Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: Bows in the Extraordinary Form

ROME, FEB. 8, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Related to our question of possible adaptations for infirm priests (see Jan. 25), a reader from Toronto asked the following:

"We have a dear old priest who comes to say Mass at one of the churches we attend. He moves very slowly and now uses a walker. He has now begun to leave distribution of Communion to the congregation in the hands of laypeople. While Communion is being distributed, he remains standing at the altar. Is there a rubric which would prevent him from distributing Communion while seated? A possible reference is Inaestimabile Donum, No. 10: 'The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of Mass excessively long. Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity."

I would say that, following the principles that allow the bishop to permit an infirm priest to celebrate Mass for the people while he is seated, it follows that he can also grant permission to distribute Communion from this position. In his final years Pope John Paul II did so regularly.

At the same time, it is up to the priest to decide to ask for this permission. Administrating Communion can be quite tiring on the arm and more so for an elderly man. If the priest feels that he is no longer up to the task, and especially if he fears dropping the Sacred Host, his decision should be respected.