from Gert’s Catholic Library
Following the Eucharistic Prayer we stand from our kneeling position to prepare for and receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. This is called the Communion Rite and begins with the praying of the Lord’s Prayer, or Our Father, the model of all Christian prayer. The prayer may be sung or recited in unison with our hands and arms extended. Other positions may be holding the hand of the person next to us, or just folding our hands together in front of us.
At the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer the priest prays for God to deliver all of us from every evil. Our response to this prayer is “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.”
The second part of the Communion Rite is the Sign of Peace. The priest says a short prayer concluding with the words “Peace be with you” to which we reply “And with your spirit.” He then invites the congregation to share the Lord’s peace with one another. This exchange of a sign of peace with those around us is a symbol of our peace and unity with each other in Christ. The sign of peace should be just that – peaceful. It is not a time to lose our focus on the Lord Jesus; in fact, we should at this moment reverence the Lord, who can come to us in the form of the person next to us. The sign of peace should be used to show in action that we are in unity of His Presence.
The third part of the Communion Rite is the breaking of the bread. Reflecting Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper, the priest then breaks the consecrated host, symbolizing the breaking of Christ’s body on the cross. He then drops a small part of the host into the chalice, symbolizing the Resurrection of Christ (reuniting body and blood as a living whole). While he is doing this the congregation sings or recites the “Lamb of God” prayer ending the first two verses with “Have mercy on us” and the third time with “Grant us peace.”