by Father Walter Ray Williams

Part IX

            Continuing in our discussion of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, we are in “Chapter IV:  The Different Forms of Celebrating Mass.”  These “different forms” are in reference to such variations as Mass with or without a congregation, Mass with or without a deacon, a concelebrated Mass (when there is more than one priest), etc.

•  For the proper distribution of Holy Communion:  If there are other priests present, besides the celebrant priest, they should be the first to help with the distribution of Holy Communion.  “If such priests are not present and there is a very large number of communicants, the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him – 1) duly instituted acolytes, 2) other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose, or 3) “In case of necessity, the priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion.”
• “These ministers should not approach the altar before the priest has received Communion, and they are always to receive from the hands of the priest celebrant the vessel containing either species of the Most Holy Eucharist for distribution to the faithful.”
• After Communion is finished, “the priest himself immediately and completely consumes at the altar any consecrated wine that happens to remain”; and he – as at St. Mary’s – reposes the remaining consecrated Hosts in the Tabernacle.
• The priest, with the help of the deacon (if there is one), may purify the sacred vessels at the altar or the credence table, or leave them on the credence table, covered on a corporal, to be purified after the dismissal of the people.
• Mass with a Deacon – Here are the listed duties of a deacon exercising his ministry at Mass:  1) Assists the priest and remains at his side;  2) Ministers at the altar, with the chalice as well as the book;  3) Proclaims the Gospel and, at the direction of the priest celebrant, may preach the homily;  4) Guides the faithful by appropriate introductions and explanations, and announces the intentions of the Prayer of the Faithful;  5) Assists the priest celebrant in distributing Communion, and purifies and arranges the sacred vessels; and 6) As needed, fulfills the duties of other ministers himself if none of them is present.
• If there is a deacon, he carries the Book of the Gospels in the entrance procession and the recessional.  He also, if there is no lector or reader present, proclaims the other readings from the Lectionary.  For the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the deacon prepares the altar while the priest remains at his chair, assists the priest in receiving the people’s gifts, hands the priest the paten with the host upon it, prepares the chalice with the wine, mixing it with water, and presents it to the priest, assists with incense and then incenses the priest and the people.  During the Eucharist Prayer, the deacon kneels from the epiclesis (“Bless and approve our offering…”) until the Great Amen, standing up so as to lift up the chalice during the final doxology (“Through him, with him, in him…”). 
• “After the priest’s Communion, the deacon receives Communion under both kinds from the priest himself and then assists the priest in distributing Communion to the people.”