[Sundaycommunity] Communion at Zoom masses

Thu Nov 27 12:04:48 PST 2025

Thank you Maryanne.. we are and are surrounded by the bread of Christ  how
awesome!!!! Beyond words...so lets celebrate it...I believe its what
Eucharist is...

On Thu, Nov 27, 2025, 1:12 PM Maryanne Stone-Jimenez via Sundaycommunity <
sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:

> Dear Sunday Community Friends,
>
> For me, sharing bread (on a Zoom call) is a symbolic way of saying: Amen,
> Yes we are! (the body of Christ) - a Sign of Peace as Dwyer has mentioned.
> It is not a replacement of the in-person community-priest; it is simply a
> gesture of our belief.
>
> I truly appreciated the following reflection by Richard Rohr.
>
> The Sacrament of the Eucharist — Center for Action and Contemplation
> <https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-sacrament-of-the-eucharist/>
>
> The Sacrament of the Eucharist
>
> Wednesday, November 12, 2025
>
> *Father Richard writes of the sacramental nature of bread and wine in the
> Eucharist.*
>
> When Jesus spoke the words “This is my Body,” I believe he was speaking
> not just about the bread right in front of him, but about the whole
> universe, about every thing that is physical, material, and yet
> also spirit-filled.
>
> Seeing the Eucharist as a miracle is not really the message at all*.* I
> can see why we celebrate it so often. This message is such a shock to the
> psyche, such a challenge to our pride and individualism, that it takes a
> lifetime of practice and much vulnerability for it to sink in—*as the
> pattern of every thing, and not just this thing*.
>
> The bread and the wine together are stand-ins for the very elements of
> the universe, which also enjoy and communicate the incarnate presence.
> Why have we resisted this message so much? Authentically eucharistic
> churches should have been the first to recognize the corporate, universal,
> and physical nature of the “Christification” of matter. While Catholics
> rightly affirm the Real Presence of Jesus in these physical elements of the
> earth, most do not realize the implications of what they have affirmed. The
> bread and wine are largely understood as an exclusive presence, when in
> fact their full function is to communicate a truly inclusive—and always
> shocking—presence*.*
>
> A true believer is eating what he or she is afraid to see and afraid to
> accept: *The universe is the Body of God, both in its essence and in its
> suffering.*
>
> The Eucharist is an encounter of the heart when we recognize Christ’s
> Presence through our own offered presence. In the Eucharist, we move beyond
> mere words or rational thought and go to that place where we don’t talk
> about the Mystery anymore; we begin to chew on it. Jesus did not say,
> “Think about this” or “Stare at this” or even “Worship this.” Instead, he
> said, “Eat this!”
>
> We must move our knowing to the bodily, cellular, participative, and thus
> unitive level. We must keep eating and drinking the Mystery, until one day
> it dawns on us, in an undefended moment, “My God, I really am what I eat! I
> also am the Body of Christ.” Then we can henceforth trust and allow what
> has been true since the first moment of our existence. The Eucharist should
> jolt us into awareness that we have dignity and power flowing through us in
> our bare and naked existence—and everybody else does too, even though most
> do not know it. A body awareness of this sort is enough to steer and
> empower our entire faith life.
>
> This is why I must hold to the orthodox belief that there is Real Presence
> in the bread and wine. For me, *if we sacrifice Reality in the basic and
> universal elements, we end up sacrificing the same Reality in ourselves.*
>
>
> *Reference:*
> Adapted from Richard Rohr, *The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality
> Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe
> <https://store.cac.org/products/the-universal-christ>* (Convergent, 2019,
> 2021), 132, 134, 136, 137.
>
> On Wed, Nov 26, 2025 at 8:36 PM Roberto J. via Sundaycommunity <
> sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
>
>> Amen, AMÉN 🙌
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 25, 2025, 7:13 p.m. Arthur Blomme via Sundaycommunity <
>> sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
>>
>>> 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>
>>> <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> <ckedobw at gmail.com>
>>> *Cc: *William Watson <bill.watson at utoronto.ca> <bill.watson at utoronto.ca>,
>>> "Lohale, Fr. Prakash" <plohale at archtoronto.org>
>>> <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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