The year in review

The Year of the Eucharist has drawn to a close. For me, it looks to be memorable chiefly for two words.

The first: Procession.

In a lecture on the Eucharist last spring, a priest mentioned in passing that we approach the altar for Communion, not in a line, but in a procession. And sure enough, the General Instruction on the Roman Missal speaks of "the procession to receive Communion" ("processionis ad Eucharistiam," n. 86).

The GIRM includes this Communion procession among the gestures of the people that "ought to contribute to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity" (n. 42).

There's not much I can do about how others process to receive our Lord, and I can only look so beautiful and noble myself, but since having this brought to my attention, I do try to keep in mind that I am not in a line, not in a queue, not in a parade or a march or a crowd, but in a procession.

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