Can a Eucharistic Minister consecrate the wine

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paul2louise

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Hi

During midweek masses Eucharistic ministers take the mass.
Are they able to consecrate the precious body and blood or has there got to be a priest to have done it before the mass
Can a eucharistic have the same blessing for non takers of the precious body and blood. I dont know if its a bit mean but i like my son to have his blessing from the priest and not the E. Minister.

Thank you
 
To clarify a few terms.

A “Eucharistic Minister” is a priest. The Minister of a Sacrament is the one that bring about the Sacrament. The Minister of Ordination is a Bishop, and only a Bishop. The Minister of Marriage is the Couple themselves.

Likewise, the Minister of the Eucharist is a priest or bishop.

The term “Eucharistic Minister” is often applied to a Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, though the Vatican has asked that people stop doing that.

And no, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion CANNOT consecrate the wine. That can only be done by a priest or bishop.

An EMHC CAN conduct a Communion Service, where they use Hosts that have been already consecrated by a priest.

And no, the blessing of an EMHC is simply just a prayer for that person. It does not rise to be a true blessing.
 
A Eucharistic minister can only distribute the consecrated Host & Wine. They are not ordained like a priest.
 
paul2louise said:
Hi

During midweek masses Eucharistic ministers take the mass.
Are they able to consecrate the precious body and blood or has there got to be a priest to have done it before the mass
Can a eucharistic have the same blessing for non takers of the precious body and blood. I dont know if its a bit mean but i like my son to have his blessing from the priest and not the E. Minister.

Thank you
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When you say “Eucharistic ministers take the Mass,” what you must have experienced was a Communion Service led by a layperson who happened to be an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
 
usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/weekday-celebrations-in-the-absence-of-a-priest.cfm
US Conference of Catholic Bishops: “Weekday Celebrations in the absence of a priest”

eriercd.org/pdf/comsrvp.pdf
Diocese of Erie: “WEEKDAY COMMUNION SERVICES IN THE PARISH”

liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/CWC/CWAC.pdf
UK Catholic Liturgy Office: “Celebrations of the Word and Communion” (2013)

liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/HCW/HCWE-Introduction.pdf
UK Catholic Liturgy Office: “Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass” (1973)
 
truetofaith said:
A Eucharistic minister can only distribute the consecrated Host & Wine. They are not ordained like a priest.
Click to expand...
Sorry but that is wrong. A Eucharistic Minister IS the priest.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) are NOT Eucharistic Ministers. They are lay people.
 
paul2louise said:
Hi

During midweek masses Eucharistic ministers take the mass.
Are they able to consecrate the precious body and blood or has there got to be a priest to have done it before the mass
Can a eucharistic have the same blessing for non takers of the precious body and blood. I dont know if its a bit mean but i like my son to have his blessing from the priest and not the E. Minister.

Thank you
Click to expand...
Is it a communion service only and not a Mass?

An “Ordinary Minister of Holy Communion” has taken holy orders: Bishop, Priest, or Deacon. So of those the deacon cannot confect the Body and Blood of Christ, but they all distribute ordinarily. Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are designated laypersons.
 
Brendan said:
To clarify a few terms.

A “Eucharistic Minister” is a priest. The Minister of a Sacrament is the one that bring about the Sacrament. The Minister of Ordination is a Bishop, and only a Bishop. The Minister of Marriage is the Couple themselves.

Likewise, the Minister of the Eucharist is a priest or bishop.

The term “Eucharistic Minister” is often applied to a Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, though the Vatican has asked that people stop doing that.

And no, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion CANNOT consecrate the wine. That can only be done by a priest or bishop.

An EMHC CAN conduct a Communion Service, where they use Hosts that have been already consecrated by a priest.

And no, the blessing of an EMHC is simply just a prayer for that person. It does not rise to be a true blessing.
Click to expand...
I think that lays it out very well!
paduard
 
So a service midweek not taken by the priest but a EMHC isn’t a proper mass is that correct. Also if the priest is stood next to a EMHC i should choose the queue with the priest if I want my son to receive a blessing.
 
paul2louise said:
So a service midweek not taken by the priest but a EMHC isn’t a proper mass is that correct.
Click to expand...
Correct. And, there’s an easy way to tell the difference between a ‘Mass’ and a ‘Communion service’: in a Mass – and only in a Mass – is there the Eucharistic Prayer, in which the celebrant prays:

“TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT: FOR THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.”

and

“TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.”

If this is part of the service you’re attending, then you’re attending a Mass (with a priest). If this is not part of the service you’re attending, then you’re not attending a Mass.
Also if the priest is stood next to a EMHC i should choose the queue with the priest if I want my son to receive a blessing.
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By rights, EMHCs should not be permitted to give blessings in the line to receive Communion. (However, some places do not enforce this norm.)

Additionally, some priests will give blessings in the Communion line and others prefer not to. Here’s the thing: a ‘communion line blessing’ isn’t part of the Mass, although it seems to arisen as a custom in some places. So, there’s no requirement to allow them to be given. Some priests do, and others don’t. It all depends on the individual priest. 🤷

Often, people will come up to priests after a Mass and ask for a blessing! That’s another option you might consider…
 
paul2louise said:
So a service midweek not taken by the priest but a EMHC isn’t a proper mass is that correct. Also if the priest is stood next to a EMHC i should choose the queue with the priest if I want my son to receive a blessing.
Click to expand...
Yes & yes.
 
thistle said:
Its a Communion line. Its not a Communion and Blessing line. Although some priests will give blessings they are not supposed to.
Click to expand...
In the US, I’ll take you word for it that’s correct. but it may not be so in other countries. In the UK, for instance, it has been encouraged since the Swanwick Conference in the 1970s.
 
thistle said:
Sorry but that is wrong. A Eucharistic Minister IS the priest.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) are NOT Eucharistic Ministers. They are lay people.
Click to expand...
Our parish uses the terms interchangeably.
 
thistle said:
Its a Communion line. Its not a Communion and Blessing line. Although some priests will give blessings they are not supposed to.
Click to expand...
I’m in the US in a Latin rite parish and recently when some first communions were part of the Mass, one of the things the pastor said to the kids was about how they’d no longer have to come forward with their arms crossed to receive a blessing but would be able to partake. And given I’m pretty sure I saw a kids getting blessings at another parish down South (very small with an older priest) I wouldn’t be sure fully that it’s something prohibited, even if not explicitly encouraged.
 
paperwight66 said:
In the US, I’ll take you word for it that’s correct. but it may not be so in other countries. In the UK, for instance, it has been encouraged since the Swanwick Conference in the 1970s.
Click to expand...
It is not even correct in the US. Some dioceses in the US allow the Extraordinary Minister to impart a blessing to approaching non-communicants. Some dioceses in the US reserve the blessing of non-communicants to a priest or deacon. Some dioceses in the US discourage a blessing be given. Some dioceses in the US forbid a blessing. Across these past many years, I have seen all the permutations…such that it was one of relatively few questions I would ask when visiting the United States – and specifically the decision about the matter by the diocesan bishop, who is moderator of the liturgy. The mind of the parish priest on the matter was not of material interest to me.

In the UK, as you say, blessings are encouraged – and they are also upon the continent although the sign for indicating “a non-communicant seeking a blessing”, mercifully, is more distinctive and clear than it is in the US.
 
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