Eucharistic Ministers

[jennifer1auren]

I haven’t been to a Novus Ordo Mass in about 8 months but lately, I’ve been thinking about going. Where I live now, there is only one TLM parish and the Mass is said only on Sundays at 9 am. I would like to attend Mass daily but I have had an aversion to the NO for a long time.

One worry I have is about receiving Communion. I’ve never received from a EM and I feel very weird about the idea. I’ve also never received CITH nor have I received standing so I feel strange doing it any other way.

What do you all do when you go to a NO? Do you make sure to receive only from a priest? If you do receive from a EM, have you ever received COTT from them? Have you ever kneeled?

In the past when I have gone to a NO, I made sure to get into the priest’s line for Communion but having to think about which line it is and getting in front of people to get there takes a lot of thinking. It also kinda stresses me especially when I kneel and get back up somewhat ungracefully. I find myself worrying about these things the entire Mass rather than being able to focus on the Mass itself.

Also, there really aren’t any more traditional NO parishes where I am. Most of them are very charismatic, guitars, the whole deal and I feel like I’ll seem like a fish out of water if I veil, kneel, and receive COTT.

Any advice?

 

[Student09]

Good for you for wanting to attend daily Mass!

BTW, I think the term you want is “Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion” or EMHC’s. “Eucharistic minister” would be a priest.

I attend the NO/OF Mass on weekdays and sometimes on Sundays. I do try always to receive from the priest. This is easier to arrange at some parishes than others - for instance there seem to be a number of parishes that like to switch around where the priest goes and where the EMHC goes, almost as if they were trying to make it hard for anyone who might want only to receive from the priest.

Most commonly I go to Mass at a monastery where everyone receives Holy Communion on the tongue from one priest and they use patens. I had a deacon drop the Eucharist once and so I am terrified of receiving without a paten now.

Another thing I was just thinking about today - it’s very frustrating for me that so often, around here at least, the EMHC is a woman who is SHORT. Now, I have nothing against short people, but I am fairly tall, and do you know how difficult it is to receive Communion on the tongue - standing - from someone who is almost two feet shorter than you are? Sometimes these women have a look of extreme anxiety on their faces as I approach them, when they see that my hand isn’t out. Of course, this height issue could be solved by kneeling, which I have thought of doing; but then my fear is that they wouldn’t be expecting that and would do something strange and drop the Host. Argh!

There is one young woman who attends daily Mass at my parish, who always kneels to receive. Several people wear veils. I wear scarves and hats.

So anyway … it’s not necessarily easy. BUT, I do encourage you to try some OF parishes. Chances are you will find one that is reverent *enough *that you can live with it. (Also there are generally no guitars at a daily Mass.) Don’t let a distaste for the form of the Mass or for receiving from EMHC’s keep you away from JESUS! Yes it will not be a perfect experience - but in spite of all the flaws, He will change your life if you go to Him every day.

 

[jennifer1auren]

Good for you for wanting to attend daily Mass!

BTW, I think the term you want is “Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion” or EMHC’s. “Eucharistic minister” would be a priest.

I attend the NO/OF Mass on weekdays and sometimes on Sundays. I do try always to receive from the priest. This is easier to arrange at some parishes than others - for instance there seem to be a number of parishes that like to switch around where the priest goes and where the EMHC goes, almost as if they were trying to make it hard for anyone who might want only to receive from the priest.

Most commonly I go to Mass at a monastery where everyone receives Holy Communion on the tongue from one priest and they use patens. I had a deacon drop the Eucharist once and so I am terrified of receiving without a paten now, especially when it’s from an EMHC.

Another thing I was just thinking about today - it’s very frustrating for me that so often, around here at least, the EMHC is a woman who is SHORT. Now, I have nothing against short people, but I am fairly tall, and do you know how difficult it is to receive Communion on the tongue - standing - from someone who is almost two feet shorter than you are? Sometimes these women have a look of extreme anxiety on their faces as I approach them, when they see that my hand isn’t out. Of course, this height issue could be solved by kneeling, which I have thought of doing; but then my fear is that they wouldn’t be expecting that and would do something strange and drop the Host. Argh!

