Communion from lay people?

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Malcolm

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our priest told us the diocese now has (on average) only 3 priests for every 5 parishes so there might be communion from lay ministers from time to time.

should this happen is it safe to assume I will meet the obligation to attend Sunday mass if I attend ? my alternative is to drive a few hours to another city which I don’t want to do
 
Malcolm said:
should this happen is it safe to assume I will meet the obligation to attend Sunday mass if I attend ?
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Yes, you will. The priest will still be the one consecrating the bread and wine into Jesus’ body and blood. The Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHCs) will distribute Him during Communion at Mass.
 
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Meaning that there will be communion services on sundays in some places? Or Masses?
 
If there is no mass reasonably close, you are not under obligation to use extraordinary means to attend - and if that concerns you, speak to the priest.

Out of the 17,200+/- parishes in the US, there are not a lot which do not have a Mass each weekend (Saturday evening to Sunday evening) as a mission parish. If you live in one of those, then generally a priest comes by less than weekly, and a Communion Service would be substituted for those weekends there is no priest available. And if there is no Mass available, there is no obligation, but it would be spiritually wise to attend the Communion Service.
 
Malcolm said:
so there might be communion from lay ministers from time to time.
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Do you mean EMHC to distribute Communion to assist the priest? or do you mean there is to be a Communion Service on those Sundays with Communion distributed by a EMHC?
 
It’s been fine to receive Holy Communion from lay Extraordinary Ministers for Holy Communion for decades now. Why would you think this is somehow not okay? It’s the norm almost every place I attend Mass.

If you are instead talking about the priest having a Communion Service (with no priest) instead of a Sunday Mass, that’s unusual because most places will have Mass on Sunday. Communion Service is not a substitute for Sunday Mass, but if you are genuinely unable to travel a long distance to get to a Mass without a lot of hardship, then you would not be obligated to go through that hardship to get to Mass.
 
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There are ‘regulations’ about Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest (that’s precisely how we refer to it in the U.S. - and the Google phrase you’ll want to use). As long as those are followed, while it’s not the ideal, it is acceptable.
 
sorry what I meant was “Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest” - there will be communion distributed by lay ministers - does that satisfy requirement of attending Sunday mass (in Canada) ?

this may be all that’s offered in my parish from time to time and possibly without warning so it’s difficult for me to schedule alternate transportation etc

I am very uncertain as to what is “unusual effort required to attend mass” - is it something I would make effort to avoid having to do for any other reason , YES absolutely - is it something I would do if my life depended on it - YES probably - [ it’s a 1 to 2 hour drive depending on traffic , I’m a senior citizen and don’t feel comfortable driving on the freeway anymore]
 
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Malcolm said:
sorry what I meant was “Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest” - there will be communion distributed by lay ministers - does that satisfy requirement of attending Sunday mass (in Canada) ?
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A Communion service would not satisfy the obligation, but if you cannot reasonably make it to Mass (because it is not available anywhere near you), the obligation would not apply.

The number of priests is down in the U.S., but I don’t know that this happens regularly in many places. My parents’ priest is pastor of 4 parishes, but he still celebrates Mass on Sunday (or Saturday evening) at each of them.
 
Please remember that we don’t know the actual conditions in Malcolm’s parish/diocese.

I believe the following link will help.

Does a Communion Service Satisfy the Sunday Obligation

You won’t have to read the whole thing, Fr. pretty much answers the question in the first part of his response. He does cite relevant paragraphs in the CCC if you want to read them.
 
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Malcolm, in your case there is no expectation that you drive a couple of hours to get to Mass, so if Mass is not available in your parish there is no obligation. It would be different if was only a couple of miles to the next parish.

You don’t even have an obligation to attend the Sunday Celebration of the Word with Communion (what it’s called in Canada) but it’s always good to gather with your fellow parishioners to listen to the Word of God and pray as a community.
 
It sounds like in the situation you describe, where the priest is planning to have a Sunday Celebration in the Absence of Mass due to a shortage of priests and you would find it a hardship to drive a distance to another Mass, it would be perfectly fine for you to attend the Communion Service if that’s all that is offered.
 
Malcolm said:
sorry what I meant was “Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest” - there will be communion distributed by lay ministers - does that satisfy requirement of attending Sunday mass (in Canada) ?
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If there is no mass, you have no obligation.

The service you speak of does not replace Mass, but, it will allow you to receive the Eucharist.

Pray for vocations!
 
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