Eucharistic Meditations - Presidential Chair

A rather recent feature in the Sanctuary, the Presidential Chair plays a theological role at all celebrations. It clearly emphasizes today's understanding of 'Church' reminding us that the Church is an organic 'body' and that it functions as one whole. Thus it is the entire Church that celebrates the Eucharist and not the priest alone. This places a serious responsibility on each Christian who for centuries has been accustomed to seeing him/herself as a passive recipient: the highpoint of the Eucharist for him was receiving Communion - placed on the tongue! Today the Presidential Chair reminds all that it is the Church that celebrates, consecrates and communes: the entire 'body' and not just one limb!

Within the celebrating Community there are a variety of roles which are meant to be evenly distributed - no one person fulfills multiple roles. This not only allows for maximum involvement of a number of persons, but also ensures that each functions to the best of his/her ability - placing his gifts and talents at the service of the community. When this is done joyfully and responsibly, the community can truly participate actively, intelligently and fruitfully.

The priest celebrant mainly coordinates the activity of the different ministers at a Eucharistic celebration. But outside the celebration through the week, his pastoral commitment consists of preparing persons for these various ministries. He does not necessarily do all this himself - yet he ensures that the different ministers are sufficiently and intelligently prepared to play their role. Where the priest takes his role to heart, the difference is visibly striking.

Besides coordinating the activities of all other ministers at the Eucharist, the priest also has his own specific role to play - to collect the prayer of the community and articulate it, as he presents it to the Father through Christ and in the Spirit. This means that at Eucharist he does not pray a single prayer in his own personal right: he always represents the community. And so, he owes it to the community to pray in a way that they can understand and interiorly 'echo' these prayers. His choice of speed, clarity, enunciation, volume and so on - are all at the service of the community. In short, the celebrant is now seen more as a 'servant' or minister, facilitating, enabling each person to benefit and participate more effectively. For this again, being 'in touch' with his community is a must!

This kind of a 'servant' priest sitting on a "Presidential Chair" certainly seems an anomaly. Yet, wasn't Jesus himself cast in this ambivalent role? "You call me Lord - and that is what I am… Yet I stand among you as one who serves!" At the Last Supper this same Lord stooped to wash the feet of his bewildered disciples. Balancing these two diametrically opposite functions as servant-leader is a difficult task for one who does not keep his eyes fixed on Jesus alone. Liturgical history reveals innumerable deviations in this line - can our post-modern generation rise to the challenge?