General Instruction of the Roman Missal

Why procession and standing during the Communion Rite?

    Processions are part of the liturgy and never merely a practical means to move people from one place to another, but always a symbol of our on-going journey toward God and toward the heavenly Jerusalem. The biblical image of God’s people on a journey, moving together in an orderly fashion toward a longed for destination, is common in scripture. Think of the Exodus of God’s chosen people passing through the Red Sea, from slavery in Egypt to freedom in a new land. After the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, the pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem included a procession to the place where the paschal lambs were sacrificed. In our personal history, our life can be seen as a journey, a “procession,” from birth to death, from womb to tomb.

     Envisioning the Church as a people on pilgrimage, a people journeying in procession toward the “new Jerusalem” (Rev 21:2), namely heaven, has been an honored image throughout our religious history. And processions are an integral part of our liturgies. At baptism the child is welcomed at the door and then the family processes in. Funeral processions accompany the person on the journey to the final resting place.     During Eucharistic Prayer III, the priest prays that God may “strengthen in faith and love” his “pilgrim Church on earth.”

    During Mass, several processions take place. At the beginning there is the formal procession of the ministers toward the sanctuary; at special days such as Palm Sunday or the Easter Vigil, this initial procession ideally includes the entire assembly.  Before the proclamation of the Gospel, there is the formal procession with the Book of the Gospels from the altar to the ambo while the assembly joyfully sings the Alleluia. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, representatives of the assembly bring forward the gifts of bread and wine, and monetary offerings, from the midst of the church to the altar.

   During the Communion Rite, the assembly comes forward in procession to the table of the Lord to be nourished by Christ’s Body and Blood on the journey to the heavenly Jerusalem. Standing during the procession becomes a sign of our unity as the People of God who follow Jesus who is “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6) along the pathways of life, on pilgrimage to our eternal home with God.  As all liturgy this is a communal action in which we are active participants as baptized members of the Body of Christ, the Church. The assembly is called to sing hymns during this procession and to actively continue to sing until all have received Holy Communion.

   When all have received the Body and Blood of Christ, we are all seated for a time of silence and reflection.

Article, December 28, 2003, on same topic:

If you have been away for a few weeks and returned to Mass at St. Daniel, some changes in our posture at Mass may have surprised you this month. The Archdiocese of Detroit has begun implementing the new General Instructions of the Roman Missal (GIRM), a document intended to further implement the direction set by the Second Vatican Council in 1964 in “The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy”. This document reminds all Christians that the liturgy is the “summit” and “font” of Christian life. It also enjoins bishops and parish priests to help the faithful participate fully in the liturgy, to actively engage in the liturgical rites.

The most noticable change is the standing of all present during the Communion Procession.

We process as a pilgrim Church, on our way to the heavenly Jerusalem. We are a sign, a symbol of the Pilgrim Church on the journey. We are not “standing in line” – rather we process as a people in an action of the Body of Christ assembled here and now. At Christ’s invitation, we move forward to share in this sacred meal, to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord, to encounter the One who has been sacrificed in atonement for our salvation. As we move forward together we join the countless ranks of all the baptized who have gone before us “marked with the sign of faith.”

(Note: Common sense should to be used in case of people who for various reasons may have difficulty standing that long and may need to sit.)

We move in song. The GIRM states that the people sing hymns from the Communion of the priest until all have received Holy Communion. So all remain standing until the last person has received, and all are called to continue singing.

For some, the singing may be seen as an interruption of their own prayer, their private thanksiving after Communion. However, singing hymns is a prayer! It is the communal prayer of thanksgiving and joy.  Only after all have received, do we sit for some quiet time and private prayer.

Over and over again, the prayers of the Liturgy and the GIRM stress this fundamental concept of the unity of the baptized. We come not as individuals, but as members of the one Body of Christ. The GIRM admonishes us all that we should become one Body, whether by hearing the Word of God, or joining in the prayers and liturgical song, or in the communal postures of standing or sitting or kneeling.

It is difficult for some of us to embrace this emphasis on Mass as the action of a community rather than an individual act of one’s own faith or piety, but it is so very important that we make every effort to do so. Baptism has joined us to Christ and to one another. In Christ’s words: “Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us … Father may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you (John 17:11, 21).

The Communion Procession is a profoundly religious action. We are the Body of Christ, moving forward to receive the Christ who makes us one with himself and with one another. Our procession should move with dignity; our bearing should be that of those who know they have been redeemed by Christ and are coming to receive the Living God.

For more articles on the GIRM click WORSHIP.