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t68ware
Guest
Someone help me understand this…I was told that Catholics do not celebrate Communion on Good Friday but today I was watching EWTN and watched the Pope celebrate Communion. Am i not understanding something??
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Benedictine
Guest
Here is the clarification: there is no mass on Good Friday, but there is communion. The hosts used on Good Friday were consecrated the night before, at the Holy Thursday mass. Note that in the Service of Good Friday, no consecration takes place.
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t68ware
Guest
Thank you! I did notice no consecration taking place. Thanks for the help!
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Seminarian_Matt
Guest
As has been said, there is no Mass allowed to be celebrated on Good Friday - Jesus Christ has died. There is a service, though, called the Liturgy of the Presanctified that includes Veneration of the Cross and Ancient Intercessions as well as Communion.
fisheaters.com/customslent14.html
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ProVobis
Guest
But the Tabernacle is supposed to be clear and open on Good Friday, isn’t it?
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LilyM
Guest
The main tabernacle is, yes. But the hosts of course are moved on Holy Thursday to a side tabernacle (many churches have more than one) or altar, called the ‘altar of repose’. And there they are kept until Easter Vigil, some or most in the meantime being used for Good Friday services.
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preV2tradcath
Guest
As an interesting historical note, it is rather recent that the people receive communion on Good Friday. At one time only the priest received. If memory serves me correctly, the congregation started to receive communion on that day due to changes approved either by Pius XII or John XXIII.
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cam100
Guest
It was Pope Pius XII who began the practice of distibution of communion on Good Friday with his Holy Week revisions of 1955. Some sedevacantist priests reject even these changes and therefore still don’t distibute communion on Good Friday.
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ProVobis
Guest
It may be splitting hairs, but isn’t it true that Vatican II tried to encourage distributing communions only for that Mass so that there would be that feel of greater participation? So it seems that on Good Friday, since there is no Mass, there shouldn’t be communions distributed except, of course, for viaticum purposes. There is a reason why Masses (and consecrations) aren’t celebrated on Good Friday and I think we need to follow the spirit of that reason. When we receive, we in fact receive from a Mass. But there is no Mass allowed on that day.
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AJV
Guest
The change took place before Vatican II was even convoked.There were two customs in 7-8th century Rome. One was as you mentioned- in the Papal liturgy there was no Communion. This practice later fell out. However, in some of the other churches there was Communion which was distributed to all.
I feel the same as you- that no Communion better serves the idea of refraining when mourning. It was in fact one of the things proposed (by Fr. Jungmann) for the revised Holy Week. The other proposal, of course, was for the Communion of the faithful., which ultimately won out.
But if there is Communion, I see not reason not to extend it to the faithful. One might well ask why then on Good Friday does the celebrant receive Communion especially since unlike a Mass, he is not bound to, since there is no sacrifice.
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AJV
Guest
The change took place before Vatican II was even convoked. There were two customs in 7-8th century Rome. One was as you mentioned- in the Papal liturgy there was no Communion. This practice later fell out. However, in some of the other churches there was Communion which was distributed to all.I feel the same as you- that no Communion better serves the idea of refraining when mourning. It was in fact one of the things proposed (by Fr. Jungmann) for the revised Holy Week. The other proposal, of course, was for the Communion of the faithful., which ultimately won out.
But if there is Communion, I see not reason not to extend it to the faithful. One might well ask why then on Good Friday does the celebrant receive Communion especially since unlike a Mass, he is not bound to, since there is no sacrifice.
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ProVobis
Guest
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LilyM
Guest
Are you seriously trying to equate the Good Friday celebration of the central event of our faith, the Lord’s Passion and Death, with a bingo game or a food drive?
For shame 
How in any way could you argue that it is inappropriate to receive Christ’s Body and Blood on the very day, and at the commemoration of the very event, in which Christ gave that same Body for us and sealed the New Covenant in that same Blood? Even if pre-Vatican 2 it was not considered necessary, it is certainly fitting.
Just a few additional thoughts - there ARE prescribed liturgical requirements for the distribution of Holy Communion outside Mass (binding, for example, when priests visit the housebound and distribute Communion). Or when a lay-led liturgy is held in the absence of a priest. There are rubrics for Communion Services, as distinct from Masses, where priests can distribute to groups of the faithful, so it’s not like priests or anyone else were ever required only to receive or distribute within the context of Mass only.
As long as these liturgical requirements are met, no-one should have any reason to doubt the appropriateness. And Good Friday services meet them.
More importantly, the Communion of priest and faithful is built in to the rubrics of the Good Friday service. It’s not some ad-hoc unapproved extraliturgical innovation or addendum. Are you doubting that HMC has the authority to permit it?
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veritatem
Guest
So, there is no reason why I can’t take Holy Communion to a nursing home on Good Friday. Right?
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Thomas_Casey
Guest
The local pastor makes that call.
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