Do you avoid female Extraordinary Ministers Of the Holy Eucharist?

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ridesawhitehors

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I don’t have to answer this question at my church - because our priest would never have a female EM - “There will be no panty hose on my altar.” is what he says.
But my friend says when she goes to a different church she will go to the line where the priest is serving if there is a female EM.
What do you think?
 
The Body of Christ is not dependent upon the gender of the minister. It makes no difference to me. After all, we have understand that the body of Christ is giving the Body of Christ to the body of Christ (are each of us not the body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit?). Why would one not go to the Temple of the Holy Spirit to receive the Body of Christ?

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon Ed:
The Body of Christ is not dependent upon the gender of the minister. It makes no difference to me. After all, we have understand that the body of Christ is giving the Body of Christ to the body of Christ (are each of us not the body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit?). Why would one not go to the Temple of the Holy Spirit to receive the Body of Christ?

Deacon Ed
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What you say is true, but I would suggest it fosters the attitude that hey, they are aleady up there–why don’t we just throw a chasibule on 'em?

Scott
 
Yes, I do. Sorry.

If we are at a visiting parish where this might happen, we sit in the back so we can “line jump” (if necessary) so I can recieve Jesus from the consecrated hand of the Alter Christos, the priest.
 
Deacon Ed:
The Body of Christ is not dependent upon the gender of the minister. It makes no difference to me. After all, we have understand that the body of Christ is giving the Body of Christ to the body of Christ (are each of us not the body of Christ and Temple of the Holy Spirit?). Why would one not go to the Temple of the Holy Spirit to receive the Body of Christ?

Deacon Ed
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You make some sense, Deacon Ed.
But here is my feeling. I tend to sympathize with my friend merely on the basis of the message that is indirectly sent to the church and the world. There is the perception that these women are psuedo-priests… And in fact there are a segment of catholic women who want to be priests and this is maybe a way to “play priest”.
All things being equal, if given a choice, I will recieve from the priest. Maybe I have a latent predjudice? But for some reason, a woman EM distracts me even more then a male EM. I can’t explain it - its just there and doesn’t feel right.
God help me if I’m wrong.
 
I applaud your courage in even bringing up such a potentially volatile subject.

But I, and my entire family, do the same.

Why? Well, because we have yet to see a female (or male, for that matter) extraordinary minister of the Eucharist (yeeks, I used the word extraordinary! slap hand Bad girl!) who is actually necessary.

Come on… less than two hundred people in the church, maybe two-thirds receive communion and they never needed more than the priest and the deacon to distribute communion BEFORE women were allowed to do so. Now they need SIX extraordinary ministers (5 women, 1 man)? And our parish never offered communion under both species UNTIL female extraordinary ministers were permitted. It was as if they were creating a need for these women to fulfill.

At one time, the women all wore robes similar to what the priest was wearing. The lone man who served as EME did not. What gives? What were they trying to say with that?

And why don’t ALL extraordinary ministers, male and female, dress as if they really believe they are touching the Body and Blood of Christ? Sloppy jeans, mini skirts (on the women, of course!), T-shirts with writing on them (good ol’ Nike logo is the favorite, followed by NFL teams)… shouldn’t there be a dress code for ministers?

Maybe I’ve been tainted by negative images–female EMs who practically elbow the priest aside when their lines are finished so as to continue distributing, seeing them bustling about behind the altar and practically taking things out of the priest’s hands, and mostly, it’s knowing that most of them are women who believe that women should be ordained (not surmising, KNOWING, from things they’ve said)–that prompts me to find out which communion line leads to the priest. I want him to know that, despite the propaganda to the contrary, yes, Father, we still need priests!

BlueRose
 
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ridesawhitehors:
I don’t have to answer this question at my church - because our priest would never have a female EM - “There will be no panty hose on my altar.” is what he says.
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Under the new GIRM, priests no longer have the authority to discriminate against female EMHCs or readers. Of course, they don’t have to use EMHCs at all.
 
Scott Waddell:
What you say is true, but I would suggest it fosters the attitude that hey, they are aleady up there–why don’t we just throw a chasibule on 'em?
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Today’s fallacy: the slippery slope.

– Mark L. Chance.
 