So … it’s not necessarily easy. BUT, I do encourage you to try some OF parishes. Chances are you will find one that is reverent enough that you can live with it. Don’t let a distaste for the form of the Mass or for receiving from EMHC’s keep you away from JESUS! Yes it will not be a perfect experience - but in spite of all the flaws, He will change your life if you go to Him every day.

Yes, EMHC is what I’m looking for. I thought it might be weird to receive on the tongue from EMHCs but that’s probably just because I’ve never seen it.

I definitely feel like God is telling me attend Mass more frequently but I’m so caught up with all the things I listed above that I find excuses not to go.

I’m tall too, especially for a girl, so I hope whoever I receive from isn’t too short lol.

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

 

[Student09]

I definitely feel like God is telling me attend Mass more frequently but I’m so caught up with all the things I listed above that I find excuses not to go.

I totally understand. I feel very frustrated sometimes. Remember that when you encounter crazy and obnoxious things, you can always offer the suffering that comes from that to Jesus, and pray in reparation. God bless you.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

When someone complained about this or that priest and wanted to avoid his masses, my father always said: When you reach the Judgment God isn’t going to ask you Who said the mass? He is going to ask *Were you there? *I think the same applies to OF and EF.

 

[laszlo]

Receive the Communion kneeling where everybody stands may be a problem.

To receive to tongue is quite regular, and either the priest or a lay minister will do that.

As for the lay minister, if Jesus Christ emptied Himself to be present in a piece of bread, than related to that it is minor step down to being distributed by a lay person.

I myself attend New rite Mass regularly where only priests (or transitional acolytes) distribute the communion, and receive it always kneeling and to my tongue, but is someone is not so fortunate, imho Jesus Christ is more important than the form of how to receive it.

 

[Brendan]

Yes, EMHC is what I’m looking for. I thought it might be weird to receive on the tongue from EMHCs but that’s probably just because I’ve never seen it.

That happens all the time at our parish. Communion on the tongue (at the communion rail) is standard in our parish, at both the EF and the OF Masses ( we have both).

But then again, the only EMHC’s we use are the parish seminarians when they are home for the weekend, and a Chaldean Subdeacon who attends our parish.

Otherwise, it is the celebrant priest and one of our deacons.

 

[jennifer1auren]

That happens all the time at our parish. Communion on the tongue (at the communion rail) is standard in our parish, at both the EF and the OF Masses ( we have both).

But then again, the only EMHC’s we use are the parish seminarians when they are home for the weekend, and a Chaldean Subdeacon who attends our parish.

Otherwise, it is the celebrant priest and one of our deacons.

There aren’t Communion rails here and it would just be lay people (mostly women) distributing Communion.

 

[jennifer1auren]

When someone complained about this or that priest and wanted to avoid his masses, my father always said: When you reach the Judgment God isn’t going to ask you Who said the mass? He is going to ask *Were you there? *

That’s a good point!

 

[uxordepp]

There aren’t Communion rails here and it would just be lay people (mostly women) distributing Communion.

Whoa! This is an abuse.

Except in extraordinary circumstances, such as the infirmity of the priest, he should always be distributing the Eucharist, even if he is being assisted by a deacon (who is also an ordinary minister of Communion) or lay-people.

 

[Bbigam]

Many parishes that have awful music at Sunday Mass have no music or very little music at daily Mass and so they end up at least seeming more reverent. It also seems that daily Mass-goers tend to be more reverent than average.

The exception could of course be a school Mass. I tend to avoid those… they often have awful music, although it’s pretty cool to see if all the kids kneel properly and all.

