[Sundaycommunity] Fwd: Communion at Zoom masses
Arthur Blomme
art at integralshift.ca
Tue Nov 25 17:10:18 PST 2025
Hi Ron
A senior clergyman in the United Church insists that I am a protestant
because I protest rather than obey the dictates of the Roman Hierarchy.
Yet I remain faithful in spirit and practice to my RC tradition despite
often being sidelined. So i continue to protest.
Ron, I appreciate both yours and Pope Francis's admission that we are in
a new digital age and that we are being called to be digital
missionaries in this new frontier. In this regard I for a long time have
cherished a notion inspired by Teilhard de Chardin. When Teilhard
explained evolution as proceeding from the biosphere to the noosphere
(The sphere of thought) to the omega point (being the communion of all)
I felt he predicted the arrival of the internet and the advances in
communication technology it provides. The /Internet completes / the
sphere of thought, allowing us to communicate with others around the
planet. As we exchange ideas and experience we become one in the
truth.("/I am the way, the truth and the life/' Jn.14 :16). I believe
that the frontier of the digital age is about communication, leading us
to Oneness. Eucharist is the sacrament that celebrates our Oneness. So
our mission in the digital frontier is to advance our Oneness using
technologies like ZOOM.
And when you, Ron, write, "Thanks, Paul, for outlining the theological
reasoning and the practical implications concerning the question." I
question the frame you are suggesting. It would have been better to
have said the Paul is providing the pre-reformation inspired cannon law
and its practical implications. No rational explanation for these rules
has been given. Hence there is no Theological reasoning.
When I studied Catholic sacramental theology, I found compelling, the
theological argument that although the ideal complete sacrament of the
Eucharist required a priest, the Eucharistic prayer, a physical
congregation(a priest celebrating a Eucharist by himself is not a valid
Eucharist) and the species of bread and wine. Given that all these
elements cannot always be present, is it not better to celebrate an
incomplete Eucharist than no Eucharist at all. Invalid seems like such a
brutal word.
It makes no sense to me. If I gather two or more people together and
read from Mathew 22, Mark 14 or luke22, (the principle part of the
Eucharistic prayer) I am OK, but if I do the same as part of a para
liturgy or a liturgy I will be condemned by the Roman Hierarchy.
I worry about the future of my religious tradition in Canada. Our
numbers continue to dwindle in this digital age. There are every year
fewer and fewer priests. Under the existing rules, I fear that there
will no longer be space to celebrate our oneness.
Getting back to the frame of this conversation. It seems to be about
obedience as the primary virtue of our faith. We are not expected to
think for ourselves but only to follow the rules. One time Priest Ivan
Ilych, writing in the seventies, warned us. He said the new priesthood
(of the dominant technocratic religion) of our time is the medical
profession. As we once obeyed our priests to uphold the dogma of the
Church, we now obey our doctors to uphold the dogma of science.
Irrespective of the structure we chose for ourselves, I believe that
our experiment with a virtual Eucharistic community is a very valuable
project and fills a need in many of us. Hopefully we will grow in
numbers and be able to sustain our organization into the future.
Peace and Joy
Art
On 11/24/25 9:41 a.m., William Watson via Sundaycommunity wrote:
> Responses from Paul and Ron...
> -As expected, looks like we will stay with our current practice-we
> don’t want to put our priests in a difficult position.
>
> Also, note Paul’s comments about inclusions for Liturgy of the Word.
> Bill
>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> *From: *Ron MacDonell <ron.macdonell.sfm at gmail.com>
>> *Subject: **Re: Communion at Zoom masses*
>> *Date: *November 24, 2025 at 11:07:15 AM EST
>> *To: *Paul <ckedobw at gmail.com>
>> *Cc: *William Watson <bill.watson at utoronto.ca>, "Lohale, Fr. Prakash"
>> <plohale at archtoronto.org>
>>
>> Thanks, Paul, for outlining the theological reasoning and the
>> practical implications concerning the question.
>>
>> One thought that comes to mind is Pope Francis' call to become
>> "digital missionaries" in our increasingly digital world. How this
>> would be worked out is a new frontier for Church...how to listen to
>> the Spirit....how to grapple with electronic communication in the
>> religious world and how to appoach the question of AI and its role in
>> humanity. Many questions for us and for future generations!
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Ron
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 24, 2025, 21:04 Paul M <ckedobw at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Sure, you can pass the note onto the community
>> Paul
>>
>> Sent from Gmail Mobile
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 10:24 AM William Watson
>> <bill.watson at utoronto.ca> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for the clarification, Paul. We thought the same but I
>> wasn’t sure if the Archdiocese/Rome had changed the policy
>> since Covid.
>>
>> We certainly don’t want to put you in a difficult position. I
>> suspect there will be more discussion at Mass on Sunday.
>>
>> Would you mind if I sent your note around to he community?
>> Bill
>>
>>
>> Sent from my I-Phone
>>
>> William J. Watson, MD,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Nov 24, 2025, at 10:07 AM, Paul M <ckedobw at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Bill,
>>>
>>> I would not be comfortable with that idea if a priest is the
>>> celebrant as it is not a valid communion and furthermore if
>>> the Archdiocese found out about this practice, it would put
>>> me (and the Sunday Community) in a very difficult position.
>>> Also, I understand that there are some in the community who,
>>> when there is no priest available, wish to include in the
>>> liturgy the Offertory and the Eucharistic Prayer. This is
>>> also invalid. When there is no priest available, the
>>> community is supposed to have a Liturgy of the Word, which
>>> only includes:
>>>
>>> Opening Prayers
>>> Penitential Rite
>>> Liturgy of the Word and reflection on the readings
>>> Creed
>>> Prayers of the Faithful
>>> The Lord’s Prayer
>>> Sign of Peace
>>> Closing Prayer.
>>>
>>> There can be no Offertory or Eucharistic Prayer as that is
>>> reserved for Mass only and is the purview of the ordained
>>> priest only as opposed to the “priesthood of the faithful.”
>>>
>>> I hope this answers your question.
>>>
>>> All the best,
>>>
>>> Paul
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from Gmail Mobile
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 12:58 PM William Watson
>>> <bill.watson at utoronto.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Paul, Ron and Prakash,
>>>
>>> We had a brief discussion today at our zoom mass about
>>> the possibility of having communion at our weekly mass.
>>> We have discussed this issue before but didn’t come to
>>> any decision.
>>> One of my Anglican friends who is a former minister said
>>> they have been having Eucharist during their zoom masses
>>> for some time. Congregants would have a small piece of
>>> bread while the priest reads the Eucharistic prayer at
>>> the time of the consecration.
>>>
>>> There seems to be a lot of interest and concern in our
>>> group and we would like your input and feedback on the
>>> idea. We may have a further discussion with group after
>>> mass next week.
>>> If it’s not acceptable to you all, then we will can the
>>> idea.
>>>
>>> Looking forward to hearing from you.
>>>
>>> Bill
>>>
>
>
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