Saturday, January 19, 2013

Communion Rails

Someone cited this a couple of days ago and I've forgotten who it was.   (If it was you, thank you.)  It's a nice appreciation of the communion rail from a permanent deacon who has not been accused of traditionalist recidivism lately:

Frankly, we should not only be humbled, but intimidated enough to ask ourselves if we are really spiritually ready to partake of the sacrament. Kneeling means you can't just go up and receive without knowing how it's properly done. It demands not only a sense of focus and purpose, but also something else, something that has eluded our worship for two generations.

It demands a sense of the sacred. It challenges us to kneel before wonder, and bow before grace. It insists that we not only fully understand what is happening, but that we fully appreciate the breathtaking generosity behind it. It asks us to be mindful of what "Eucharist" really means: thanksgiving.

The rest is here.