Eucharist - did we do something wrong?

[Catholic90]

puzzleannie:

In any case, a lay person cannot give a blessing, only the priest or deacon…

Says who??

Lay people often offer blessings. I bless my children.

 

[rcn]

Catholic90:

Lay people often offer blessings. I bless my children.

Only priests or deacons, who are ordained, may give a blessing *in the name of the church. *And that is the confusion over these “communion-line blessings” - just exactly what type of blessing is it, and what value if any is it supposed to have?

 

[chicago]

Catholic90:

chicago:

A lay person can’t give such a blessing and shouldn’t attempt a quasi-personal blessing.

Mmmmmm, yes they can.

Any lay person can say “God bless you” to any other person.

What I mean to say is that a lay person can not offer a blessing in the same way a priest can. Or even the same way in which a parent can bless their children. In the context of the communion line at Mass, then, it really ought to be avoided so as not to cause any sort of confusion. It isn’t any sort of formal approved rite in the Church even for the priest to offer his blessing at this point. He has absolutely no obligation to do it and could quite legitimately just stand there and stare you down or ask you to move along if he wished. Much less, then, should a lay minister of communion attempt to offer their formal blessing at this time.

 

[chicago]

carol marie:

Just wanted to add something that I think is interesting… there’s another thread going about what to do with your purse when you go up for Communion. Some said leave it in the pew but MOST said that’s not a good idea because there have been purses stolen and it didn’t matter if it was in a “bad neighborhood” or a quiet suburb. If a thief sees an oportunity he’ll take it. So let me get this straight… purse, bring with me… small children, leave behind???

Personally, I’d probably use the same criteria for children and purses or briefcases or what have you in deciding whether to leave them and drag them along. If anything, I’d be more careless with the belongings than the kids.

That said, if one chooses to bring their kids up along with them when they go to communion, that does not necessarily mean that they should expect a blessing. If a priest voluntarily chooses to do it, great! If not, no big deal. A blessing should not be expected or sought from an EMHC.

 

[TobyLue]

Some priests don’t do the blessing thing, anyway. If you want to ask your priest about it and see whether he welcomes the practice first, that would be a good idea. **A lay person can’t give such a blessing and shouldn’t attempt a quasi-personal blessing. **If you feel comfortable leaving the kids at the pew, that’s fine too. There’s no obligation to bring them up with you. It’s a kind gesture of the priest if he’s willing, but it’s not required and nobody ought to pressure you into it.

The highlighted part is true. As has been mentioned, it is not necessary for those not receiving communion to join the communion line. I can understand a little child accompanying one of the parents. At this point the EMHC can simply say to the child or person “May the Lord Bless you” Besides in those mega-churches why add to the delay of the mass by having everybody and their bodyguard go up if they are not going to receive our Lord. They should instead say the spiritual communion prayer.

 

[OhioBob]

I’m not opposed to priests blessing young children that come along with their parents in the Communion line. Our priest does it, but he doesn’t promote it.

What I don’t understand is exactly when the Communion line was redefined as the “blessing line”.

Isn’t the purpose of communion to receive the body and blood of our Lord in communion with His Church? If you are not seeking the Blessed Sacrament, why would you get in the line in the first place? Because everyone else is and you don’t want to be left behind?

I suppose if you entered the line to receive Communion and during the process of walking up you realized that you were not properly disposed, then you might cross your arms and pass the sacrament by. But to enter the line just for a “blessing” with no intention of receiving Communion seems to be a case of “modifying” the Mass on our own authority.

It doesn’t make any sense to me… but I’m easily befuddled…

 

[carol_marie]

What does EMHC stand for?? I can’t crack the code.

 

[Affirmed]

Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

Usually incorrectly referred to (even by a priest at my local parish) as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. There’s no such thing. Only a priest is a minister of the Eucharist.

 

[Kielbasi]

Only a priest is a minister of the Eucharist.

That’s true, but sometimes the laymen and laywomen are Eucharistic Ministers, so its more a matter of semantics than a real distinction.

