communion service question

[Ghirardelli]

Execelent option

I’m not sure that’s a licit option. It contravenes the actual ritual that governs such services.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I’m not sure that’s a licit option. It contravenes the actual ritual that governs such services.

I guess I should have included “IMO” this would be a reasonable exception under certain circumstances.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

Maybe you need to be there for a few months before you start passing judgement on the Bishop and the Pastor and the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and the Congregation. Unless one of you IS the bishop of that particular parish.

Apart from a possible dress code violation, there doesn’t appear to be anything overwhelmingly out of place.

The Host appears to have been properly prepared. The Host was made of licit material.

Given the shortages of priests, and the demands for ministering, it would appear that in this situation, there was a reasonable effort to keep the parish functioning.

You have no idea how demoralizing it is when there is no Mass or Communion Service day after day. And when some of the attendees are not “regulars” who “understand”, the situation becomes downright humiliating for everyone involved. And when the pastor must try to borrow priests on their days off, etc. And there still are just not enough to go around. We have enough problems with not being able to service our members without creating more problems when the remedy in this case of a Communion Service led by a volunteer lay person with the full consent of the bishop and the pastor will fill the gap. At least until some other arrangements can be made.

 

[GwenL]

I posted the original question to clear up my own lack of understanding about “self-communication.” A friend told me that a lay person can never self-communicate, whether during a communion service or while serving as EHMC during a Mass. You might note by looking at my “religion” that I’m not yet a Catholic and still trying to learn.

Slightly different topic: I was put off by the dress and manner of the person conducting the service. If you can’t genuflect or at least bow for the Lord, when are you ever going to do so? IMHO, anyone presiding at any such service, serving as EHMC, reader, etc., should be able to do better than sweat pants and tennis shoes. (And these were not cheapo shoes/sweats, either.) Maybe my military background is showing through.

Even more different topic: this was not my parish, as I stated in the OP. In my parish, we have communion service every single weekday , even though we also have daily Mass. When we have Mass in the a.m., we have a communion service in the evening, and vice-versa. This is clearly NOT due to a shortage of priests. And, in my observation, these are not homebound, hospitalized, or bedridden people.

At this church which I described in the OP, they are also not short of priests. They were just gone for a few days on retreat. As I stated, this is not a case of “no Mass or communion service day after day.” And there was not a lack of availability of daily Mass for the congregation; this is not a rural or remote area. There is another church about 2 miles away that also has daily Mass at 7:00. If you are in a remote or rural area, or are truly short of priests, then a communion service on Sunday seems very necessary. But the example I gave is in a metropolitan area without those limitations.

Personally, if I’d known it was going to be a communion service, I’d have gone to the church 2 miles away for Mass. Why would you ever want to go to a communion service when you can go to Mass?

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I’m not sure that’s a licit option. It contravenes the actual ritual that governs such services.

Can you give a source for that?

 

[Ghirardelli]

Can you give a source for that?

The specific hardcopy of the rite I have is:

The Roman Ritual. Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass. 144 pp. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1976.

It’s available verbatim in more than one printed source.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

I posted the original question to clear up my own lack of understanding about “self-communication.” A friend told me that a lay person can never self-communicate, whether during a communion service or while serving as EHMC during a Mass. You might note by looking at my “religion” that I’m not yet a Catholic and still trying to learn.

Slightly different topic: I was put off by the dress and manner of the person conducting the service. If you can’t genuflect or at least bow for the Lord, when are you ever going to do so? IMHO, anyone presiding at any such service, serving as EHMC, reader, etc., should be able to do better than sweat pants and tennis shoes. (And these were not cheapo shoes/sweats, either.) Maybe my military background is showing through.

Even more different topic: this was not my parish, as I stated in the OP. In my parish, we have communion service every single weekday , even though we also have daily Mass. When we have Mass in the a.m., we have a communion service in the evening, and vice-versa. This is clearly NOT due to a shortage of priests. And, in my observation, these are not homebound, hospitalized, or bedridden people.

