Can a priest entirely not distribute the Eucharist at Mass?

[victrolatim]

Was recently at a Mass where it came time to distribute the Eucharist and the celebrant (middle aged, with no mobility issues) went and sat down while the EMHC’s distributed the Body and Blood of Christ. Now I’ve been to a Mass once where the priest had severe problems with his legs and had to say Mass sitting in a chair and this was done, but never in this type of situation. I thought EMHC’s were meant to be…well…extraordinary, as in they help the priest when he is unable to walk all over the church or so communion does not take an hour

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

My assumption would be that the priest was unable to distribute communion for a reason not readily visible.

 

[victrolatim]

That’s definitely a possibility. Under the current rubrics is the celebrant technically required to distribute or does he indeed have the authority to fully delegate it to the EMHC. I assume there is a clause for the latter if need be.

 

[Catholic1954]

Our former pastor did not distribute communion for a least the last 2 years of his life. He looked fine, walked fine, gave fine homilies and ran a fairly large parish without an associate or parish administrator to assist him. He did have an immune system disorder that prevented him from any personal contact with people. At communion, he would be seated and the EM’s and deacon would take care of communion and purification. We knew what was going on, but it probably looked odd to someone not part of the parish.

 

[z_0101]

We have the same thing happen with a retired priest, he’s very old and cannot stand for the entire communion; thus he asks the Deacons and the EMHCs to distribute.

We also have a priest that appears on the surface to be a very agile gentleman; however, he has a severe injury to his back that prevents him from genuflecting.

Priests are not supermen, we have to allow for the frailty of their human condition just as our Lord allows for the fallen nature of our souls.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Maybe coming down with a cold. Feeling unwell. Got poison ivy from working in his garden and needed to minimize contact. Sore throat and needed to limit his talking. There could be lots of “invisible” reasons.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

It has happened to me that I have not been able to distribute Communion at Masses I celebrated.

I vividly remember one particular moment when I was released from the hospital at the end of the week and, as there was absolutely no one available, I was left to celebrate three Masses on Saturday evening/Sunday. Even doing everything possible to conserve every ounce of energy, it was all I could do to make it through the final Mass. How others, in the congregation, may have perceived me and my relative physical abilities, especially at the first Mass, I have no idea – nor in that moment did I particularly care.

There are any number of circumstances, from muscular issues to balance issues to vision issues, that would cause a priest to prudently conclude that, at a given moment, he could not safely distribute the Eucharist in a particular situation.

While normally the rubrics envision the celebrant distributing the Eucharist to at least some portion of the congregation at Mass, they do not require the celebrant to distribute Communion if he is legitimately unable to do so.

Frankly, my response to a brother priest in such an instance would be an expression of concern and compassion for him.

 

[arkwright]

Our late beloved parish priest was once unwell . He celebrated the Eucharist , but when it came time for distribution of Holy Communion he sat down , and left the distribution to eucharistic ministers . Surely there is no problem to be found in this .

 

[victrolatim]

Thanks for the responses. Lots of good information.

 

[Chatter163]

“…a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.”

–Pope St. John Paul II; Inaestimabile donum (1980)

 

[Oneofthewomen]

“…a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.”

–Pope St. John Paul II; Inaestimabile donum (1980)

What is reprehensible is that a Catholic would take an incomplete quote, out of context, to pass judgement, without any other facts, on a priest.

And we wonder why we have a vocations crisis.

 

[Chatter163]

What is reprehensible is that a Catholic would take an incomplete quote, out of context, to pass judgement, without any other facts, on a priest.

And we wonder why we have a vocations crisis.

Wow, talk about loaded and ready to fire. No judgment was made on anyone. The OP asked a question, and a relevant papal guideline was provided. Nothing was said about any specific situation. The Holy Father did use unusually strong language, but that was his prerogative. Nothing was made out of context, as you may see from this fuller excerpt:

1. Eucharistic Communion. Communion is a gift of the Lord, given to the faithful through the minister appointed for this purpose. It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice, still less that they should hand them from one to another.
2. The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of Mass excessively long.[20] Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.

In case you are further worried that the Holy Father’s teachings have been distorted:
catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/documentText/Index/2/SubIndex/11/ContentIndex/285/Start/202

 

[Phemie]

“…a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.”

–Pope St. John Paul II; Inaestimabile donum (1980)

That same article came to mind as I read the OP.

It’s difficult to know what the situation really is if it’s a parish you’re not familiar with and where you attend Mass only once as a visitor. I’d give the priest the benefit of the doubt.

That said, in my parish it was not unusual for several years to have 3 priests concelebrating and only the Pastor distributing Communion with 3 EMHCs. There was absolutely no reason for it as the Pastor was the oldest of the three and they were all healthy. It was their stated opinion that if EMHCs had been scheduled they shouldn’t be asked to step aside.

 

[Petaro]

It has happened to me that I have not been able to distribute Communion at Masses I celebrated.

I vividly remember one particular moment when I was released from the hospital at the end of the week and, as there was absolutely no one available, I was left to celebrate three Masses on Saturday evening/Sunday. Even doing everything possible to conserve every ounce of energy, it was all I could do to make it through the final Mass. How others, in the congregation, may have perceived me and my relative physical abilities, especially at the first Mass, I have no idea – nor in that moment did I particularly care.

There are any number of circumstances, from muscular issues to balance issues to vision issues, that would cause a priest to prudently conclude that, at a given moment, he could not safely distribute the Eucharist in a particular situation.

