Administration of Communion to the Sick
by an Extraordinary Minister
A priest or a deacon administers communion to the sick in the manner prescribed by the Rite of Anointing and Pastoral Care of the Sick. When an acolyte or an extraordinary communion, duly appointed, gives communion to the sick, the rite here described is followed.
Those who cannot receive communion in the form of bread may receive it in the form of wine. The precious blood must be carried to the sick person in a vessel so secured as to eliminate all danger of spilling. The sacrament should be administered with due regard to the individual concerned, and the rite for giving communion under both kinds provides a choice of methods. If all the precious blood is not consumed, the minister himself must consume it and then wash the vessel as required.
INTRODUCTORY RITE
Wearing the appropriate vestments (see no. 20 of the full ritual), the minister approaches the sick person and greets him and the others present in a friendly manner. He may use this greeting:
Peace to this house and to all who live in it.
Any other customary form of greeting from scripture may be used. Then he places the sacrament on the table, and all adore it.
PENITENTIAL RITE
The minister invites the sick person and those present to recall their sins and to repent of them in these words.
My brothers and sisters,
to prepare ourselves for this celebration,
let us call to mind our sins.
A pause for silent reflection follows.
[A]
All say:
I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault
They strike their breast:
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do;
and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,
and all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
The minister concludes:
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
The people answer:
Amen.[B]
The minister says:
Lord, we have sinned against you.
The people answer:
Lord, have mercy.Minister:
Lord, show us your mercy and love.
The people answer:
And grant us your salvation.The minister concludes:
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
The people answer
: Amen.[C]
The minister, or someone else, makes the following or other invocations:
Minister:
You brought us to salvation by your paschal mystery: Lord have mercy.
The people answer:
Lord, have mercy.Minister:
Your renew us by the wonders of your passion: Christ have mercy.
The people answer:
Christ, have mercy.Minister:
You give us your body to make us one with your Easter sacrifice: Lord have mercy.
The people answer:
Lord, have mercy.The minister concludes:
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
The people answer:
Amen.THE SHORT FORM OF THE READING OF THE WORD
A brief passage from sacred scripture may then be read by one of those present or by the minister.
John 6:54-58
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood remain in me and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me."
John 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them; and we will come to them and make our dwelling with them."
John 15:4
Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.
1 Corinthians 11:26
Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
1 John 4:16
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God, and God in him.
See the Rite of Anointing and Pastoral Care of the Sick(nos. 247ff or 153ff) for a further selection of texts.
HOLY COMMUNION
The minister then introduces the Lord’s prayer in these or similar words:
Now let us pray together to the Father in the words given us by our Lord Jesus Christ.
The minister continues with the people:
Our Father…Then the minister shows the holy eucharist, saying:
This is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world.
Happy are those who are called to his supper.
The sick person and the other communicants say once:
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word and I shall be healed.
The minister goes to the sick person and ,showing him or her the sacrament, says:
The body of Christ (or: The blood of Christ).
The sick person answers:
Amen, and receives communion.Others present then receive in the usual way.
After communion the minister washes the vessel as usual. A period of silence may now be observed.
The minister then says the concluding prayer:
Let us pray.
God our Father, almighty and eternal,
we confidently call upon you,
that the body [and blood] of Christ
which our brother (sister) has received
may bring him (her)
lasting health in mind and body.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
or:
Father,
you have brought to fulfillment the work of our redemption
through the Easter mystery of Christ your Son.
May we who faithfully proclaim his death and resurrection in these sacramental signs
experience the constant growth of your salvation in our lives.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
or:
Father,
you give us food from heaven.
By our sharing in this mystery
teach us to judge wisely the things of earth
and to love the things of heaven.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
or:
Lord,
you renew us at your table with the bread of life.
May this food strengthen us in love
and help us to serve you in each other.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
During the Easter season, the following prayers are preferred:
or:
Lord,
you have nourished us with your Easter sacraments.
fill us with your Spirit
and make us one in peace and love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
or
Lord,
may this sharing in the sacrament of your Son
free us from our old life of sin
and make us your new creation.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
or:
Almighty and ever-living Lord,
you restored us to life
by raising Christ from death.
Strengthen us by this Easter sacrament;
may we feel its saving power in our daily life.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
The people answer:
AmenCONCLUDING RITE
Blessing (Optional)
The minister may give a blessing:
All praise and glory is yours, Lord our God,
for you have called us to serve you in love.
Bless N.,
so that he/she may bear this illness
in union with your Son’s obedient suffering.
Restore him/her to health,
and lead him/her to glory.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
The people answer:
Amen.Then the minister invokes God’s blessing and, crossing himself or herself says:
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
or:
May the almighty and merciful God bless and protect us,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The people answer:
Amen.The minister may then trace the sign of the cross on the sick person’s forehead.
– —
2 Short Rite of Communion of the Sick
This shorter rite is to be used when communion is given in different rooms of the same building, such as a hospital. Elements taken from the ordinary rite may be added according to circumstances.
The rite may begin in the church or chapel or in the first room where the minister says the following antiphon:
How holy this feast
in which Christ is our food:
his passion is recalled,
grace fills our hearts,
and we receive a pledge of the glory to come
or:
How gracious you are Lord:
your gift of bread from heaven
reveals a Father’s love and brings us perfect joy.
You fill the hungry with good things
and send away empty the rich in their pride.
or:
Body of Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary,
body bowed in agony,
raised upon the cross
and offered for us in sacrifice,
body pierced and flowing with blood and water,
come at the hour of our death
as our living bread,
the foretaste of eternal glory:
come, Lord Jesus,
Loving and gracious Son of Mary.
or:
I am the living bread
come down from heaven.
if anyone eats this bread
he shall live for ever.
The bread I will give is my flesh
for the life of the world.
Then the minister may be escorted by someone carrying a candle. The minister says to all the sick in the same room or to each communicant individually:
This is the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world.
Happy are those who are called to his supper.
The one who is to receive communion then says once:
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you,
but only say the word and I shall be healed.
He or she receives communion in the usual manner.
The rite is concluded with a prayer which may be said in the church or chapel or in the last room (see pg 4).
X
Texts taken from Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass English translation © 1974 International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. (ICEL), and Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum English translation © 1982 ICEL. Published in A Ritual for Laypersons © 1993 Liturgical Press. Approved by NCCB
Scripture readings are taken from The New American Bible with Revised New Testament © 1970, 1986 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. All rights reserved.