A Ritual for Laypersons: Rites for Holy Communion and the Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying [Paperback]

Press Liturgical (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 1993

About this book: This book gathers in one place those rites at which a layperson may preside, according to Church law, in the absence of a priest or deacon. They are gathered from Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum, and Order of Christian Funerals. By collecting the pertinent rites, this book makes them more accessible to laypersons designated to administer them. Two-color printing with one ribbon marker. Fully approved by the USCCB.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Liturgical Press; 1 edition (June 10, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814621503
• ISBN-13: 978-0814621509
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful liturgical book for lay ministers, February 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Ritual for Laypersons: Rites for Holy Communion and the Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying (Paperback)

This book contains various rites of the Catholic Church (Latin-rite) that may be used by lay ministers when distributing Communion outside Mass or during visits to the sick and dying. It's main plus point over other liturgical books is that it collects in one small, handy volume the instructions, rubrics and rites pertaining to the lay minister; hence there's no need to skip over pages of rites reserved for the ordained priest or deacon.

The ritual contains the following: Holy Communion Outside Mass, Holy Communion of the Sick, Viaticum for the Dying, Pastoral Visits to a sick adult and sick child, Commendation of the Dying, Prayers after Death, with a supplement of prayers from the Order of Christian Funerals for various situations. It also contains a short selection of scripture material taken from the NAB with revised NT, and the Revised Psalms of the NAB.

Fully approved by the NCCB, published in 1993. That explains the choice of the Revised Psalms: we should keep in mind that some time later, the Revised Psalms was considered inappropriate for use in liturgical texts.

Presentation-wise, the book has a nice stamped cover and spine. The binding is appropriate and beautiful. The print size is appropriate, and like all liturgical books, the rubrics are set in red and a smaller font. A ribbon is provided. Overall a pastorally helpful edition!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intermediate ritual book for lay ministers, August 23, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Ritual for Laypersons: Rites for Holy Communion and the Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying (Paperback)

Communion of the Sick is the basic ritual book needed by lay extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist who take the Eucharist to adults who are homebound or hospitalized. A Ritual for Laypersons is, in effect, an intermediate ritual book. Chapter 1 contains basically the same material as Communion of the Sick; Chapter 2 covers Communion and Viaticum (final rites). Chapters 3 and 4 cover pastoral care for the sick, adult and child respectively. Note that the sacrament of anointing is reserved for the ordained; this book contains rites lay persons can administer. Chapters 5 and 6 contain commendation of the dying and prayers after death respectively.

The volume is very usable, providing a sufficient variety of texts that a minister can select appropriate texts for the specific individuals to whom they are ministering.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for layministers to the sick & dying, December 16, 2008

By 

W. Tom Davis (Chicago, IL United States of America) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Ritual for Laypersons: Rites for Holy Communion and the Pastoral Care of the Sick and Dying (Paperback)

I have found this book to be a wonderful resource for those who take communion to the sick and dying. It is much easier to use than the liturgical book intended for the clergy. The layout is easy and the prayers are very appropriate for layministers to use. We bought copies for our layministers and they love the ease of use.