I have received a few questions about the Eucharist and Holy Communion in this time of COVID-19. Here is one of those questions: Does one receive the whole Christ if one receives Holy Communion under a single form, i.e. either the bread or the wine, but not both? Yes. Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is wholly present under the appearance either of bread or of wine in the Eucharist. Furthermore, Christ is wholly present in any fragment of the consecrated Host or in any drop of the Precious Blood. Nevertheless, it is especially fitting to receive Christ in both forms during the celebration of the Eucharist. This allows the Eucharist to appear more perfectly as a banquet, a banquet that is a foretaste of the banquet that will be celebrated with Christ at the end of time when the Kingdom of God is established in its fullness (cf. Eucharisticum Mysterium, no. 32; from “The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist: Basic Questions and answers,” USCCB website: https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-theeucharist/the-real-presence-faqs)

On another subject: what are we going to do this Fall in order to help our children to learn, create, dream, think, etc.? I suggest that you use some of the money that you have been saving for “a rainy day” and invest these funds in tools for learning – better internet connections, upgrade computers, obtain headphones so that students concentrate on what the teacher is saying, etc. Perhaps we may want to hire a tutor who spends time with the children as parents are unable because of other demands. What did you do with your stimulus check? What if you get another one? Did you save any money by not going on vacation this year? Now is the time to invest in your children’s education in extraordinary ways.

And for those who do not have jobs, or even if you do, are you willing to help students learn? Are you willing and able to spend a few hours each week to help children to study?

Let us be creative during these extraordinary times. Let us not be defeated by disease or limitation, but rather find victory in the creative and life-giving grace of Resurrection energy!

Peace, Fr. Andy