BECOMING WHAT WE RECEIVE
loft. Te Communion song began only then, after half the congregation had received. Te Communion song had no chance of fulfilling its responsibility to express and foster the unity of all those receiving. It came across as an afterthought. And then it turned into cover music, as the cantor sang two more verses after all had received. We were still singing, “I receive the living God” while the vessels were being purified. As ritual music, the Communion song defines and unites the Communion procession. Te music appropriately concludes once all have received.
One may legitimately ask, “If the song begins immediately, when do the musicians receive?” Sing to the Lord recommends “at or near the end of the procession.”10
In my own experience, Communion
for the choir at this time has happened smoothly and relatively quickly, as multiple ministers approached the choir area once they had finished distributing at their stations. Beginning the Communion song as the priest receives also has a practical purpose in promoting assembly singing: the Communion song gets off the ground while members of the congregation are all still in their places.
Two additional considerations are important to facilitate congregational singing during Communion. Choosing music in an appropriate form is essential. Psalms or songs in refrain-verse form are especially effective for processions. Te assembly sings a familiar refrain from memory as they walk, while the stationary cantor or choir sings changing verses from a hymnal or binder. To facilitate familiarity and memorization, STL suggests that the number of Communion refrains should be limited—and that they should be used often. Here I must note that the term “Communion chant” used in the most recent GIRM is not a new call for chanting or for more frequent use of antiphons. Te change from “song” to “chant” is the result of a more literal approach to translation from the Latin. Te term “cantus,” in fact, does not indicate a particular musical genre, but may refer to “song,” “a song,” or “singing.” Te purposes and options described for the Communion song in the GIRM have remained the same since the very first edition issued after Vatican II.
I also need to mention one long-standing attitude/ practice that hampers the effectiveness of the Communion song: the presumption that silent prayer is the most appropriate response immediately after one receives Communion—as if continuing to sing would be irreverent! Here, an individualistic eucharistic piety
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continues to trump sound liturgical practice. Te result is the diminishing Communion song, slowly fading away as more and more people receive. Tis is not what the GIRM has in mind! Why have we presumed for so long that the diminishing Communion song is simply the way things are? I would suggest that we have not adequately considered the Communion song as a significant component of the ritual action. I admit that changing a long-standing custom, especially concerning the reception of Holy Communion, is a challenge. At the very least, we can begin instilling a different attitude in our children by teaching first communicants the Communion song that will be sung during Mass and encouraging them to express their joy and gratitude in song after they have received.
What does the Communion
procession sound like? While we will get to textual considerations a bit later, I think it important to address the impact of the sound or “feel” of the music we sing during the Communion procession—something that rarely gets addressed. Te music itself brings something to the table, so to speak. Because of its non-discursive nature and its cultural connections and because we use music in a variety of styles, this aspect of the singing experience is difficult to express in words. Yet it is not difficult to demonstrate its significance. In courses I’ve taught over the years, I’ve taken my students through a hymn tune listening exercise. After playing each hymn tune, I ask students to come up with adjectives that describe the music or what it evokes in them. Te adjectives have been surprisingly similar from year to year. Students describe IN BABILONE as march-y, regal, sturdy, confident, joyful, etc. BEACH SPRING is described as gentle, reflective, melancholy, humble, reassuring. Te music itself evokes something—how this happens is beyond the scope of this article—and brings a particular lens or interpretation to the text being sung, as well as to the ritual context in which it is used.
For some insight on what the Communion song might sound like, I turn to the Introduction to the Order of Mass: A Pastoral Resource, issued in the United States at the same time as the revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal. Tis document provides an evocative description of the Communion procession, which “expresses the humble patience of the poor moving forward to be fed, the alert expectancy of God’s people
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