Spiritual Communion in a Digital Age: A Roman Catholic Dilemma and Tradition

Edward Foley

doi:10.3390/rel12040245

Abstract

In the midst of this pandemic, most Christian Churches in the United States have been required to limit severely if not suspend face-to-face worship. The responses to this challenge when it comes to celebrating the Eucharist have been multiple. Frequent pastoral responses have included the shipping of consecrated elements to folk for their use during live-stream worship and virtual communion, in which worshippers employ elements from their own households as communion elements during the digitized worship. These options are not permitted for Roman Catholics. Instead, it is most common for Roman Catholics to be invited into spiritual communion. This is often considered a diminished, even ternary form of communing, quickly dispensed when quarantines are lifted and herd immunity achieved. On the other hand, there is a rich and thoughtful tradition about spiritual communion that recognizes it as an essential element in communion even when such is experienced face-to-face. This article intends to affirm the values of spiritual communion as a real, mystical and fruitful action that not only sustains people worshipping from afar, but enhances an authentic eucharistic spirituality.

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought havoc on innumerable aspects of life
It is most common for Roman Catholics to be invited into spiritual communion
Nathan Mitchell has insightfully recognized that the emergence of sacraments of desire, including spiritual communion, were valid attempts to broaden access to sacraments “without denying the legitimacy or necessity of the Church’s liturgical celebrations”

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought havoc on innumerable aspects of life. From this author’s context in the United States, notable examples of such disruption are apparent in our educational systems, small business ventures, new stresses on the underemployed, and profound challenges to age cohorts, economic classes, or communities of color that have confronted multiple health and heath care issues for decades. 1958), who twice modified the fasting requirements before communion (Christus Dominus, Pius XII 1953 and Sacram Communionem, Pius XII 1957) This eucharistic promotion culminated in Vatican II’s 1963 decree on the liturgy, which considers the faithful’s reception of the eucharist the “more perfect form of participation in the Mass” The dilemma: the reception of communion has evolved as a pastoral and theological high point of participation for Roman Catholics at Mass. This is distinct from medieval and post-Tridentine evidence that points to the elevation of the Host after the consecration as the high point.. While livestreaming the eucharistic liturgy clearly feeds people’s spiritualities, it falls short of meeting this need for eucharistic reception

Eucharistic Deprivation and Abstinence

Spiritual Communion as a Roman Catholic Pastoral Response

Healing the Rift

Findings

Conclusions