I served for ten years in a parish whose loving, perceptive pastor was the best-kept secret in the diocese and whose loving, perceptive Christian formation coordinator was attentive to the needs of the community. One family’s daughter, profoundly disabled by cerebral palsy, was being prepared for First Communion. There was a snag: although the daughter could eat regular bread, she would spit out the “practice” host because it didn’t have the texture and feel of real bread.
Now, it would have been fairly simple to have her mother be a Eucharistic minister for her daughter—but the family was military, and what kind of situation would they land in at their next duty station? The entire parish was praying fervently, “Let ‘Mary’ receive Communion!” Eventually, Mary was able to recognize the host as bread and receive Communion—and the entire community rejoiced with her family!
The Americans With Disabilities Act has made us more aware of the need to accommodate physically disabled people; but what about those whose disabilities are invisible?
Our communities need to be aware of “invisible” people—people who are physically or mentally disabled; people who cannot eat wheat because of celiac disease or severe gluten intolerance; people who cannot receive the Precious Blood because they are recovering alcoholics.
When planning hymns and psalms for this feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, be careful to choose texts that do not further marginalize these members of our communities. Jacques Berthier’s “Eat This Bread” is a good start, as is “Our Blessing Cup” by Michael Joncas. The important thing is to remember that Eucharist is a verb, an action—not a static noun.
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from Religious Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
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