3. Internal & External Participation

As with the other sacraments, there are certain gestures, words, and things used at the sacrifice of the Mass which while helping to bring out the meaning are not utterly at its core. Obviously, the words of Jesus in the consecration that makes him and his sacrifice present are indispensable. Holy communion, while often minimized in the past, is also integral to the divine service. An important theme that emerges in the Eucharist is participation.

A few years ago, the bishop in Arlington, Virginia composed a letter about the Eucharist for his people. In it he distinguished between external and internal participation. This is meaningful because if we do not have internal participation, then all we are doing is moving furniture around the Church and singing songs. There is a danger of emptying our symbols if we do not know what lies beneath them. The external cannot stand by itself.