Celebrations of Word and Holy Communion
The size of our diocese, the lack of a road system to the majority of villages or towns, along with the shortage of ordained priests, have resulted in the fact that many of our parishes seldom have the opportunity to have a full Eucharistic liturgy. Nevertheless, the faithful have chosen to gather on Sunday to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word along with Holy Communion using hosts that were consecrated at the last Mass that was celebrated. This has become a very important part of the spiritual life of many of our Alaskan communities. It is their way of continuing to learn the meaning of the Word and remembering that Jesus continues to live on in and through all of us.The United States Conference of Bishops (USCCB) prepared a new rite called Sunday Celebrations In The Absence of a Priest (SCAP) which was first published in March 2007. They have also prepared a new rite for weekday celebrations of Word and Holy Communion which is not yet published.
Representatives from all regions of the diocese met in the spring to study the new rite (SCAP) that had just been published. It became obvious that although the rite itself was well written, the unique needs of our diocese called for a few options to be added. We are now in the process of adapting the rite to fit the needs of our diocese and will soon have it ready for all our parishes.
Although the weekday rite has not yet been published, it has been approved by the USCCB and will soon be in print, at which time we will make it available also.