At this church which I described in the OP, they are also not short of priests. They were just gone for a few days on retreat. As I stated, this is not a case of “no Mass or communion service day after day.” And there was not a lack of availability of daily Mass for the congregation; this is not a rural or remote area. There is another church about 2 miles away that also has daily Mass at 7:00. If you are in a remote or rural area, or are truly short of priests, then a communion service on Sunday seems very necessary. But the example I gave is in a metropolitan area without those limitations.

Personally, if I’d known it was going to be a communion service, I’d have gone to the church 2 miles away for Mass. Why would you ever want to go to a communion service when you can go to Mass?

Because some people are unable to travel the two miles.

 

[Ghirardelli]

No, because the bishop does not have the authority to overrule RS, as already quoted by benedictgirl.

He is not overruling RS and your suggesting he is does not change that.

The authority whether or not to allow a CS in my diocese rests fully with my bishop and not some outside layperson’s interpretation of RS.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

I posted the original question to clear up my own lack of understanding about “self-communication.” A friend told me that a lay person can never self-communicate, whether during a communion service or while serving as EHMC during a Mass. You might note by looking at my “religion” that I’m not yet a Catholic and still trying to learn.

Slightly different topic: I was put off by the dress and manner of the person conducting the service. If you can’t genuflect or at least bow for the Lord, when are you ever going to do so? IMHO, anyone presiding at any such service, serving as EHMC, reader, etc., should be able to do better than sweat pants and tennis shoes. (And these were not cheapo shoes/sweats, either.) Maybe my military background is showing through.

Even more different topic: this was not my parish, as I stated in the OP. In my parish, we have communion service every single weekday , even though we also have daily Mass. When we have Mass in the a.m., we have a communion service in the evening, and vice-versa. This is clearly NOT due to a shortage of priests. And, in my observation, these are not homebound, hospitalized, or bedridden people.

At this church which I described in the OP, they are also not short of priests. They were just gone for a few days on retreat. As I stated, this is not a case of “no Mass or communion service day after day.” And there was not a lack of availability of daily Mass for the congregation; this is not a rural or remote area. There is another church about 2 miles away that also has daily Mass at 7:00. If you are in a remote or rural area, or are truly short of priests, then a communion service on Sunday seems very necessary. But the example I gave is in a metropolitan area without those limitations.

Personally, if I’d known it was going to be a communion service, I’d have gone to the church 2 miles away for Mass. Why would you ever want to go to a communion service when you can go to Mass?

But you didn’t know there wouldn’t be a mass so you went there. Would you have preferred to arrive at the church to see a sign on the door ‘no daily mass this week’? (Actually this might have been a good idea since those in the parish would already have known.) But would there then have been time for you to walk or drive to another church and be on time for mass?

I went to a communion service this week because our pastor had been unexpectedly called away because of the funeral of a priest friend of his. I was very disappointed that we didn’t have a mass. But I would have been unable to get to mass elsewhere. At least I was able to hear the readings and receive communion. I wanted even more but I appreciated what I was given. Fortunately this is a rare occurrence in my parish.

 

[GwenL]

Would you have preferred to arrive at the church to see a sign on the door ‘no daily mass this week’? (Actually this might have been a good idea since those in the parish would already have known.) But would there then have been time for you to walk or drive to another church and be on time for mass?

Yes, I would have preferred such a sign. I would not have stayed for the communion service. I went 30 minutes before Mass to pray the Rosary. I would have had time to drive two miles to the other church.

And even if I had not had that time, I would not have stayed for the communion service. I’d have gone on with my day and tried to make a 12 noon mass or 5:30 Mass elsewhere.

 

[benedictgal]

He is not overruling RS and your suggesting he is does not change that.

The authority whether or not to allow a CS in my diocese rests fully with my bishop and not some outside layperson’s interpretation of RS.

However, even the bishop is goverened by some parameters. Perhaps you missed the key word phrase here:

[166.] Likewise, especially if Holy Communion is distributed during such celebrations, the diocesan Bishop, to whose exclusive competence this matter pertains, must not easily grant permission for such celebrations to be held on weekdays, especially in places where it was possible or would be possible to have the celebration of Mass on the preceding or the following Sunday.

In other words, such a granting of permission should not be a “slam-dunk”, especially if the parish has a regular Sunday Mass, and, moreso, if they have daily Mass. These Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest have specific parameters.