St. Augustine famously invited us to \u201cBecome what you receive,\u201d in his beautiful Sermon 272 on the Eucharist.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/St.-Augustine.jpg\")
But, as of this date, I have not received [the Eucharist] for 179 days.\u00a0 I have not been inside a church for 25 Sundays.\u00a0 Indeed, for the past 5 \u00bd months, including those 25 Sundays, 1 Holy Week, and 1 funeral of a loved one, I have been at the altar of our 40-inch screen TV, streaming YouTube.<\/p>\n
I have been watching Mass, and participating to the fullest extent that one believes in the reality of the Mystical Body.\u00a0 But I\u2019m watching with mixed horror and frustration at the manner in which the faithful who are physically <\/em>in the worship space are actively participating\u2026and receiving.\u00a0 I see crowded aisles, as parishioners amble up for communion.\u00a0 I see ministers sneezing, wiping hands in a liturgical vestment, and moving on with the Eucharistic Prayer (YES!\u00a0 This really happened!!!).\u00a0 I have seen a young person sticking out a tongue to receive the Eucharist.\u00a0 The minister almost<\/em> People, what are we doing?\u00a0 Whom are we kidding?\u00a0 The Body of Christ is real, but so is the Coronavirus.<\/p>\n Yes, I know and believe that the source and summit of our faith is found in the Eucharist.\u00a0 But I do not know and do not believe that the faithful\u2014or the ministers of the Church\u2014should be put in danger by the physicality involved in administering and receiving communion.<\/p>\n I am divided over whether or not we should even be holding in-person services.\u00a0 Why are we allowing\u2014even enabling\u2014congregations to meet in person and participate in dangerous activities (like touching doorknobs, a dipping a finger in a font, or walking down You may argue that different denominations hold different beliefs about Eucharistic presence.\u00a0 Therefore, maybe you say that missing the sacramentality and physicality of worship is \u201cnot a big deal\u201d for, say, an ELCA congregation or for 2nd<\/sup> Presbyterian.\u00a0 I recognize the argument.\u00a0 But, I also know that Christians hold this in common: we know that Christ is the Life of the World.\u00a0\u00a0The Life of the World does not call us to put the vulnerable in danger, at the feet of a deadly virus we cannot yet control.<\/p>\n And so I believe, in the world in this moment, it is fasting from the Eucharist which proves a sign that we are truly seeking the life of the world.\u00a0 As for me, in this moment, I will continue to attempt, in my small, deficient way, to be what I see<\/em>\u2014even if I cannot receive it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" People, what are we doing?\u00a0 Whom are we kidding?\u00a0 The Body of Christ is real, but so is the Coronavirus.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":53143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3405,19],"tags":[3391,3009,3439],"class_list":["post-53129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theology","category-mass","tag-coronavirus","tag-mass","tag-roman-catholic"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/holding-a-mask-at-church-300x200.jpg\")
communed the young person\u2014but, thank goodness, thought better of it.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/hand-in-holy-water-bowl-300x150.jpg\")
a non-socially-distanced aisle)?\u00a0 Yes, there are specific regulations and measures being taken to ensure the safety and health of all in many assemblies, and in my own Roman Catholic dioceses.\u00a0 But many of our Protestant brothers and sisters have not resumed in-persons services at all.\u00a0 Why are we (my own local Roman Catholic church, along with many others) not responding in the same way?<\/p>\n