Daily Mass is also much less likely to have EMHCs - or they might just have one or two for the Chalice. The most I’ve seen at a regular (non-school) daily Mass is Priest and one EMHC for the Hosts, and 2 EMHCs for the Chalices. It’s easy even in this case to slip into the priest’s line if you sat on the wrong side. I’ve done that. It helps to sit toward the back.

I’ve managed to never receive the Host from an EMHC so far, and I go to Mass nearly every day. I’ve also always received on the tongue and the worst I’ve seen is mild surprise, and rarely that. However, I don’t kneel to receive except where that’s the norm - which around here is just the FSSP community with the Extraordinary Form.

 

[MarkThompson]

There aren’t Communion rails here and it would just be lay people (mostly women) distributing Communion.

Maybe it’s different in Miami, but wherever I’ve lived weekday Masses bear little in common with Sunday Masses. I’d generally expect to see a congregation amounting to a dozen or so retired people, so maybe there would be an EMHC to hold the chalice, but not fifteen other people. I would also expect no music at all, no guitars, organ, or anything else. Do you have big crowds showing up for average weekday Masses or something?

 

[Student09]

Maybe it’s different in Miami, but wherever I’ve lived weekday Masses bear little in common with Sunday Masses. I’d generally expect to see a congregation amounting to a dozen or so retired people, so maybe there would be an EMHC to hold the chalice, but not fifteen other people. I would also expect no music at all, no guitars, organ, or anything else. Do you have big crowds showing up for average weekday Masses or something?

Wow - only a dozen? Around here it is common for there to be anywhere from thirty to a hundred people at a weekday Mass, regardless of which parish you go to.

However, there is usually no music - or maybe some singing or chanting but no instruments.

 

[Ohiomom]

One worry I have is about receiving Communion. I’ve never received from a EM and I feel very weird about the idea. I’ve also never received CITH nor have I received standing so I feel strange doing it any other way.

As others have said daily mass is generally different and it also may differ if you are going to the early am mass (ie most parish’s around here have a 6:30am or 7am mass then a 8:30 or 9am mass. At the mass I usually attend at 6:30am there are never any emhc and there are usually about 30 people. There is no communion rail so we do have to stand, but I wear my chapel veil and I always receive on the tongue. The 9am mass at that church is more crowded (homeschoolers and people that don’t have to to to work) and they usually offer communion under both species, but father always stands to the right so I always sit on the right side.

There is another parish I attend on the days the parish above does not have 6:30am mass and they use emhc and offer under both species. I am not that tall, but a couple of the emhc’s are really short so if I have to switch sides I will.

What do you all do when you go to a NO? Do you make sure to receive only from a priest? If you do receive from a EM, have you ever received COTT from them? Have you ever kneeled?

I try to always receive from the priest. My former parish in Ohio had a communion rail and priests along with altar boys with a paten gave communion and this was N.O., so I don’t do cith.

Also, there really aren’t any more traditional NO parishes where I am. Most of them are very charismatic, guitars, the whole deal and I feel like I’ll seem like a fish out of water if I veil, kneel, and receive COTT.

Veil & receive on the tongue, I would say pass on the kneeling since there is no communion rail.

 

[Dymphna82]

I’ve never seen a communion rail before Not even 20 years ago. Both churches I’ve been o lately have the priest give out communion wafers, and several people giving out the wafers and wine. I tend to go on the other people instead of the priest because I notice their lines are always shorter and I feel kind of sorry for them. Maybe it’s not a good idea?

I took communion wafer in the mouth once when I was a kid and I didn’t like it. Having anyone’s hands near my mouth bothers me.

I’d like to be more traditional though.

My mom’s friend is an extraordinary minister, but I was always under the impression that they brought the eucharist to the homes of people who were too ill to come to mass.

 

[Student09]

I’ve never seen a communion rail before Not even 20 years ago. Both churches I’ve been o lately have the priest give out communion wafers, and several people giving out the wafers and wine.

You mean they were distributing the consecrated Hosts and the Precious Blood.