Table Graces
Gary A. Fritz on the Blessings of Serving Communion to the Saints
Although my father wasn't a pastor, I grew up with the ever-present knowledge that I was a "PK" of sorts. For me, that meant that dad was a principal, in this case, of a Lutheran school. Though that didn't carry the moral burden of being a parson's child, I certainly was raised and grew up under the scrutiny of our entire congregation, a large parish of nearly 2,000 souls. Consequently, going to church was non-negotiable, an unspoken duty that was fulfilled without question, argument, or any form of dissent. And being a compliant child, it never even crossed my mind to consider otherwise.
Thus, I attended church. A lot. By the time I was confirmed, I had undoubtedly sat through over 800 services, with roughly half of them culminating with the Sacrament of the Altar. Though I was a believer and cannot recall being without faith at any time during my growing years, I was never a fan of Communion Sundays. Inevitably, we would sing at least three extra hymns or slog our way through all fifteen stanzas of "I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table" (#315 in The Lutheran Hymnal). I suspect that "Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood / Be for my soul the highest good" just might be my deathbed mantra as I breathe my last. All told, not a bad final thought with which to enter glory.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
31.6—November/December 2018
on Futility & the Open Door to Deliverance by Patrick Henry Reardon
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
