Magazine Articles
A look at the service of Holy Communion
Part One: “In the
name of God”
Part Three: The
Collect and the Readings
Part Seven: The
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Part Eight: The
Eucharistic Prayer
Part Nine: The
Prayer of Humble Access
Part Eleven: The
Blessing and Dismissal
Part One: “In the name of God” 
Our service of Holy Communion begins as we gather together in church. That may seem to be stating the obvious, but if we consider how we gather we might see more of the wider significance of the term, ‘Holy Communion’.
An observer would notice that as people arrive for any of
our services they are greeted, usually by one of our Churchwardens, and then by
any others who have already arrived or are arriving. Communion is about relationship and that
includes the relationship which we have with each other as well as with God.
The more formal greeting spoken by the priest, “In the name of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” reminds us that all we are about to say or do is done in God’s name; our God who chose to be three in one, the perfect relationship of love. In this way it sets the standard for what is to follow.
Immediately then we have the Collect for Purity. This prayer goes right back to Archbishop Cranmer’s first putting together of a service in 1562, in which all the people might participate, whether in silent acceptance of words said on their behalf or by speaking the words for themselves. It is beautiful and simple and accepts that God knows us through and through. (Psalm 139) It also asks God to help us by making our thoughts and our praise more worthy of him who is perfect in love and purity, but yet seeks our imperfect company.
In recognising this we recall the need to admit our wrong-doings. When time permits we may remind ourselves of the ten commandments as they were given to Moses, or of the new commandment which Jesus gave us. At other times we simply hear the invitation to make our confession. Sometimes we may feel that we haven’t led such bad lives; that we do our best to be good and kind and so on. It is worth reminding ourselves that all hearts are open to God and if we look deeply and honestly there is always something that we should have done and didn’t, or should not have done and did. We are none of us perfect!
The absolution which always follows the confession is a reminder of God’s eagerness to forgive. He knows that we cannot be perfect, and he knows how we are freed, made better, when we admit our imperfection. The Gloria then becomes symbolic of the joy of knowing we are forgiven and loved.
Part Two: The Gloria
The
Gloria, which follows the Confession and Absolution, opens with the words of
the ‘heavenly host’ to the shepherds out in the fields on that first Christmas
morning. The angel had delivered his
message from God and had spoken of the wonder of God’s love revealed in the
little baby in
Gloria in Excelsis Deo is the full Latin translation of the opening words, ‘Glory to God in the highest’ but Church tradition uses only part of the first line for the title. (As, for example, ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Te Deum’)
We stand to say or sing these words of glory which go on to praise the elements of the Holy Trinity; that is, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This is a lovely opportunity to unite to express our delight in our God whose love is shown so perfectly in the Trinitarian relationship,
Part Three: The Collect and
the
There are two sections of the Holy Communion service which are of central importance; the sacrament of communion and the readings from the Bible, and so this section starts with the greeting from the priest ‘The Lord be with you’ to which the congregation respond ‘and with your spirit.’ This is a mutual and shared blessing between priest and people, recognising that this service involves the participation of the congregation and isn’t simply all down to the priest. We are reminded of this in other parts of the service as we shall see
.
The Collect is a formal prayer which loosely reflects the season of the church’s year and precedes the first reading. This may be from either the Old or New Testament, excluding the Gospels. Sometimes there are readings from both Old and New Testaments with a Psalm between them, but in our Group at present the constraint of time prevents this.
It is customary to sit for the first reading, but to stand for the reading of the Gospel as a mark of respect for the books which tell more directly of the life of Christ. In some churches the Gospel is read in the body of the church, part way up the aisle. This is to symbolise the word of God being taken to the people and where this is the practice it is usually the case that members of the congregation in the pews nearest the front are encouraged to turn to face the reader.
The Gospel is followed by the sermon. This should reflect the content of the readings and speak of God’s intimate and loving involvement with his people. It should not be an excuse for a lesson in morality or ethics!
