Communion is a sacrament that most
Christian followers try to make sure they do at least once in a while.
Different churches can do communion at different intervals. Some, like the
Catholic and Mormon churches, perform this sacrament once a week. Others, like
many Baptist or Lutheran congregations, once a month. And, still others do not
perform it but twice a year, usually at the times of Easter and Christmas. The
Catholic Church is adamant in teaching that only priests can perform this
sacrament, while many Protestant churches believe only their ministers can
perform it. There are others, however, that teach that anyone may perform the
sacrament of communion, as long as their hearts are repentant and their minds
open to the blessings.
As
a body of believers, we at Children of Father God and Mother Earth hold to the
last position, that anyone may perform the sacrament of communion. However, we
recommend that, if our fellow followers feel somewhat awkward doing it, there
are many places where they may go online to have themselves legally ordained as
ministers, and then they can rest assured that they have every legal right to
administer this sacrament. The online site we usually guide our followers to is
the Universal Life Church, or Universal Life Seminary. This organization will
ordain anyone a minister, no matter what belief system they follow, complete
with ordination credentials. This ordination also provides the legal ability in
many states to officiate at weddings, baptisms, and funerals. There is no cost
for this service, and it will provide reassurance in the ability of the
follower to administer the sacrament of communion. (Please make sure you find
the Universal Life Church that is based in Modesto, California, as there is another
place called The Monastery that sometimes masquerades as this church for
profit.)
We
have a communion prayer and ritual that we have found extremely helpful to the
newer follower who wishes to administer communion to themselves and those in
their household. It is based heavily on the Catholic Eucharist service that is
conducted in Catholic churches all over the world once a week, but, once the
follower becomes comfortable with their new role, they may make changes to fit
their own preferences.
For
this sacrament, you will need the food and drink that will fulfill the
requirement of the body and blood of Christ. Pieces of crackers and some fruit
juice is usually used for this purpose, and will allow small children the
opportunity to participate fully, where a glass of wine might prohibit their
participation. However, any kind of food and drink that is readily available
will be acceptable, as the ritual symbolically changes both of these items into
the body and blood of Christ. These items should be placed on the altar.
The presenter will
stand before the altar with any others arranged behind him/her in a
semi-circle. The candles are lit with the dedications mentioned in the previous
post titled “Personal Altars.” The presenter then conducts the following ritual
(all words that are in italics should be said by all participants).
Blessed are you, Lord God of all
Creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you,
fruit of the Earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of
life.
Blessed be God forever.
Blessed are you, Lord God of all
Creation, for through your goodness we have received the drink we offer you,
fruit of the Earth and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.
Blessed be God forever.
With humble spirit and contrite
heart, may we be accepted by you. O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight
this day be pleasing to you, Lord God. We now pray that this sacrifice may be
acceptable to God, the almighty Father.
May the Lord accept this sacrifice for the praise and glory of His name,
for our good, and for the good of all His holy Church.
The Lord be with us. We lift up our
hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God. It is truly right and just,
our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere, to give you thanks, Father
most holy, through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, your Word, through whom you
made all things, whom you sent as our Savior and Redeemer, incarnate by the
Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and gaining for you a
holy people, He stretched out his hands as He endured His Passion, so as to
break the bonds of death and manifest the resurrection. And so, with the angels
and all the saints, we declare your glory. You are indeed holy, O Lord, the
fount of all holiness. Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending
down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the
body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
This is the mystery of faith:
We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your resurrection, until you
come again.
Therefore, as we celebrate the
memorial of His death and resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of Life
and the Chalice of Salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be
in your presence and minister to you. Humbly we pray that, partaking of the
body and blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.
Remember, Lord, your church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the
fullness of charity. Remember, also, our brothers and sisters who have fallen
asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy.
Welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all, we pray, that,
with the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the blessed apostles, and all
the saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be
co-heirs to eternal life, and may praise and glorify you through your Son,
Jesus Christ. Through Him, with Him, in Him, O God, almighty Father, in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and ever. Lord
Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, “Peace I leave you, my peace I give
you,” look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church, and graciously
grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. May this mingling of
the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, bring eternal life of all who
receive it.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, your take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living
God, who, by the will of the Father, and the work of the Holy Spirit, through
your death gave life to the world, free us by this, your most holy body and
blood, from all our sins, and from every evil. Keep us always faithful to your
commandments, and never let us be parted from you. Behold the Lamb of God,
behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are
called to the supper of the Lamb.
Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say
the word and my soul shall be healed.
At the time He was betrayed and
entered willingly into His Passion, He took the bread and, giving thanks, broke
it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take this, all of you, and eat of
it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you.”
(The body of Christ is then shared
with all participants.)
In a similar way, when supper was
ended, He gook the chalice, and, once more giving thanks, He gave it to his
disciples, saying, “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the
chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be
poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory
of me.”
(The blood of Christ is then shared with all
participants.)
A
hymn may then be sung, and the benediction mentioned in the previous post
“Personal Altars” said to end the ritual.
We at Children of
Father God and Mother Earth encourage those of our group to perform the sacrament
of communion at least once a month, and also at Christmas and Easter. However,
communion may be performed as much or as little as the individual requires. The
important thing to remember is that this (along with prayer) is a way of becoming
closer to the Creator, and that the mind and heart must be open to this
blessing to receive its full benefits.
