EMHCs at weekday masses

[paperwight]

is now casually tossed into many-a-congregant’s mouth without second thought. .

Whoa, there! That’s quite a slur on the EMHCs in your parish!

How do you know it’s without a second thought exactly?

And what’s this ‘casually tossed’ comment all about? As an EMHC myself I can assure you that casually tossing would be a very risky technique!

Would you care to correct or modify your hyperbole?

 

[Rob2]

I’ve been going to weekday masses with no more than 40 people in attendance. Along with the priest here are 2 EMHCs at these masses handing out communion. What is the point of this?

I don’t why you are asking people on this forum , @Zach , unless you know some of your parishioners frequent this forum .

Can you not ask your parish priest ?

 

[robertmidwest]

So you are saying the quotes and links I posted are worthless?

They are to us. We don’t make the decisions at your parish.

 

[CilladeRoma]

No, you are a crumudgen because you think that what you do, everyone should do,and if they don’t they are heterodox, modernists who are trying to destroy the church.

 

[angel12]

That little piece of heaven we once received only from the hands of a priest and prayed before in a monstrance is now casually tossed into many-a-congregant’s mouth without second thought.

I have never seen the Body of Christ “tossed” into a congregant’s mouth. I’d be speaking to Father about the training his EMHCs receive.

 

[poche]

I leave that judgement of how many ministers are needed up to the priest.

 

[Phemie]

2 EMHCs + the priest for a Mass with 40 people flies in the face of this instruction from the Vatican (Redemptionis Sacramentum - 2004) which reiterates 3 previous documents including the one that first allowed EMHCs. Our priest alone distributes the Host at all Masses except Christmas and Easter and the odd funeral where there is a large congregation. EMHCs minister the Cup and even there, on Saturday we only use one because few people received under both species.

[157.] If there is usually present a sufficient number of sacred ministers for the distribution of Holy Communion, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may not be appointed. Indeed, in such circumstances, those who may have already been appointed to this ministry should not exercise it. The practice of those Priests is reprobated who, even though present at the celebration, abstain from distributing Communion and hand this function over to laypersons.[258]
[158.] Indeed, the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may administer Communion only when the Priest and Deacon are lacking, when the Priest is prevented by weakness or advanced age or some other genuine reason, or when the number of faithful coming to Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged.[259] This, however, is to be understood in such a way that a brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason.

 

[Peeps]

Why ask rhetorical questions?

It seems to me that all your post does is stir up dissension, and if you read your Bible you’ll see that God condemns those who create factions and divisions among the believers.

Do you want this situation to change in your parish? Then schedule an appointment with your priest (preferably take him out to a meal), and talk to him about your concerns.

I am guessing that your priest may answer that he is attempting to implement the mandates of Vatican II that the laity be involved in the liturgy of the Mass. He might also tell you, with gentleness, that he has been granted the authority by Holy Mother Church to utilize or not utilize EMHC and that you or any other layperson has NOT been granted that authority…

I can’t help but wonder if the priest in question has a heavy schedule during the day, and perhaps has some kind of hidden disability or painful condition (e.g., bad knees?, even young people can suffer from these), and he is trying to conserve his physical strength for the busy day to come.

Have mercy on him!

 

[CilladeRoma]

These are guidelines. Ultimately it is up to the Priest to do what he feels best and is in accord with his Ordinary’s directives.

It is not up to us to second guess our priests at every turn. And we wonder why we have a vocations crises in the US.

 

[Phemie]

DignumEtJustum:

is now casually tossed into many-a-congregant’s mouth without second thought. .

Whoa, there! That’s quite a slur on the EMHCs in your parish!

How do you know it’s without a second thought exactly?

And what’s this ‘casually tossed’ comment all about? As an EMHC myself I can assure you that casually tossing would be a very risky technique!

Would you care to correct or modify your hyperbole?

I do think he meant by the communicant him/herself, not by whoever is distributing Communion.

 

[Phemie]

Those aren’t “guidelines” they are instructions to the priests. The word “reprobated” is not tossed around in “guidelines”.

 

[CilladeRoma]

Certain things were reprobated.
And the 2010 GIRM for the US also addresses this issue, with very specific instructions regarding reception of Communion and use of EMHC, which was approved by Rome.
It seems to me that the newer document, approved by the Church, should be the one that is followed.

 

[Phemie]

Certain things were reprobated.
And the 2010 GIRM for the US also addresses this issue, with very specific instructions regarding reception of Communion and use of EMHC, which was approved by Rome.
It seems to me that the newer document, approved by the Church, should be the one that is followed.

