Communion Rails and Number of EMs

[SMHW]

I thought of making this a poll but decided against that.

Back when it was customary to kneel at the communion rail (or now for those of you for whom this is still the norm) how many priests and/or deacons distributed communion?

When I was growing up it was customary to have two priests for smaller Masses and three or or even four at the larger Masses. At the time I believe we had the pastor and two associate priests in residence. We had another priest from the seminary (about 13 miles away) who was assigned to help on Sundays at the larger Masses. Each of them took a section along the altar rail.

In some cases I remember receiving communion as a very reverent event, but not always. For instance, some of the priests would say, “The Body of Christ” and would wait very deliberately for you to respond, “Amen” before offering the Host. Others would practically shove the Host in your mouth and move on to the next person, almost before they had finished what they had to say and certainly before they could have heard a response.

 

[Kielbasi]

Back when it was customary to kneel at the communion rail (or now for those of you for whom this is still the norm) how many priests and/or deacons distributed communion?

Back in the day, there were no deacons.

But all of the 3 parish priests came out of the back room to help the celebrant priest (who was usually a retired priest who lived at the old priests residence and helped out by saying a mass on Sunday).

The other priests all came out of the back room on cue, smooth as silk.

 

[JNB]

It depends on the layout of the parish. The Parish I am registered at uses the altar rail, it seats when it is full around 500, maybe 550 parishoners. It uses a simple set up of two sets of pews seperated by an aisle, and the altar rail holds 20 parishoners at a time. When it is time for communion, one other priest, on occasion a deacon comes out and helps distribute, and it takes around 10-15 minuites to distribute communion to 500 parishoners. At my parish, there is no shoving the host down a communicants mouth, and rushing either, its just a steady “body of chirst” and placing the host on the communicants tounge mostly with a small number taking on the hand.

SMHW:

I thought of making this a poll but decided against that.

Back when it was customary to kneel at the communion rail (or now for those of you for whom this is still the norm) how many priests and/or deacons distributed communion?

When I was growing up it was customary to have two priests for smaller Masses and three or or even four at the larger Masses. At the time I believe we had the pastor and two associate priests in residence. We had another priest from the seminary (about 13 miles away) who was assigned to help on Sundays at the larger Masses. Each of them took a section along the altar rail.

In some cases I remember receiving communion as a very reverent event, but not always. For instance, some of the priests would say, “The Body of Christ” and would wait very deliberately for you to respond, “Amen” before offering the Host. Others would practically shove the Host in your mouth and move on to the next person, almost before they had finished what they had to say and certainly before they could have heard a response.

 

[A.Pelliccio]

continue to wait 2000 years for the return of Christ we can wait in joyful anticipation to recieve his most sacred body.

 

[palmas85]

Normally two or at times three, depending on the Mass. I don’t ever recall seeing more than three.
At the Tridentine Mass I now attend there are two, the Priest and a Deacon. They manage to distribute to around 500 or so in about 15-20 minutes. That is with kneeling and on the tongue reception.