Can a lay woman give communion??

[Confiteor_Deo]

I receive on the tongue too, and I’m 29 and haven’t even been to an EF before. For me it’s about the intimacy & sense of vulnerability it conveys, like how a mother feds her child with a spoon when he is too small to use silverware.

I’ve never knelt though, because people might misinterpret it as flamboyant or Pharisaical, even though that wouldn’t be the intention at all. I do like the idea of it.

That’s how I feel when I receive Holy Communion at the altar rail. Kneeling there while the priest gives me Communion really makes me see that I am being fed by Christ.

And you should feel free to kneel with no regard as to how people might perceive it since you are doing it for the correct intentions.

 

[ProVobis]

I like to receive from the priest on the tongue, though, since his hands were consecrated for that.

Before someone else jumps on you, what you probably meant was the priest’s hands were ordained to confect/consecrate the bread and wine. Deacons are ordained to administer the sacrament, among other things. And a priest as a deacon administers the sacrament.

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

Before someone else jumps on you, what you probably meant was the priest’s hands were ordained to confect/consecrate the bread and wine. Deacons are ordained to administer the sacrament, among other things. And a priest as a deacon administers the sacrament.

Oh, thank you for pointing that out. I thought the priest’s hands were anointed to be able to touch the Host but they are anointed to administer Holy Communion upon his ordination to the diaconate. Very interesting.

 

[otjm]

Was watching a mass celebration and saw a female(not a reverend sister or nun) handing out the eucharist to communicants.and a friend mentioned that it was wrong for a woman to touch the communion,because she’s always unclean once in a month. While i dont believe that’s a good reason (kinda dumb actually),my thoughts are that lay persons shouldnt hand out communion.
What’s the church’s position on this? And opinions please??

I’m sorry if this seems harsh, but your friend made one of the dumbest comments I have heard in a while, and I have heard some real lulus.

Not to drag this out, but if the Church sees fit to allow laypeople to distribute Communion, then is it just possibly possible that the Church, in about 2,000 years and with the promise of the Holy Spirit to guide her, may have obtained more wisdom in those 2,000 years than your friend has in their (XX) number of years?

Sorry, but it is a pet peeve that people have such a fantastic range of opinions founded on nothing more than their own whim… and the firing of their synapses.

To put it another way: take the phrase “Women shouldn’t (insert here your favorite activity that women might engage in), because once a month…” and see what kind of sense that really makes.

I think the term “misogynist” applies…

 

[Julianna]

Women were considered “unclean” during their flow in the Old Testament. It’s no longer that way. But I’ve secretly felt as you do too. Not so much that a lay person, man or woman, shouldn’t be handing out Communion, but rather I just feel less special receiving the Host from a lay person rather than the priest himself. But that’s just my own feeling. Naturally, I feel directly from the priest’s hand is more sacred. Even though, realistically, this isn’t true. If this were so, they wouldn’t allow the lay to hand out Communion.

I don’t know. …call me crazy…but a priest isn’t any more “special” than a lay person. He puts his pants on one leg at a time…just like everyone else. And guess what…priests do sin…just like everyone else. As for receiving communion from a lay person…it’s the body and blood if our Lord…that is all I need to know.

 

[Julianna]

I’m sorry if this seems harsh, but your friend made one of the dumbest comments I have heard in a while, and I have heard some real lulus.

Not to drag this out, but if the Church sees fit to allow laypeople to distribute Communion, then is it just possibly possible that the Church, in about 2,000 years and with the promise of the Holy Spirit to guide her, may have obtained more wisdom in those 2,000 years than your friend has in their (XX) number of years?

Sorry, but it is a pet peeve that people have such a fantastic range of opinions founded on nothing more than their own whim… and the firing of their synapses.

To put it another way: take the phrase “Women shouldn’t (insert here your favorite activity that women might engage in), because once a month…” and see what kind of sense that really makes.

I think the term “misogynist” applies…

 

[MissRose73]

If my parish did not have women assisting as EMHC’s, it would be hard to get Communion distributed in a timely manner as women EMHCs greatly outnumber men EMHCs in my parish. Our pastoral admin is also a religious sister, and she serves as a EMHC at every weekend Mass. Both myself and my mother are EMHCs for Mass, and at times have been parts of all female EMHCs either by the way the scheduled worked out for that Mass or if a male minister arranged for a female sub. Our parish is OF only, and we give both species.

I’ve been to parishes where there are at least 10 to 15 EMHCs to ensure timely distribution of Communion. I’ve been to Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgies where there are no more than 50 to 75 but those have only a priest distributing. I’ve been to EF Masses if there are 2 priests (as EMHCs are not in the EF), one will take 1 segment of the Communion rail, 1 takes the other to make things go a bit faster but most of the time, its just one priest, and if there are 100 to 150 people going up, Communion will take longer.