Communion
Holy Communion refers to the reception of communion at the hour of death. It is also called road consumption (Latin: viaticum ). In the Roman rite of the Catholic Church it is given to the dying inside or outside the celebration of a holy mass .
procedure
At a celebration of Holy Mass in the presence of the sick person, for example in the sick room, the food can be received under the shapes of bread and wine . If the dying cannot receive communion in the form of bread, he can only receive communion with the chalice. The participants in this holy mass can also communicate under both forms. Even without a mass, the food should be donated as part of a liturgical service , if possible. It begins with a confession of guilt and a plea for forgiveness. This is followed by a scripture reading, the creed, and intercession . The giving of food for the journey begins with the prayer of the Our Father .
If someone who is in mortal danger has already communicated on that day, he can receive Holy Communion a second time as food for the journey. If necessary, the sacraments of penance and the anointing of the sick can also be donated with the food . If the dying person has not yet received the sacrament of Confirmation , it can also be administered by the priest. The food can be given by priests , deacons or communion helpers .
Mistake
In earlier years, in rural areas, the priest, accompanied by an altar boy in choir clothing, went to the sick person 's house in order to “provide” him with the sacraments; one spoke of an accident. The altar boy wore a light and a small bell to draw the attention of oncoming people to the presence of the Holy of Holies .
Today the priest usually comes alone into the house, but a small congregation should meet wherever possible to give the anointing of the sick. The consecrated host is carried in a pyxis , the blood of Christ in a closable vessel. In the sick person's house a table covered with a white cloth should be provided for the holy oils , candles and a vessel with holy water with aspergillus or a sprig for sprinkling holy water. For this purpose, a so-called accessory set with the necessary equipment was often available in the families .
history
The First Council of Nicaea had already established in 325 that communion on death should not be withheld from anyone. Since the Roman Ritual of 1614, the “Last Unction” took the place of the Viaticum as the sacrament of death, until the Second Vatican Council put communion on death back at the center of care for the dying.
The donation formula has been since the 12th century:
Accipe, frater (soror), Viaticum Corporis Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui te custodiat ab hoste maligno, et perducat in vitam aeternam. Amen.
Receive, brother (sister), the feeding of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will protect you from the evil enemy and guide you into eternal life. Amen.
Otherwise, the rite of communion was identical from the ritual Romanum of 1614 with the rite of communion of the sick .
literature
- The celebration of the sacraments of the sick. The anointing of the sick and the order of the pastoral care of the sick in the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area. Second edition. Benziger , Solothurn - Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-545-50631-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The celebration of the sacraments of the sick. The anointing of the sick and the order of the pastoral care of the sick in the Catholic dioceses of the German-speaking area. Second edition. Benziger, Solothurn - Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-545-50631-2 , p. 77.
- ↑ Heinrich Denzinger : Compendium of the creeds and church teaching decisions. = Enchiridion symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum. Edited by Peter Hünermann . 43rd edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau et al. 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-37000-7 , No. 129.
- ^ Reiner Kaczynski : Death and burial liturgy. In: Hans Bernhard Meyer : Sacramental celebrations. Pustet, Regensburg 1984, ISBN 3-7917-0940-2 (Church Service, Handbook of Liturgical Science, Part 8), p. 214.