There is no specific instructions regarding the use of EMHCs in the GIRM (either the universal or the one for the US) beyond referring back to Ecclesiae de mysterio the “Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priest” which states

To avoid creating confusion, certain practices are to be avoided and eliminated where such have emerged in particular Churches:
— extraordinary ministers receiving Holy Communion apart from the other faithful as though concelebrants;
— association with the renewal of promises made by priests at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, as well as other categories of faithful who renew religious vows or receive a mandate as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion;
— the habitual use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at Mass thus arbitrarily extending the concept of “a great number of the faithful”.

 

[pensmama87]

One thing that occurs to me as a possible reason for EMHCs would be a very swift distribution, as many Daily Masses (at least in my area) are scheduled just before the regular workday or at lunchtime. There’s a couple Masses in our area that can be packed at these times, though they aren’t always.

But as many others have said, we have no idea why in this particular case, so it’s best to ask the pastor.

 

[CilladeRoma]

Actually , there are. I am in the process of going over these very guidelines with a new project I am working on in my diocese, so I am very familiar with it. In fact, it is because of issues like this that the commission I am working with was formed.
For example, in the US, it is recommended that if the Precious Blood is offered, there, ideally, should be 2 ministers of the cup for every one bread minister.
That right there means if that, if you have a priest and a deacon distributing the Body of Christ, you should have 4 cup ministers.

 

[victrolatim]

My home parish normally has 2 or so at daily mass for what I can tell are two reasons.

1. There are a number of elderly people with mobility problems and it is easier for them to walk to someone closer to them than across the church to the center aisle.
2. We have two retired priests who generally say the noon mass which I attend. One is physically able, but monsignor walks with a cane and is of advanced age (he is 97 and still offers mass of his own desire to do so).

Once I was at a morning weekday mass at another parish where there were 5 EMHC’s and the other congregants (including myself) numbered 4. God bless them for wanting to serve but it looked absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Phemie]

I’m familiar with the USCCB’s guidelines having read them many times. I still don’t see them in the GIRM.

I’m sure they were written with almost 100% of communicants receiving from the cup in mind but I’ve yet to be at a Mass where anywhere close to 100% of communicants receive the Precious Blood. If you follow the guidelines without looking at what is actually happening in your parish that’s when you end up with unnecessarily high use of EMHCs.

I’ve also had priests tell me that they use EMHCs at all Masses regardless of “need” because they’ve been commissioned and it’s their right to be there, whereas the Church says that even Instituted Acolytes are only to exercise their ministry in case of real need. There is a serious disconnect between what the Church says and what is done in parishes.

 

[JackMcCoy]

If there are people willing to serve as EMs during week day Masses, more power to them. We need more involvement by folks in all Masses.

 

[tafan2]

For what its worth, IMO, the question by the OP was legitimate, and there while some responses are ok, the simple dismissing of the question is why we end up with so many people attracted to such organizations as The Church Militant. A person sees something that seems slightly off, asks the question and no one bothers to give them a valid answer beyond “ask your priest” or “the GIRM allows it to be upto the discretion of the priest”, yet others post actual church documents that makes the question seem quite valid. It just causes people who question simple things to become more suspicious, and overtime they over react.

 

[CilladeRoma]

Chapter 9 of the GIRM talks about things that are to be governed by the local Bishop’s conference, which in turn MUST be approved by Rome. Here is the GIRM from the USCCB. If you look on the left, they also have listed the Norms (approved by the Vatican) for receiving Communion in both species.

Some relevant excerpts:

1. The General Instruction then indicates that the Diocesan Bishop may lay down norms for the distribution of Communion under both kinds for his own diocese, which must be observed. . . . The Diocesan Bishop also has the faculty to allow Communion under both kinds, whenever it seems appropriate to the Priest to whom charge of a given community has been entrusted as [its] own pastor, provided that the faithful have been well instructed and there is no danger of the profanation of the Sacrament or that the rite would be difficult to carry out on account of the number of participants or for some other reason.36

In practice, the need to avoid obscuring the role of the Priest and the Deacon as the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion by an excessive use of extraordinary minister might in some circumstances constitute a reason either for limiting the distribution of Holy Communion under both species or for using intinction instead of distributing the Precious Blood from the chalice.

Norms established by the Diocesan Bishop must be observed wherever the Eucharist is celebrated in the diocese, “which are also to be observed in churches of religious and at celebrations with small groups.”

From those norms, which can also be reached in the link I provided and are also approved by the Vatican, we find the following:

Planning

1. When Holy Communion is to be distributed under both species, careful planning should be undertaken so that:

enough bread and wine are made ready for the communication of the faithful at each Mass.45 As a general rule, Holy Communion is given from hosts consecrated at the same Mass and not from those reserved in the tabernacle. Precious Blood may not be reserved at one Mass for use at another;46 and
a suitable number of ministers of Holy Communion are provided at each Mass. For Communion from the chalice, it is desirable that there be generally two ministers of the Precious Blood for each minister of the Body of Christ, lest the liturgical celebration be unduly prolonged.