Whether it is fitting to celebrate first Communion on Thursday of Holy Week within the Mass « of the Lord's Supper »?

℟. In the negative.

Though it is separated from the Sacrament of Baptism and Confirmation, the first full participation in the Eucharist with the reception of holy Communion is a certain Sacrament of Christian initiation, theologically connected with Easter and under the aspect of celebration included in the Easter Vigil (cf. Ordo initiationis christianae adultorum, Praenotanda, nn. 49, 58), the natural channel of the three sacraments, which, intimately connected among themselves « lead to full stature the faithful who exercise the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world » (Ordo baptismi parvulorum, De initiatione christiana, Praenotanda generalia, n. 2). Since, then, the Easter Vigil is the root and nucleus of all Sunday celebrations throughout the course of the liturgical year, it is established that insofar as possible the sacraments of Christian initiation are celebrated, except during the Vigil, on « Sunday » (cf. Ordo initiationis christianae adultorum, Praenotanda, n. 59).

It is not fitting, therefore, to celebrate first full participation in the Eucharist, or « first Communion » at the Mass « of the Lord's Supper », not only for a merely theological reason, but also a pastoral one, since this celebration would distract the people from the historico-salvific event commemorated as part of the sacred Triduum on that day: « All the attention of the mind should be turned to the mysteries which are most of all recalled in this Mass, namely, the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priestly Order, and the commandment of the Lord regarding fraternal charity; these should also be illustrated in the homily » (Congregatio de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum, Litt. Circ. De festiis paschalibus praeparandis et celebrandis, n. 45).

As the evolution of the liturgical year progressed, there did arise a celebration that, granted it has its own characteristics, nevertheless reduplicates certain elements of the Mass « of the Lord's Supper », namely the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This solemnity, like the Sunday celebrations of Easter and of « Ordinary Time » would offer a more fitting venue for the celebration of first participation in the Eucharist.

Whether it is permitted to set up in the middle of the church a table with bread and wine near the altar or in the sanctuary on the occasion of the Mass « of the Lord's Supper » or of the first full participation in the Eucharist, so-called « first Communion »?

℟. In the negative.

The norms in force regarding this have explicitly asserted the due importance of the altar, whose place should be recognized by all the people: « It is preferable that there be a fixed altar in every church, which more clearly and permanently signifies Jesus Christ, the living Stone (1 Petr 2, 4; cf. Eph 2, 20); in other places destined for sacred celebrations, the altar can be movable. An altar is called fixed if it constructed such that it is attached to the floor and therefore cannot be removed; it is movable if it can be moved elsewhere » (Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, n. 298). Thus there arises the need to have one altar, the most important feature of the sanctuary and of the whole church, because the fact that there is only one fosters the participation of Christ's faithful: « In building new churches it is better that one altar be constructed to signify the one Christ and the one Eucharist of the Church in the gathering of the faithful. In churches that have already been built, however, when the old altar is situated such that it makes the participation of the people difficult and it cannot be moved without detriment to its artistic value, another fixed altar, artfully made and properly dedicated, should be set up, and only on it should the sacred celebrations be carried out. So that the attention of the faithful will not be distracted from the new altar, the old altar should not be decorated in any special manner » (Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, n. 303).

The custom, therefore, of setting up a table with bread and wine to recall the Last Supper of Jesus or to gather children for their first participation in the Eucharist is symbolically a repetition, pedagogically a distraction, and pastorally inane, since it distracts people from the altar, confuses the understanding of the importance of the individual elements of Church architecture and does not at all foster the participation of Christ's faithful.