Eucharist delivery for the homebound

[stoplooklisten]

More than one bishop has cancelled Catholic mass including Sunday mass due to the coronavirus crisis.

Question: Would it not be suitable to have Eucharist delivery continue for the sick and homebound and to have it be expanded to reach many more who are now similarly restricted from attending mass?

 

[InThePew]

Would it not be suitable to have Eucharist delivery continue for the sick and homebound and to have it be expanded to reach many more who are now similarly restricted from attending mass?

I don’t believe any guidance has said that it shouldn’t continue for those who need it the most. Indeed Pope Francis has said that priests should have the courage to go out to the sick to bring the strength of God’s word and the Eucharist showing solidarity with the work health workers and volunteers are doing.

However, it wouldn’t be practical to take communion to everyone who is restricted from attending mass - even those in self-isolation who have not tested positive - because this could easily be entire parishes. So some degree of triage is necessary in order to ensure that those most in need aren’t neglected.

 

[stoplooklisten]

If mass is canceled, why should only the sick be eligible for partaking of the Eucharist at home?

 

[InThePew]

It’s not a question of being eligible but rather one of greatest need.

 

[otjm]

And how is one to deal with a 1,000 family parish, let alone a 3,000 family parish? The logistics alone answer the question.

 

[stoplooklisten]

Rather than having it delivered, could not people go to their parish not for Mass but to pick up the food of the Eucharist?

 

[InThePew]

They could but that would of course defeat the whole purpose of cancelling mass in the first place! It’s also not simply a matter of showing up and receiving from the priest/minister like they’re some sort of human vending machine, except in cases of extreme urgency respect for the sacrament (as well as common courtesy) requires proper prayer and spiritual preparation.

 

[Usige]

That is an impoverished understanding of the relationship between the Mass and Eucharist.

We receive the Eucharist as a gift, but are also to be feed on the word of God. Of the two, hearing the word of God and being joined to the eternal moment on Calvary during the Mass is much more important than receiving the Eucharist. It is why we are normally obligated to attend mass weekly, but only obliged to receive the Eucharist once a year.

 

[Gorgias]

Question: Would it not be suitable to have Eucharist delivery continue for the sick and homebound and to have it be expanded to reach many more who are now similarly restricted from attending mass?

My parish has temporarily suspended all communion calls, partially because of restrictions at local hospitals and retirement homes / other communities, but also because risks are involved from having EMHCs access hosts in the tabernacle and from having them travel from house to house. Moreover, since we’re talking about bringing communion to those at greatest risk (i.e., the “immunocompromised”), we’re really talking about contact that might well increase the risk!

(And, of course, @InThePew has already pointed out that the numbers preclude parish priests from being able to handle the load themselves.)

Indeed Pope Francis has said that priests should have the courage to go out to the sick to bring the strength of God’s word and the Eucharist showing solidarity with the work health workers and volunteers are doing.

We were talking about this dynamic today in the office. Among the “scarce resources” in a parish, priests are generally the most scarce. If a priest “goes down” to COVID, and has to self-quarantine until he’s healthy again, then he’s just decreased the amount of priestly ministry being performed in his parish. How does one responsibly decide between “being courageous and going out among the ill” and “risking taking himself out of ministry” (or even becoming a sort of “Typhoid Mary” himself)?