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SummaTheo
Guest
Are EMHC allowed to distribute the Eucharist in a different diocese then where they were instituted?
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wannabee
Guest
Not without Special Permission as far as I know.
When I was one and I resigned after 15 years, as I did not feel it was any part of a layman’s function ] our Certificates of Commissioning were signed by the Chancellor in the name of the bishop stating that were were commissioned for xxxxxxxx Parish and the certificate was valld as long as we were a member of that Parish. It further stated that if we moved away or ceased to be a member of the Parish it had to be returned to the Curial Offices.
I would suggest that the certificates of Commissioning should be looked at very carefully
When I was one and I resigned after 15 years, as I did not feel it was any part of a layman’s function ] our Certificates of Commissioning were signed by the Chancellor in the name of the bishop stating that were were commissioned for xxxxxxxx Parish and the certificate was valld as long as we were a member of that Parish. It further stated that if we moved away or ceased to be a member of the Parish it had to be returned to the Curial Offices.
I would suggest that the certificates of Commissioning should be looked at very carefully
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Br.Rich_SFO
Guest
A person may act as an EMHC in any parish or diocese when requested by the pastor for a specific liturgy or limited function. To serve in an on-going ministry either at Mass or to the sick would require another commission in that parish or diocese.
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SummaTheo
Guest
Well here is the situation: I am now in Texas and our school is having Mass. We only have about 300 students here and plenty priests. (Roughly 7) They want to have EMHC to help distribute the Eucharist, but I feel it is an abuse. I was just wondering if they can even distribute the Eucharist in the first place.
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Orionthehunter
Guest
See Brother Rich’s comment below. This is not an abuse if requested by the Chaplain. At our H.S., the Chaplain believes that this student involvement will enhance vocations. Since he (on behalf of the Holy Spirit of course) has gotten two students to pursue vocations each of hte last two years (one nun candidate and the rest Priests) he might be onto something.
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SummaTheo
Guest
Well, I don’t like EMHCs and I am the only one in my whole school who is considering the priesthood.
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CatholicCid
Guest
Will all 7 priests be attending the Mass?
My school is a larger and we have more Priest, but it’s hard to have more than one at a Mass usually due to their other duties
My school is a larger and we have more Priest, but it’s hard to have more than one at a Mass usually due to their other duties
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SummaTheo
Guest
Just 3 attended. There were only 2 EMHC and they were a Br. and a Scholastic. So overall I was actually pleased…somewhat. 
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Orionthehunter
Guest
Despite your opposition, they are approved by the Church. In our parish of 1,000 families and currently one Priest and two volunteer Deacons who are both in their 70’s (and for this reason we don’t always have a Deacon assisting at Mass), EMHC’s allow us to distribute both species of the Eucharist and have Mass last an hour. Since we have three Sunday Masses each 1.5 hours apart, we need to have Mass last an hour or we would have a severe parking problem. Regarding EMHC’s at my daughters’ Catholic High School, we again have one Priest and over 800 students. Even with the use of EMHC’s, they still have trouble getting the students assembled for Mass and back to classes in an hour and 15 minutes. There are very practical reasons that the Church has approved EMHC’s.
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SummaTheo
Guest
Why must Mass get done in an hour. All people care about is getting in and out?? I’d rather have more time after Communion to reflect and say my prayers. I’m not saying that you want to have a quick Mass but I think there are better ways to solve the problems you presented.
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Orionthehunter
Guest
I guess I’ll repeat myself. We have three Masses on Sunday (not including a “Family Mass” held in the gym that lasts two hours as the homily includes an hour of adult and teen catechesis in the gym while the young children go have child catechesis). Our worship space will not accommodate two Masses as the pews are probably 90% full now. We have limited parking space.
If Masses do not end in an hour, we will force people to have no time to pray or visit after Mass (this is already limited to very quick conversations and then our ushers begin to urge people to get moving to accommodate the next Mass) and the people coming to the next Mass will have no ability to come early to prepare for the Mass as the parking lot will be full. Whenever we have community events like the Knights pancake breakfasts after Mass, it creates situations that people have to park 2-3 blocks away as it is. And each time this happens, we end up getting complaints from elderly or otherwise physically challenged parishioners who end up going home as they can’t park so far away.
November is a particular bad time for us as it is. We have personal witness over the next three Sunday’s on giving, Time, Talent and Treasure to the Church. As these witnesses end up causing Mass to last 70 minutes, we have total chaos in the parking lot. If we did anything to add to the time for Communion, it would be wholly unworkable without turning the Mass into a “Daily Mass” whereby there would be no music.
In short, if we didn’t use our Priest, usually our deacon and 6 EMHC’s but relied on just our Priest and deacon if available, we would not be able to distribute under both species, Mass would last so long we’d have chaos in our parking lot to the point of requiring people to park blocks away (in the upper Midwest during the winter this is a not an insignificant matter), and many of our elderly and handicapped parishioners would be denied access to Mass.
Your personal preference aside, there are very real practical considerations in our parish that absolutely require EMHC’s. If you have a suggestion other than using EMHC’s, I’d love to hear them. Our parish and Pastor lament that we are required to restrict pre and post-Mass prayer and opportunities for building community by visiting after Mass as it is. We unfortunately have no viable alternative that we can find.
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