While normally the rubrics envision the celebrant distributing the Eucharist to at least some portion of the congregation at Mass, they do not require the celebrant to distribute Communion if he is legitimately unable to do so.

Frankly, my response to a brother priest in such an instance would be an expression of concern and compassion for him.

Thank you Father for your courage and fidelity to your people. May my poor sad prayers for you in thanks be laid before Our Lord and may he ensure your complete recovery so you may work in the vineyards until you drop in His service. For there is no better death for a priest. Again thank you.

 

[ProVobis]

What is reprehensible is that a Catholic would take an incomplete quote, out of context, to pass judgement, without any other facts, on a priest.

And we wonder why we have a vocations crisis.

While a priest may temporarily be unable to distribute communion, continual employment of the laity to perform priestly tasks may have something to do with the vocation crisis IMO.
Just something to consider.

 

[z_0101]

“…a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.”

–Pope St. John Paul II; Inaestimabile donum (1980)

What is reprehensible is that a Catholic would take an incomplete quote, out of context, to pass judgement, without any other facts, on a priest.

And we wonder why we have a vocations crisis.

So, let us take the quote from Chatter163 and actually place it in context

Communion is a gift of the Lord, given to the faithful through the minister appointed for the purpose. It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice; still less that they should hand them from one to another. The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to communion is so large as to make the celebration of Mass excessively long. Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity.

-- Pope St. John Paul II; Inaestimabile donum (1980)​

• Taking things out of context is a favorite tactic… happens with scripture all of the time, no?
• I agree with Oneofthewomen, it is truly reprehensible to knowingly twist the words of another to mean something not intended by that person - it is, (IMHO), “bearing false witness.”

In my parish, each Mass has close to 300 people, 5 Masses per day, only three Deacons and two Priests… thus, we use EMHC. Would that we a dozen acolytes or Deacons - we’re blessed with the two priests as it is, just 30 miles down the road, four parishes are served by only one priest, no Acolytes nor Deacons!

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

While a priest may temporarily be unable to distribute communion, continual employment of the laity to perform priestly tasks may have something to do with the vocation crisis IMO.
Just something to consider.

The OP said he attended Mass and described a particular event. We don’t have any idea whether he was visiting someplace or this was his regular parish and we don’t know if this was a one-time occurrence or something that happens regularly. What we have is one observation at a single Mass.

I think it’s important to keep the Catechism in mind:

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

 

[ProVobis]

The OP said he attended Mass and described a particular event. We don’t have any idea whether he was visiting someplace or this was his regular parish and we don’t know if this was a one-time occurrence or something that happens regularly. What we have is one observation at a single Mass.

I think it’s important to keep the Catechism in mind:

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor’s thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

I apologize if I sounded that way. And certainly judging a priest was the last thing I intended to do. Perhaps my concern would have been better addressed in the Vocations forum.

 

[InThePew]

While a priest may temporarily be unable to distribute communion, continual employment of the laity to perform priestly tasks may have something to do with the vocation crisis IMO.
Just something to consider.

I’d agree with this although I hasten to add that I’m not intending to cast spurious judgments on the priest referred to by the OP! Sadly, I have come across priests who leave the distribution of communion to EMHCs often out of a misguided idea of being pastoral. In other words, there are more ministers (ordinary and extraordinary) than are required so the priest sits down so an EHMC doesn’t have to. However this misunderstands both the role of the priest and of the EMHC. If they’re properly trained, the EHMC won’t have a problem with dropping out, so to speak.

 

[z_0101]

I’d agree with this although I hasten to add that I’m not intending to cast spurious judgments on the priest referred to by the OP! Sadly, I have come across priests who leave the distribution of communion to EMHCs often out of a misguided idea of being pastoral. In other words, there are more ministers (ordinary and extraordinary) than are required so the priest sits down so an EHMC doesn’t have to. However this misunderstands both the role of the priest and of the EMHC. If they’re properly trained, the EHMC won’t have a problem with dropping out, so to speak.

IMHO: The vocation “crisis” has very little to do with the use of EMHC and more to do with the ever increasing attack upon the Family and the Church. Young men are constantly bombarded with messages from the media telling them that a hedonistic lifestyle is the “cool” way to live. To become a priest one must sacrifice one’s self to the Body of Christ.

As for the priests you have observed “…acting out of some misguided thought…,” I think I more likely that you are not fully aware of some issue wherein the priest as a legitimate cause to use the EMHC in such manner. I highly doubt, especially since Inaestimabile donum, that the priest would be abusing the proper use of EMHC and if he is, then it is a matter that someone in that parish should take up with the Pastor. As for properly trained EMHC dropping out, the EMHC are doing as asked, presumably by their Pastor, it is not their place to tell the Pastor… “I’m dropping out because I think you have too many EMHC” it is the Pastor’s place to decide who and how many are to assist him during the Mass.

Normally the scheduled EMHC don’t show up in my Parish so we’re combing the pews for volunteers. There has been at least three occasions where I have ended up being Lector, EMHC. and Usher because people didn’t show up and no-one would come up despite a direct appeal from the Priest, from the Dais, for help. 300 people, 2 annexes, no Deacon and at least 5 people I know personally that could have helped and not a single one of them so much as blinked an eye. Sad, so Sad.

No, there’s not a vocation crisis because of EMHC, there’s a vocation crisis because too many people ask first, “what’s in it for me?” and the devil plugs their ears, blinds their eyes, and hardens their hearts so that they cannot hear, see, nor feel the Holy Spirit.