Communion Services and Evening Prayer

  • Thread starter Thread starter dmsorman
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

dmsorman

Guest
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I’m having great difficulty with something that is going on at my parish. They are doing commuion services with the liturgy of the hours which I guess is ok, but my problem is that they are distributing Holy Communion following the Evening Prayer. Evening Prayer is what technically ends the liturgical day. Shouldn’t the Communion Service Element precede evening prayer? Receiving Holy Communion should always be between morning and evening prayer for the rule of the liturgical day. How should I approach this problem, the individuals are used to performing these services this way and have been doing so for quite some time?
 
dmsorman said:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I’m having great difficulty with something that is going on at my parish. They are doing commuion services with the liturgy of the hours which I guess is ok, but my problem is that they are distributing Holy Communion following the Evening Prayer. Evening Prayer is what technically ends the liturgical day. Shouldn’t the Communion Service Element precede evening prayer? Receiving Holy Communion should always be between morning and evening prayer for the rule of the liturgical day. How should I approach this problem, the individuals are used to performing these services this way and have been doing so for quite some time?
Click to expand...
Night Prayer comes after Evening Prayer. So clearly Evening Prayer does not end the the liturgical day.

The liturgical book “Holy Communion and the Worship of the Eucharist Outside of Mass” has “16. Communion may be given outside Mass on any day and at any hour. …”. (From The Rites Volume One, Liturgical Press, 1990, ISBN: 0-8146-6015-0, page 644).

So it would even be permissible to have Communion Services after Night Prayer.
 
Disagree. Evening prayer has always traditionally ended the liturgical day. The night office is designed for prayers before retiring for rest and is not intended to end of the liturgical Day. The Day is from Sunset to Sunset not Sunrise to Sunrise. Please read General Instructions of the Liturgy of Hours.
 
dmsorman said:
Receiving Holy Communion should always be between morning and evening prayer for the rule of the liturgical day.
Click to expand...
Um, just a question here: where are you getting this concept? Like John mentioned, night prayer (compline) actually ends the liturgical day, but the point still stands, what’s wrong with having a liturgy after compline?
 
The liturgical Day lasts traditionally from evening to evening (more precisely sunset to sunset) as has always been-- including the Jewish Sabbath the liturgical day begins Friday evening. Compline is a floating office designed for prayer before rest but it does not mark an ending to the day. Masses can be celebrated throughout the day but Morning prayer should always precede mass and Vespers should always succeed Mass. The Feast of Sunday lasts from Vigils which should be properly done after Saturday Evening Prayer I to Evening Prayer II of Sunday. Feasts always end with Vespers. So yes The Liturgical Day ends with Vespers and not Compline. Some people actually go to bed in the middle of the day. Also if you read the general instruction The office of Readings for the Day can only be done after Evening prayer of the previous day and even before compline of the previous day. That’s where I’m getting this.
 
dmsorman said:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I’m having great difficulty with something that is going on at my parish. They are doing commuion services with the liturgy of the hours which I guess is ok, but my problem is that they are distributing Holy Communion following the Evening Prayer. Evening Prayer is what technically ends the liturgical day. Shouldn’t the Communion Service Element precede evening prayer? Receiving Holy Communion should always be between morning and evening prayer for the rule of the liturgical day. How should I approach this problem, the individuals are used to performing these services this way and have been doing so for quite some time?
Click to expand...
Why?
 
Because Lauds is to begin the Day with Praise, Mass should be the highlight of the day after Praise, but before thanksgiving for the day which occurs at Vespers or evening prayer. Vespers is traditionally evening Thanksgiving for the Day. Why would you want to do your thanksgiving for the day before receiving Holy Communion…the spiritual food that sustains life within us?
 
dmsorman said:
Because Lauds is to begin the Day with Praise, Mass should be the highlight of the day after Praise, but before thanksgiving for the day which occurs at Vespers or evening prayer. Vespers is traditionally evening Thanksgiving for the Day. Why would you want to do your thanksgiving for the day before receiving Holy Communion…the spiritual food that sustains life within us?
Click to expand...
It sounds nice, but to be honest, it sounds like you are just making this stuff up.
 
I assure you that that isn’t made up. God Bless You. Anyway I’ve figured out how to do it. Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut folks.
 
dmsorman said:
Because Lauds is to begin the Day with Praise, Mass should be the highlight of the day after Praise, but before thanksgiving for the day which occurs at Vespers or evening prayer. Vespers is traditionally evening Thanksgiving for the Day. Why would you want to do your thanksgiving for the day before receiving Holy Communion…the spiritual food that sustains life within us?
Click to expand...
The Church disagrees with you. From the General Instructions of the Liturgy of the Hours:
  1. Evening prayer, celebrated immediately before Mass, is joined to it in the same way as morning prayer. Evening prayer I of solemnities, Sundays, or feasts of the Lord falling on Sundays may not be celebrated until after Mass of the preceding day or Saturday.
Click to expand...
Liturgically, Vespers only opens the liturgical day on Sundays, solemnities and feasts of the Lord that fall on a Sunday; those days have 1st Vespers.

At all other times the liturgical day opens with the first Office of the day, usually either the Office of Readings or Lauds. It’s not as clear cut with the “Office of Readings” as it is in monastic life, where Vigils (or Matins) is the opening of the liturgical day even when anticipated the evening before; when anticipated the psalmody and readings are always from the following calendar day when anticipated the evening before. Same thing with the Office of Readings which may be anticipated the evening before.
 
Read #97 and you will find where evening prayer is celebrated after a mass. The Church doesn’t disagree with me at all. Maybe you do. I would suggest that you take the time to notice that #96 of the general instruction implies Solemnities, Sundays, and Feasts and for good reason. The liturgical Day begins with Evening Prayer 1 on those Days and Ends with Evening Prayer II. On ordinary days Evening Prayer of the Day ends the liturgical day so communion if at all possible should be received for that day b/w lauds and vespers.

PAX
 
Which I might add are when most religious communities will receive for daily purposes.
 
circuitsurge said:
Read #97 and you will find where evening prayer is celebrated after a mass. The Church doesn’t disagree with me at all. Maybe you do. I would suggest that you take the time to notice that #96 of the general instruction implies Solemnities, Sundays, and Feasts and for good reason. The liturgical Day begins with Evening Prayer 1 on those Days and Ends with Evening Prayer II. On ordinary days Evening Prayer of the Day ends the liturgical day so communion if at all possible should be received for that day b/w lauds and vespers.
Click to expand...
You are really bad at interpreting things you know. #96 again:
  1. Evening prayer, celebrated immediately before Mass, is joined to it in the same way as morning prayer.
Click to expand...
Evening prayer I of solemnities, Sundays, or feasts of the Lord falling on Sundays may not be celebrated until after Mass of the preceding day or Saturday.
Click to expand...
These clauses are separate (well, the second one technically speaking is a restriction on how the first one may be used). The first one outright says that Evening Prayer may be celebrated immediately before Mass.

The second clause remarks that you may not celebrate Evening Prayer I before proper Masses for the day proceeding the Solemnity/Sunday have been completed. What this practically means is that you may not celebrate EPI of Sunday before a proper Saturday Mass, but you are allowed to celebrate EPII before a Mass on Sunday evening.

I’d love to see what you suggestions are for “last chance Masses”. Our college had one at 9pm every Sunday. You can’t really celebrate EP after that (10pm) because it’s really not evening anymore.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top