Deacons and EMHC

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Should a Deacon ever receive communion from an EMHC? I thought EMHC should not assist in the Liturgy if an ordinary minister was present.

Christ’s Peace,

P.S. All you Deacon’s out there, Thanks. Thanks go to your wives as well.
 
If a deacon is at Mass and not serving then yes, of course, he can receive from an EMHC.

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon Ed

Thanks for the reply. It helped some. To push you (or anyone else who may care) a bit further with my curiosity, let me ask a hypothetical. Should a Deacon at his assigned parish, at his Bishop’s Cathedral, or at a large celebration of the Mass such as at a Catholic conference, volunteer to assist with the distribution of the Eucharist if it is evident that EMHC are planned to be used? Is he under any obligation to assist with the Mass under such circumstances?

I have received conflicting information regarding the use of EMHC.

Christ’s Peace,

P.S. All you EMHC out there (male and female) keep up the good work. I do cherish receiving the Blessed Sacrament often and under both species. Without your assistance this would be impossible.
 
Since, as a liturgical principle, clergy should vest if they are to assist, it becomes problematic if a deacon is attending Mass and sees a need to assist. In general, ordinary ministers take precedence over extraordinary – but only if one is actually *already *serving at liturgy. Thus, priest or deacons who are on the altar always take precedence over EMHCs (and only infirmity or sickness should prevent them from doing so).

So, to answer your question, no, they should not volunteer simply because an EMHC is going to be serving.

Deacon Ed
 
TJD-Many parishes still do not have a deacon, but the number of permanent deacons is increasing at a rate higher than priests. Some bishops are already predicting that these deacons will outnumber priests in their diocese in the not too distant future. You have a good point, however, from a different standpoint. Some EMHCS have been doing this ministry for quite sometime for a number of reasons that I won’t go into now. When a deacon is Ordained and assigned to a parish that has never had a deacon, I have found that there can be a little hard feelings as folks have gotten use to ministering in this way as there were not enough Ordained clergy to handle Communion. At one smaller parish that I know of, once a month the deacon assists at all Masses and no EMHCS are used. The other weeks only two are needed, as the deacon assists at the other two Masses. One of the jobs of a deacon is to try to get more people into various ministries, so this seems to go against that effort. However, it’s clear that Ordained clergy are the rightful ministers at Communion.
 
Deacon Ed:
. In general, ordinary ministers take precedence over extraordinary – but only if one is actually *already *serving at liturgy.

Deacon Ed
Click to expand...
Deacon Ed, where do you find that instruction in the GIRM or Canon Law?
 
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