COMMUNION UNDER BOTH KINDS:

In view of the health issues which have persisted, I think understandably, I have been cautious about the proposal to reintroduce Communion under both kinds. Intriguingly there seems to be a real difference of opinion on the matter between St Mary’s and Bishop Eton. I am being encouraged to reintroduce the practice at St Mary’s, but when I broached the subject a Bishop Eton, I was met by a strong lobby of opinion that this was not the right time. I have talked the matter through with Fr Andrew and we are happy for intinction (dipping the Host in the Precious Blood) to begin at St Mary’s after Easter. You will know that this has been the custom for the clergy ever since Covid. Should you wish to have the same option at Bishop Eton, please let me know. I appreciate that it is right that everyone should have the opportunity to participate in the Eucharist as fully as possible. Perhaps this is also the moment to remind you of what the old Penny Catechism taught: namely, that we received Christ in Holy Communion, “whole and entire, under either kind alone”. The New Catechism quotes the Council of Trent: “The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.”