12. COMMUNION

If you are by yourself, start the “Our Father” immediately, in whichever translation is most familiar to you. If more than one person is present, then one of you may introduce the prayer with a phrase like the following:

Let us pray for the coming of the kingdom as Jesus taught us:

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses,
even as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

You may then say, with arms outstretched:

Deliver us Lord from every evil, and grant us peace in our day.
In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us in time of trial,
as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

then alone or together:

For the kingdom the power and the glory are yours,
now and forever.
Amen.

Now is the time of the sign of peace.

Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church,
and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom,
where you live for ever and ever.
Amen.

If you are on your own, you might pray as follows (n-o-a):

May the peace of the Lord be upon all who pray this Eucharist today, near and far, and most especially upon those with whom I would be worshipping today if circumstances made it possible.

If there are more than one of you, one says:

The peace of the Lord be with you always

and the others reply:

And also with you

Then hug or kiss, as is your custom, or as is advisable in circumstances of sanitary distancing.

When this is over, take the consecrated bread, and break it into enough pieces for those who are present. While you are doing so, put a little crumb into the cup, saying:

May this mingling of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.

Then, say or sing (or listen to a recorded Agnus Dei):

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us;
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us;
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, grant us peace.

Now you may pause to make your personal prayer before receiving communion. When you are ready, then hold up some of the consecrated bread and the cup and say:

Behold the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world.
Blessed are those called to the banquet of the Lamb.

Now you, and each of the celebrants present, say:

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

then:

May the body of Christ bring me to everlasting life.

Now take and eat the consecrated bread. Then say:

May the blood of Christ bring me to everlasting life.

Now take and drink the consecrated wine.

Meanwhile, having consumed the remainder of the consecrated bread and wine, and cleaned the cup and the plate with a little water, drying them with a napkin, put them to one side. You might now like to have a period of silence to give thanks for what you have received. Some like this to be a major time of meditation. For others it is a good moment to have music which helps them give thanks. When you are ready, stand and say:

Lord,
you have fed us with this holy food
and, through the death of your Son,
have inspired us to hope for what our faith promises;
lead us by his resurrection
to the haven we so earnestly desire.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

When you are ready, pray this blessing:
(marking yourselves with the sign of the cross if it is your custom)

May the blessing of Almighty God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
spread richly amongst all of us who are gathered throughout the world in celebration of this eucharist, and remain with us and all our loved ones always.

We go in peace.
May what we have received today transform us, for the sake of others, into the risen likeness of its giver.