Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: Breaking of the Host
ROME, OCT. 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Regarding our Oct. 5 column on why the priest should not break the host at the moment of the consecration, a reader commented: "After the Breaking of the Bread, why do some priests put the pieces back together right before they take Communion? It seems to me the breaking ritual is a sign of sharing, and they should share some of the pieces with the congregation or with others at the altar. In fact, when they use the very large (5-inch) bread, they never try to put it together again. Is there reason for the 'reconstruction' of the smaller sacred Host?"
A very good question! The rite is described in the General Introduction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), Nos. 83 and 84:
"83. The priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, assisted, if the case calls for it, by the deacon or a concelebrant. Christ's gesture of breaking bread at the Last Supper, which gave the entire Eucharistic Action its name in apostolic times, signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor 10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of Life which is Christ, who died and rose for the salvation of the world. The fraction or breaking of bread is begun after the sign of peace and is carried out with proper reverence, though it should not be unnecessarily prolonged, nor should it be accorded undue importance. This rite is reserved to the priest and the deacon.
"The priest breaks the Bread and puts a piece of the host into the chalice to signify the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation, namely, of the living and glorious Body of Jesus Christ. The supplication Agnus Dei, is, as a rule, sung by the choir or cantor with the congregation responding; or it is, at least, recited aloud. This invocation accompanies the fraction and, for this reason, may be repeated as many times as necessary until the rite has reached its conclusion, the last time ending with the words dona nobis pacem (grant us peace).
Communion
"84. The priest prepares himself by a prayer, said quietly, that he may fruitfully receive Christ's Body and Blood. The faithful do the same, praying silently.
"The priest next shows the faithful the Eucharistic Bread, holding it above the paten or above the chalice, and invites them to the banquet of Christ. Along with the faithful, he then makes an act of humility using the prescribed words taken from the Gospels."
These norms only mention showing the Eucharistic Bread and give no indications as to the mode of doing so. The fact that the liturgy foresees the possibility of breaking the host into several pieces precludes any need to recompose the circular form of the host. Even when using the common-size host that is broken into three pieces, most priests show one or both of the larger fragments as semi-circles.
There seems to be no good answer as to why some priests recompose the circular form other than their personal preference.
It might be that some are inspired by countless devotional pictures which show the host elevated above the chalice. These pictures capture the moment of the final doxology in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite in which the priest makes five signs of the cross with the host above the chalice before elevating host and chalice together while saying or singing in Latin "is all honor and glory forever and ever."
The ordinary form is much simpler; it calls for elevating paten and chalice together and only offers the option of presenting host and chalice together after the fraction rite. It is understandable that some priests attempt to capture some of the significance associated with the extraordinary form's elevation even though this practice risks detracting from the current meaning of showing the Bread that has been broken, the Lamb of God himself, in order to heal us and be our spiritual food.
In conclusion, although recomposing the circular form of the host cannot be said to explicitly contravene liturgical norms, it is perhaps less significant than showing the host in a clearly fragmented manner.
Regarding our Oct. 5 column on why the priest should not break the host at the moment of the consecration, a reader commented: "After the Breaking of the Bread, why do some priests put the pieces back together right before they take Communion? It seems to me the breaking ritual is a sign of sharing, and they should share some of the pieces with the congregation or with others at the altar. In fact, when they use the very large (5-inch) bread, they never try to put it together again. Is there reason for the 'reconstruction' of the smaller sacred Host?"
A very good question! The rite is described in the General Introduction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), Nos. 83 and 84:
"83. The priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, assisted, if the case calls for it, by the deacon or a concelebrant. Christ's gesture of breaking bread at the Last Supper, which gave the entire Eucharistic Action its name in apostolic times, signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor 10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of Life which is Christ, who died and rose for the salvation of the world. The fraction or breaking of bread is begun after the sign of peace and is carried out with proper reverence, though it should not be unnecessarily prolonged, nor should it be accorded undue importance. This rite is reserved to the priest and the deacon.
"The priest breaks the Bread and puts a piece of the host into the chalice to signify the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation, namely, of the living and glorious Body of Jesus Christ. The supplication Agnus Dei, is, as a rule, sung by the choir or cantor with the congregation responding; or it is, at least, recited aloud. This invocation accompanies the fraction and, for this reason, may be repeated as many times as necessary until the rite has reached its conclusion, the last time ending with the words dona nobis pacem (grant us peace).
Communion
"84. The priest prepares himself by a prayer, said quietly, that he may fruitfully receive Christ's Body and Blood. The faithful do the same, praying silently.
"The priest next shows the faithful the Eucharistic Bread, holding it above the paten or above the chalice, and invites them to the banquet of Christ. Along with the faithful, he then makes an act of humility using the prescribed words taken from the Gospels."
These norms only mention showing the Eucharistic Bread and give no indications as to the mode of doing so. The fact that the liturgy foresees the possibility of breaking the host into several pieces precludes any need to recompose the circular form of the host. Even when using the common-size host that is broken into three pieces, most priests show one or both of the larger fragments as semi-circles.
There seems to be no good answer as to why some priests recompose the circular form other than their personal preference.
It might be that some are inspired by countless devotional pictures which show the host elevated above the chalice. These pictures capture the moment of the final doxology in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite in which the priest makes five signs of the cross with the host above the chalice before elevating host and chalice together while saying or singing in Latin "is all honor and glory forever and ever."
The ordinary form is much simpler; it calls for elevating paten and chalice together and only offers the option of presenting host and chalice together after the fraction rite. It is understandable that some priests attempt to capture some of the significance associated with the extraordinary form's elevation even though this practice risks detracting from the current meaning of showing the Bread that has been broken, the Lamb of God himself, in order to heal us and be our spiritual food.
In conclusion, although recomposing the circular form of the host cannot be said to explicitly contravene liturgical norms, it is perhaps less significant than showing the host in a clearly fragmented manner.
posted by Chipi Buenafe at
3:28 PM
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