One of my main ministries at my parish is serving Communion. This ministry includes serving Communion at Mass, but it also extends to people in our parish community who are unable to join us because of age, infirmity or other obstacles. In these cases, I bring Communion to them.
I remember very well the first time I was allowed to go back into one of the care homes we serve to bring Communion to residents after the restrictions from COVID-19 were lifted. One of the men told me that they had not been able to receive Communion for nine months. He said it felt like “being in a desert hungry and thirsty.” Through tears he said he could not have been more grateful for the gift of Communion. Week after week, I get to witness the fruit of sharing God’s word and communion in the Body of Christ and the way it strengthens people in faith, hope and love.
I am mindful at each Mass that we are sent forth into the world to bring the Communion and call we have received –– to love and serve the Lord –– to those we meet each day, in familiar or unfamiliar situations. Being and bringing Communion are missionary acts. Missionaries are called to cross many borders to bring Christ’s presence into the lives of those they meet through their word and witness, their service and sacrament.
We are called to become what we have received in the Eucharist. As St. Augustine taught, “If you, therefore, are Christ’s body and members, it is your own mystery that is placed on the Lord’s table! It is your own mystery that you are receiving! You are saying ‘Amen’ to what you are: your response is a personal signature, affirming your faith. When you hear ‘The body of Christ’, you reply ‘Amen.’ Be a member of Christ’s body, then, so that your ‘Amen’ may ring true!” (Sermon 272).
On World Mission Sunday, we renew our “Amen” to Communion in mission with the Church around the world. We pray and offer financial support to the young and developing churches bringing the Communion of Christ’s life and mission to those who still hunger and thirst for it. We partner with missionaries of mercy who bring the Communion of Christ to those who live on the margins of every society and those who live under the threat of violence, war, family separation and religious persecution. We bring the Communion of Christ’s love and healing to the children and the most vulnerable ones who cannot speak for themselves.
The mission spirit is a Eucharistic spirit. Let us deepen our “Amen” to Communion in mission together. Let us become the mystery that we receive and bring it forth around the world and around the corner. Let us together seek out and be attentive to those who still hunger and thirst in the deserts of life, who still live in isolation and feel alone, and who find life burdensome. Let us bring Communion to the world, be in communion together in Christ and go forth to be the Communion of Christ that we receive. Let us go forth to love and serve the Lord!
Deacon Friesen is director of the Center for Mission, which supports missionary outreach for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He can be reached at friesenm@archspm.org
