I drove to Waco this morning. No, not to visit the truly awesome Silos but to take the Sacrament to a man in hospital. Two of his family were there and I brought Communion for them too.
It's a simple enough rite and I use elements from an old book called the English Ritual, a relic from the days when the Church of England hadn't been taken over by Mantis People and the Anglo-Catholic movement was just that, a movement.
Regardless, when it was time to administer the sacrament, the strangely outsize Hosts stuck in the pyx; they wouldn't exit the small made-in-China faux brass container. Solution? Whip out your folder, mine's a Cold Steel Recon 1, and pry the Hosts loose. Then the rite can continue.
Ecce Agnus Dei... "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him which taketh away the sins of the world," the small congregation replying, "Lord I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed."
Communion administered and final benediction given, I remarked that I'd never done such a thing before and I haven't. Using a knife to administer Communion to the Sick isn't in the manuals, not even the Knott variety, and I felt a little sacrilegious. "Don't worry," said C, "We're all country people here."
That reassured me, as does the knowledge that Christ's Body was given to his Mystical Body, there in that hospital room.
Make of this what you will.
God bless,
LSP
