extraordinary ministers every Sunday?

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I see one way around this problem:

A stern warning from the pulpit that you may not receive Communion if you are in a state of mortal sin and an explanation of what an examination of conscience is. Quote Jesus’ statement about ‘eating judgment on yourself’ and remark on the great lengths of the Communion queue and the shortness of the lines for Confession the day before.

There’s nothing extraordinary about EMHCs any more. They are quite normal. Like you’ve got to have them, even if there’s a small congregation.
 
It’s easy to not even notice the inconsequentials and the trivials when we focus on Who rather than whom.

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thistle said:
Our parish has 14,000 people. There is an 80% Mass attendance. We have 10 Masses every Sunday to accommodate everyone. EMHC’s are required. Without them it would not work unless Communion was not allowed.
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It would be nice if the subdiaconate were restored.
 
RogerDeCourcy said:
I see one way around this problem:

A stern warning from the pulpit that you may not receive Communion if you are in a state of mortal sin and an explanation of what an examination of conscience is. Quote Jesus’ statement about ‘eating judgment on yourself’ and remark on the great lengths of the Communion queue and the shortness of the lines for Confession the day before.
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Good point. Until I began attending the EF, I knew very few Catholics who thought twice about receiving at every Mass. I give them the benefit of the doubt that they were in a state of grace, but it’s still a serious problem because looking at my own life and the world we live in, I know betting odds are that often they are not.
 
RogerDeCourcy said:
I see one way around this problem:

A stern warning from the pulpit that you may not receive Communion if you are in a state of mortal sin and an explanation of what an examination of conscience is. Quote Jesus’ statement about ‘eating judgment on yourself’ and remark on the great lengths of the Communion queue and the shortness of the lines for Confession the day before.

There’s nothing extraordinary about EMHCs any more. They are quite normal. Like you’ve got to have them, even if there’s a small congregation.
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In the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which was written in the 4th century AD, the prayers prior to receiving Communion speak of forgiveness of sins when receiving. These prayers are found both in the prayers of the laity and the prayers of the clergy prior to receiving. So ancient theology suggests that sin is not an impediment and that Christ who is in the Eucharist forgives sin of those who receive.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Who said Mass attendance before was higher? Philippine population is exploding. Even if the percentage of Catholics vs. the entire population is lower, population growth is high.
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Mass attendance is around 25% currently as opposed to 75% or so 60 years ago.
 
ConstantineTG said:
In the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which was written in the 4th century AD, the prayers prior to receiving Communion speak of forgiveness of sins when receiving. These prayers are found both in the prayers of the laity and the prayers of the clergy prior to receiving. So ancient theology suggests that sin is not an impediment and that Christ who is in the Eucharist forgives sin of those who receive.
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That’s great, TG and we have similar prayers in the Roman Rite but the Church says we must discern the state of our soul before receiving Holy Communion and that grave sin is indeed an impediment to receiving, as St. Paul suggested in Corinthians 10. We can’t ignore the Church because of how we read an ancient prayer.
 
buffalo said:
Mass attendance is around 25% currently as opposed to 75% or so 60 years ago.
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We’re talking about the Philippines here. Where did you get your statistics? Because our parishes are pretty full, more than I remember they were when I was a child.
 
What’s the excuse for using an EMHC at Masses during the week when the congregation is small and there is no Mass following? The employment of lay ministers has become routine at all Masses, in clear violation of the rules.
 
Back to the topic; I noticed, while preparing things for our monthly EF Mass that there was a notice in the Sacristy for Sacristans that the priest would be the only one distributing the Body and only two EMHC would be needed for the chalice from this point forward.

Pleasantly pleased!! 🙂
 
I realize that Rome authorized EMHC’s but isn’t it clear to anyone else, besides me that the firmness of the very name designates it as an extraordinary circumstancial position? I fully realize that it’s up to individual bishops but, and as side topic to this OP, why are so many bishops seemingly progressive on this stance?:confused:
 
This may be suitable for a different thread, but since you bring it up here, and you are the OP, I will bring it up.

I have heard this argument against EMHC before, mostly from people who have an affinity for the EF form of the Mass.

How come the word “extraordinary” seems to mean different things in these 2 cases?
PeterJohn said:
I realize that Rome authorized EMHC’s but isn’t it clear to anyone else, besides me that the firmness of the very name designates it as an extraordinary circumstancial position? I fully realize that it’s up to individual bishops but, and as side topic to this OP, why are so many bishops seemingly progressive on this stance?:confused:
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PeterJohn said:
I realize that Rome authorized EMHC’s but isn’t it clear to anyone else, besides me that the firmness of the very name designates it as an extraordinary circumstancial position? I fully realize that it’s up to individual bishops but, and as side topic to this OP, why are so many bishops seemingly progressive on this stance?:confused:
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Bishops are not clones. Each is led in a different way to deal with the different problems of different dioceses, of which no two are exactly alike. Don’t you think that calling a Bishop, who uses EMHC’s, ‘seemingly progressive’ is a bit harsh? Isn’t it more likely that the problem is more in your perception then in the Bishop? Couldn’t we all do a better job of being Catholic?
 
PeterJohn said:
I realize that Rome authorized EMHC’s but isn’t it clear to anyone else, besides me that the firmness of the very name designates it as an extraordinary circumstancial position? I fully realize that it’s up to individual bishops but, and as side topic to this OP, why are so many bishops seemingly progressive on this stance?:confused:
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Sometimes there are circumstances where they are always going to be used. My parish receives under both species. We have one priest…that’s it. You do the math…

On the plus side…we are getting a transistional deacon in the fall however I’m not sure he will be at every Mass. But that is only for a year…and then we go back to just one priest again.

Especially on Sundays that ain’t going to work to have just one. Our poor priest is worn out as it is…but I know a lot of people that like to think that they know exactly what the priest goes through…they do not…
 
PeterJohn said:
I’m simply seeking advice for my parish. We have one priest, one deacon, and 3 masses a sunday with a parish of about 400 were 50% attend. Should we be using extraordinary ministers?
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That’s a question you should ask your pastor.
 
thistle said:
Where is Mass attendance 25%? In the Philippines it averages 80%.
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Most western countries, In some places it is lower than that. I believe in France and Belgium it runs at about 12% or so. My Parish is above average in attendance from what I’ve seen and we never have more than maybe 30-40% except at Easter and Christmas. Daily masses are much smaller with usually about 15-25 people in attendance, one Species offered with at least one and usually two Extraordinary Ministers assisting the Priest, a man of about 40 with no disablilites, with the distribution.
 
Last I checked, the Traditional Catholicism forum was for “Discussion of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Catholic Rite” (it’s on the home page of the forum).

Since EM of Holy Communion are not allowed in the EF, there doesn’t seem to be much point for this discussion to happen in this forum.
 
If only the Extraordinary Form were as common as extraordinary ministers!
 
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