I am a line jumper to the Priest or Deacon. I am not so worried about the whole female thing, seeing as I too wear pantyhose, but just so she is not trying to do the mass.
 
Avoid the females? I avoid them all! I make sure I sit where I will end up receiving from the priest. Receiving from anyone else wrecks the symbolism for me of Jesus giving Himself to us with His own hands. If it turns out differently once in a while and I have to receive from someone else, it’s no big deal, just a personal preference here. And I can say that in our smallish parish, none of the EMs are really necessary. It might add an extra two minutes to the length of Mass if we didn’t have any of them.

Betsy
 
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ridesawhitehors:
I don’t have to answer this question at my church - because our priest would never have a female EM - “There will be no panty hose on my altar.” is what he says.
But my friend says when she goes to a different church she will go to the line where the priest is serving if there is a female EM.
What do you think?
Click to expand...
That priest has guts – God bless him.

Obviously all EMsHC are the same – M or F and they should not be descriminated against based on their sex.

THAT SAID, with the horribly abusive use of EMsHC where they are not needed, I think it makes a great deal of sense to simply take Holy Communion ONLY from a bishop/priest/deacon.

Is it “right?” No way. Is it fighting fire with fire? Yepper…
 
At our 8:00 mass we have NINE EMHC’s + priest serving to 350-400 people. Seems excessive to me. Probably 75% of our EMHC’s and 75% of our altar servers are female. I’ve been to masses where every minister, (lector, cantor, EMHC and altar server) was female. And we wonder why our boys aren’t dreaming of growing up to be priests!?!?!?
 
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ridesawhitehors:
I don’t have to answer this question at my church - because our priest would never have a female EM - “There will be no panty hose on my altar.” is what he says.
But my friend says when she goes to a different church she will go to the line where the priest is serving if there is a female EM.
What do you think?
Click to expand...
I think that is the saddest thing I have ever heard.

walks away, shaking head
 
Why is it some people think the only way lay people can serve the Church is within the sanctuary? I think it springs from a faulty notion of the proper role of the laity in the wake of Vatcian II.

I guess if people have “performed their duty” on Sunday as a reader, EMHC or altar server, they really don’t need to bring their faith to bear on their life the rest of the week.

This is so sad. I’m looking forward to our new Holy Father bringing Vatican II into its full and proper interpretation, just as he promised. This means, in the light of 2,000 years of Christian Tradition, not in the light of the latest theological/liturgical fad. :nope:
 
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ridesawhitehors:
I don’t have to answer this question at my church - because our priest would never have a female EM - “There will be no panty hose on my altar.” is what he says.
But my friend says when she goes to a different church she will go to the line where the priest is serving if there is a female EM.
What do you think?
Click to expand...
That’s just a sad statement by this priest. He wouldn’t last very long in our parish. We’re the only Catholic church in our county (we Catholics make up only about 6% of the total population in our diocese). We only have one priest, no deacons. Needless to say, Fr. M is unbelievably busy and takes what help he can get, with pantyhose or without. Gender shouldn’t matter when recieving the Body of Christ.
 
I’m lucky that my Church does not have anyone but the Priest and if needed, the Deacon distributing the Holy Eucharist. But, there are the two Churches that I sometimes go to nearby my home that have anywhere from 6-14 Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist on any given Sunday! When I attend either of those Churches, I always go to the Priest for Communion, it’s just my preference. It’s not a male or female thing with the EME 's, I just would rather receive from a Priest, period.
 
At our jam-packed C&E Masses, it can be difficult to receive Communion. This was a concern of the person in charge of EMsHC.

I suggested that she reduce the number of EMsHC by 50% to increase throughput. She did just that and it worked out wonderfully.

Unfortunately she heard a great deal of whining from the displaced EMsHC.
 
My parish only uses priests and deacons, so I don’t have to worry about such issues. We also have a communion rail, so I can receive our Lord on my knees.
 
WHen I am not at my ordinary parish, where only a Priest gives communion at the communion rail…I do try to make sure I am in line to receive from the Priest…I know it may not be correct, but that is just how I feel…however, if I see it will be too much trouble to get into that line, I will happily go to one of the EM’s.
 
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