Just google “Eucharistic Ministers” and parish, you’ll find that large numbers of Catholic parishes worldwide have lay Eucharistic Ministers, but not lay Ministers of the Eucharist.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

De Maria:

Please provide the reference for this statement. If you were correct, then lay people couldn’t end their messages with the words, God Bless you. Nor could anyone say that to those who sneeze.

So please provide the Church document that forbids us laypeople from bestowing blessings on anyone. Because laypeople give blessings all the time.

I would venture to say that only those Catholics who do not take their calling seriously of a Royal Priesthood, a holy nation
would not bestow their blessings upon anyone.

Sincerely,

De Maria

From the Roman Ritual:
PART XI. BLESSINGS AND OTHER SACRAMENTALS

CHAPTER I: GENERAL RULES CONCERNING BLESSINGS

1. Any priest may confer the blessings of the Church, except
   those reserved to the Pope, to bishops, or to others.

A reserved blessing which is conferred by a priest who does not
have the required delegation is valid, but illicit, unless the
Holy See has declared otherwise in the reservation.

Deacons and lectors can give validly and licitly only those
blessings expressly allowed by law.
ewtn.com/library/PRAYER/ROMAN2.TXT

The introduction to the text also covers how one of the functions of those in orders is to confer blessings in the name of the Church.

While laypeople may always pray to God that he might bless others, only those in some form of orders may actually confer a blessing on (i.e., bless) persons and objects. As someone mentioned earlier, the question arises as to what is actually meant when an EMHC “blesses” someone, or even whether the action of the priest, since it is not an official blessing of the Church, is intended to have the same sort of efficacy as blessings properly called. I agree with the posters who concede that laypeople may ask God to bless someone but should not do so within the context of a liturgy because of the risk of blurring the roles of ordained and lay faithful, the “clericalization” of the laity.

 

[pnewton]

While in many areas there are things that only the ordained may do and in some casesonly priest may do (like consecrate host), God makes no distinction in prayer. I would just as doon ther were enough priest so that this was a non-issue, but the scripture clearly states that is the effectual, fervant prayer of the righteous,not the ordained, that availeth much.

A lay person may never bring the power and authority of the keys, i.e. the Church to bear, but the greatest answer to prayer I have know in my life have been where prayer is joined with holy people (not ordained, but religious) and not the clergy.

Let us never blur the live of the clergy, but prayer is not that line. If it makes everyone more compfortable to say that these lay people pray over the children instead of bless them, then I could care less as to the semantics, as much as the substance.

 

[chicago]

pnewton:

Let us never blur the live of the clergy, but prayer is not that line. If it makes everyone more compfortable to say that these lay people pray over the children instead of bless them, then I could care less as to the semantics, as much as the substance.

Again, part of the question is merely one of whether it is an appropriate action during the liturgy. I might not take issue at all if this were just some prayer meeting where people were praying for each other, including children. But at the Mass, we are doing something unique in publically defined worship and, therefore, have to be careful about what message we are communicating by our actions. For in those actions are substance. Lex orandi, lex credendi.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

chicago:

Again, part of the question is merely one of whether it is an appropriate action during the liturgy. I might not take issue at all if this were just some prayer meeting where people were praying for each other, including children. But at the Mass, we are doing something unique in publically defined worship and, therefore, have to be careful about what message we are communicating by our actions. For in those actions are substance. Lex orandi, lex credendi.

I couldn’t agree more. The liturgy is the last place one wants to introduce ambiguity because ritual action is so intimately linked to our belief.

 

[puzzleannie]

MooCowSteph:

I did a quick google search, and it doesn’t seem to be illicit for the EMHC to give a blessing. At my church, many children approah with the arms across their chest, and the EMsHC trace the sign of the cross on their forhead and say “May God Bless You”. Steph

I would certainly prefer that those distributing communion refrain from touching people on the forehead or anyplace else with their fingers before they communicate me. there is no provision in the Communion Rite for any such blessing so it should not be done.

people who cannot receive communion for whatever reason should remain in the pews and unite their prayers with those of the communicants, and parents should properly instruct their children on the nature of the Eucharist and why there must be proper preparation and disposition to partake in the sacrament.

