EMHC's please answer

[rivera01]

I became a EMHC today and I am very happy. I mean for me it was the most awesome experience in this life, being able to help the Church in giving the Body and Blood of our Lord the the faithful. Awesome doesnt really describe it. I’ll start off by making this point before I get to the issue at hand. I am not a shy person, nor does standing or speaking in front of people bother me, on the contrary. Usually when I do become nervous, I tend to pace and get a little jittery.

Today something very peculiar happened to me, that I have never experienced before, I was giving the Body of the Lord, and as soon as I picked up the Host and said “Body of Christ”, I felt this shake on the back of my head and felt it all the way to the tips of my right hand fingers. With some people, I felt that it was more intense than others. I really dont know what to think of it, I don’t want to put it in the category of nervousness, since this has never happened to me before, but the again, this may have happened because I was nervous with out knowing. I’ll see if this happens again next Mass.

Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[bpbasilphx]

I would put it under the category of nervousness.

I really doubt it had any spiritual significance.

 

[Debra_C]

I think you were most likely nervous. I would also like to say, I think you should be. This is the body and blood soul and divinity of Christ you are taking responsibility for. Not that you will necessarily be shaking everytime you assist in ditributing Communion, but you should always remain keenly aware of the magnitude of that responsibility.

May God bless you abundantly in your new ministry.

 

[Seatuck]

I’ve never experienced what you experienced with the shaking. I have experienced something else. One time when I went to confession and had probably one of top 3 confessions of my life I served as an EMOHC right after. It seemed to me that the ciboria -all full of hosts were pulsating with light on the altar and in our hands. It’s never happened again but I have on occasion seen a dimmer glowing.

 

[rskempf]

I have been an EMHC for four years. I believe in Eucharistic miracles. I have no reason to doubt that this could be one. I recommend practicing the Sacrament of Penance on the first Saturday of the month and keep a log of these observations.

Unfortunately, at my parish, we have a lot of liturgical abuse going on. I believe this is related to a lack of faith and a lack of obedience to the magisterium of the church. I also believe this is why we are not seeing the same or similar miracles. In any case, I will persevere till opportunities for change present themselves.

Thanks!

 

[EasterJoy]

Nervous or not, it sounds like a private consolation to me…something to be grateful for!

Count it as a gift, like the gift of a particularly beautiful sunrise. Be grateful for it, but not attached to it. Like intense consolations in prayer, it is not something we should come to expect as our due or something we have to have. It is also not something we should make into some evidence of the rightness of our prayer or service. Like spiritual dryness, the absence of this kind of consolation says nothing about the fidelity of what we are doing or not doing. We can get this kind of consolation while very imperfect, while the far more advanced or faithful go without.

 

[rivera01]

Thank you all for your (name removed by moderator)ut. I do see the magnitude of the responsibility that I have now as an EMCH, and even though it was my choice to serve our Church in this way, I have to remind myself that I am not worthy to hold Our Lord. I do this because I do not want to feel vain glory, this is my way of humbling myself before the One that deserves all glory and honor.

I actually served again this past Wednesday, and I am going to have to put this in the category of nervousness. I didnt feel the trembling as much as I did on Sunday. But as it has been pointed out, there is no reason for me not to treat it as a gift since I am reminded of the great responsibility that I have.

 

[EvelynEVF]

I have ministered the Cup for ages, but the one time I was handed a ciborium, it was like an out of body experience, because I actually had to touch Jesus. Over and over and over.

I have since requested that I not be asked to do that again, with the proviso that I will obey and not make a scene if I am accidentally the last one and wind up with the ciborium.

 

[puzzleannie]

it might also be a nerve thing, in the way you held the ciborium or picked up the host, that a nerve in your hand or wrist caused a “shock wave”. I have arthritis and carpal tunnel, and I know that moving my thumb or fingers in certain ways can do that, particular if I am picking something up, even a paper clip or something light. So can holding your hands in a certain position while standing, or a repetive motion like giving the host. If, however it was caused, it gave you a reminder of a spiritual reality, simply take it in that regard, as you would any other natural occurence that points to a spiritual truth (sunset, rainbow etc).