The
creed which we say during Holy Communion is the Nicene Creed. The word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin ‘credo’
which means ‘I believe’. There are two
common forms of creed available to us; the Apostles’ which is the one used in
Morning and Evening Prayer, and the Nicene.
The Apostles’ Creed, which probably dates from around 150 AD, is used
only in the
The statement which issued from Nicea in 325 was bitterly argued and debated as there were more issues in contention than the humanity and divinity of Christ. For example, the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son was questioned- was it an equal relationship or was the Holy Spirit subservient to both?
Although the Nicene Creed may seem dry when we say it week
after week, if we understand the vital importance of 
what
is being declared we may come to appreciate more the remarkable achievement of
the almost impossible. To put into
words, as briefly as possible, a complete declaration of what Christians
believe, is a real triumph.
Sometimes we sing a version of the creed, and this has the benefit of giving us a break from the usual, but it isn’t a complete statement and it is important that we understand the centrality of the creed in our faith.
It is something that
we can stand and say with pride – ‘I believe’.
There is a particular ‘feel’ about these prayers, commonly known as prayers of intercession – prayers asking God to become involved in those areas we have identified. I like to consider prayer as another name for conversation. Strictly, it is when we talk to God, listen to him and further develop our relationship with him. ‘Prayer’ shouldn’t be a list of requests to him, as if he were a genie waiting to comply with our commands!!
Our prayers of intercession are slightly different in that they are the more formal statements of a particular group’s areas of concern and care. In them we bring before God people or institutions and ask that he will bless, guide or change them for the better. We avoid asking specifically for anything since we are constantly aware that God knows, far better than we do, what is good and right.
So, if that is the case, why do we pray at all in this way?
Two reasons: firstly, prayer is a part of the mystery of God. We cannot measure its effect nor rationalise the benefit, and yet time and again people for whom prayers have been made will speak of an increased awareness of an intangible ‘power’ that provides them the resources to cope with or bear a particular stress or worry.
Secondly, prayer has the power to unite people and again, in ways we cannot quantify or explain, a praying community itself benefits from the time of prayer.
Robert Llewellyn wrote, ‘ A soul united to God (in prayer) is the most powerful force for good the world can know’. It is a huge claim but many will testify to its truth.
The Peace follows the prayers of intercession and marks the change in focus from the Word of God to the sacrifice of Christ.
If the service of Holy Communion is seen as being in two parts, we find that both end with a declaration of God’s peace; here in this smaller way and at the end of the service with the Blessing. We have two introductions to the Peace and there are seasonal options which may be used. The two in common use remind us that we find our Peace in Christ. They are a summary of what has gone before and an indication of what is to come.
In the first part we have been concerned with the practicalities of faith; the recognition of God’s greatness and our failings and, most importantly, we have been reminded of God’s revelation of himself in scripture and heard, hopefully, some attempt to explore the many depths of that revelation. All this is briefly alluded to in the Sentences of the Peace. We are brought back to God by Christ’s life and death – ‘He has reconciled us to God in one body on the cross’, or in the second Sentence, ‘We are the body of Christ – in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.’
Finally, priest and people exchange words of peace. This exchange is an ancient tradition. It was the usual greeting amongst the people of Jesus’ time and was commonplace in this country when monastics, travelling the sparsely populated countryside, passed a journeyman or smallholding.
God’s peace is understood as a positive, substantial power, not a mere absence of irritation.
Part Seven: The Prayer of
Thanksgiving
The part of the service which contains the great prayer
of thanksgiving begins with a prayer which we now have in common with the
Catholic church. It is included in the
options for the Church in
At this point, then, the priest turns to the people and asks them to pray that the Eucharistic prayer which is about to be presented by the priest on behalf of all, will be acceptable to God, not for his sake but for ours. The people pray and the priest responds, ‘Amen’. It is a reversal of roles which, as I said earlier, is a good and timely reminder that the priesthood confers no special privileges or rights; we all have a need for God’s grace and help.
Part Eight: The Eucharistic
Prayer
