From Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, where Joe Biden attends when he’s in DC:
As Pope Francis recently reaffirmed, communion should be viewed “not as a prize for the perfect, but as a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” None of us, whether we stand in the pews or behind the altar, is worthy to receive it.
Almighty and ever-living God, I draw near to the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
I come sick to the physician of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the light of eternal brightness, poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.
So I ask you, most generous Lord: graciously heal my infirmity, wash me clean, illumine my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness.
And what do we, and have forever, prayed before the distribution of Communion?
Lord, I am not worthy…
So what, a casual or even informed observer might ask, in the world is the problem? What are people arguing about?
Is there a difference between these two worldviews, so simply expressed?
There doesn’t seem to be, does there?
Let’s parse it out. I think it’s important. I’m reading a lot of analysis and statements on this issue, and I’m seeing a lot of talking past each other. If the process is to be valuable and result in actual growth and understanding, the conversation has to dig deep into assumptions and really confront what is being said and what underlies it.
So begin there. Keep laying out the points of agreement until we reach the point of disagreement, be honest about it, non-accusatory, and explore why, and what undergirds that divergence.
Here’s what I think might be useful. The question being asked all over the place is “who is worthy to receive Communion?”
Maybe it would be more fruitful to shift the question a tad and honestly answer this: “We all seem to agree that we are unworthy to receive Christ in the Eucharist. What do we mean when we say that – that we are not worthy?”
Charlotte was Both 