A lay person who has been delegated and commissioned to distribute holy communion did not receive with that commission the right to give a blessing, which in the context of Mass would be a liturgical action. This has nothing whatever to do with parents blessing their children, or saying God bless you after a sneeze, it has to do with liturgical actions which properly belong to the ordained. The lay minister here may do what he is commissioned to do and nothing else. If he was commissioned to take communion to the sick, there is a rite that applies to that situation as well, and it should be adhered to.

 

[msproule]

Kielbasi:

That’s true, but sometimes the laymen and laywomen are Eucharistic Ministers, so its more a matter of semantics than a real distinction.

Just google “Eucharistic Ministers” and parish, you’ll find that large numbers of Catholic parishes worldwide have lay Eucharistic Ministers, but not lay Ministers of the Eucharist.

I do not want to get too far off subject, but the only term allowed for a non-ordained person who distributes Holy Communion is Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. The following titles are not to be used:

Eucharistic Minister
Lay Minister of the Eucharist
Minister of the Eucharist
(And anything else that is not EMHC)

The key word is extraordinary.

 

[annemjones96]

“I don’t think we are talking about infants/toddlers who will cry. A 4-6 yr old should be able to sit quietly for 3-5 minutes without feeling abandoned. If not the parents haven’t explained what is going very well to them.”

Would you leave a 4 or 7 year old with an autism spectrum sidorder in a pew alone? they are not of below average intelligence, but there are other factors to look at. They both have problems with social skills and they both have sensory issues. They would probably freak out more than if I left my 2 year old in the pew. My 7 year old has a very good understanding of what is going on. I still could’t leave him in the pew. Esp if other people had to walk past him to get back into the pew.

“Personally, I’d probably use the same criteria for children and purses or briefcases or what have you in deciding whether to leave them and drag them along. If anything, I’d be more careless with the belongings than the kids.”

I would take this into consideration as well. There is not a place that I feel I can leave my children alone. It only takes a second.

 

[msproule]

Affirmed:

…the point was also made about shifting around to recieve from the priest. If Holy Mother Church has allowed for the reception of Holy Communion from an EMHC, what makes you think you know better? I don’t particularly like having them either, but unless more young men start enterring the seminary, we have to deal with them. They are performing their duty as they believe they have been called, and I don’t understand why some people think that by passing up Christ in the hand of a layperson they are somehow doing him a favor. I don’t get it.

So often EMHC are used when there is no true need for them, or at least for so many of them. The Church has emphasized this time and time again, yet still we see too many EMHC utilized for the sake of getting out of Mass a few minutes earlier. (The only other reason I see for so many EMHC is the awkward design of contemporary church buildings).

I refer you to paragraphs 156-158 in Chapter VII of Redemptionis Sacramentum.
vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html#Chapter%20VII

For these reasons I see no problem with wishing to receive Holy Communion from the priest or other ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (Deacon, Bishop, etc.)

 

[Affirmed]

I abolutely agree that there are far too many of these people! And given the choice, I would prefer not to have them at all. BUT It isn’t their fault, they are doing what they think they are supposed to be doing. It is the priests and the deacons, and even the bishop who should be making sure these people are not used unless it is absolutely necessary. What I am saying is that slighting these people does not, and will not solve the problem. And yes, I know it isn’t a personal attack on the EMHC, but if you have a problem with the number of lay people being used, speak with the priest after Mass, that’ll work so much better than jumping from line to line.

 

[msproule]

Good point, Affirmed. I agree that the concern should be brought to the priest’s attention.

I should point out that I only “jump line” if it is not going to be disruptive to people moving in a different direction, or if the priest’s line is shorter than the others. Surprisingly, the latter happens quite often.