ our King of Kings. When the Celebrant, Priest or Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist says: “the Body of Christ”, we should reply, “Amen”. This Amen means, “Yes, I believe that this is the Body of Christ”. So it has to be said in an audible voice. This is an Act of Faith. Some people, mistakenly, genuflect in front of the priest or the altar, after having receive the Body of Jesus. BUT that is very wrong, because the Body of Jesus is inside you, your chest is, right now, like a Tabernacle, because it is housing the Sacred Body of Jesus. Not even a nod with the head is permissible, because the most important personage, person, is inside you…just walk back with great devotion and dignity to your place and close your eyes and ears to have a tit-a-tat with Jesus….and I dare say, let’s give Him the chance to speak to us, heart to heart. /14
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