Extraordinary Ministers

[Oruwaith]

Hi, I was wondering, what are the Catholic Church’s current teachings on Extraordinary Ministers?

 

[Nelka]

In what way?

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html

Sections 154 - 160 deal with Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

They are just that, extraordinary, as in they’re not supposed to be used every Sunday.

 

[YoungTradCath]

Not supposed to be used unless absolutely necessary.

 

[juno24]

They are just that, extraordinary, as in they’re not supposed to be used every Sunday.

Actually, “extraordinary” refers to the fact that they are not ordained ministers of the Eucharist. Priests and deacons are Ordinary (that is, ordained) ministers. Lay people are extraordinary ministers (that is, they are outside of the ordained). Although I agree with you that they are not always necessary and should not be used where there is not a pressing need.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

Actually, “extraordinary” refers to the fact that they are not ordained ministers of the Eucharist. Priests and deacons are Ordinary (that is, ordained) ministers. Lay people are extraordinary ministers (that is, they are outside of the ordained). Although I agree with you that they are not always necessary and should not be used where there is not a pressing need.

Thank you for pointing that out. Ordinary ministers perform a function by virtue of their office. Extraordinary ministers perform a function by delegation/permission. The old Roman Ritual used to explicitly state “The ordinary minister of confirmation is the bishop alone. The extraordinary minister is a priest to whom this faculty has been granted…”

While canon law still states that the Bishop is the Ordinary minister of Confirmation I don’t hear complaints of abuse when bishops delegated local priests for the sacrament…

 

[Oruwaith]

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html

Sections 154 - 160 deal with Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

Thank you!

 

[Big_Feet]

The old Roman Ritual used to explicitly state “The ordinary minister of confirmation is the bishop alone. The extraordinary minister is a priest to whom this faculty has been granted…”

While canon law still states that the Bishop is the Ordinary minister of Confirmation I don’t hear complaints of abuse when bishops delegated local priests for the sacrament…

Wow! I never thought of that! Thankyou!!

 

[Kerry77]

How about when 8 women (and yes they are always women) are jumping up on the altar at the Communion? Because if we didn’t have them, Communion might take fifteen minutes instead of 5 minutes. Oh yes, and they will give blessings as well, even though they definitely aren’t supposed to do that.

I can’t imagine why the priesthood isn’t attractive to men anymore.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

How about when 8 women (and yes they are always women) are jumping up on the altar at the Communion? Because if we didn’t have them, Communion might take fifteen minutes instead of 5 minutes. Oh yes, and they will give blessings as well, even though they definitely aren’t supposed to do that.

I can’t imagine why the priesthood isn’t attractive to men anymore.

That has nothing to do with the fact that extraordinary ministers are allowed, and has everything to do with how they are selected and trained in your diocese/parish. Many parishes use extraordinary ministers to assist with communion every Sunday and there are still vocations to the priesthood.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

How about when 8 women (and yes they are always women) are jumping up on the altar at the Communion? Because if we didn’t have them, Communion might take fifteen minutes instead of 5 minutes. Oh yes, and they will give blessings as well, even though they definitely aren’t supposed to do that.

I can’t imagine why the priesthood isn’t attractive to men anymore.

I fail to see why if there were no EMHC that vocations would increase. Not sure there’s a connection there.

However, that aside, perhaps your parish just needs better selection and formation of EMHC.

 

[Kerry77]

That has nothing to do with the fact that extraordinary ministers are allowed, and has everything to do with how they are selected and trained in your diocese/parish. Many parishes use extraordinary ministers to assist with communion every Sunday and there are still vocations to the priesthood.

They are only supposed to be allowed in situations where they are absolutely necessary. If the Communion would only be 15 minutes without them, that doesn’t seem, to me, to be a dire necessity.

 

[puzzleannie]

How about when 8 women (and yes they are always women) are jumping up on the altar at the Communion?

no they are not, not in any place I have worshipped over the last 25 years

it the men of your parish don’t step up to the plate whose fault is that? maybe if they were real men, and not threatened by women, they would be more willing to serve.

the Church permits them, and the situation won’t change unless and until the Church prohibits them. Why are you blaming the women who were asked to serve by their pastor and responded?

 

[Mrs_Sally]

They are only supposed to be allowed in situations where they are absolutely necessary. If the Communion would only be 15 minutes without them, that doesn’t seem, to me, to be a dire necessity.

As I said, this has to do with how EMHCs are selected and trained in your parish/diocese. Ask your pastor about it, but be prepared to be charitable and willing to listen to his answers. There may be room for improvement, but it is not your job to insist upon it.

 

[Filii_Dei]

I can’t imagine why the priesthood isn’t attractive to men anymore.

If men became priests just to distribute communion, they would be very disappointed priests indeed.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

They are only supposed to be allowed in situations where they are absolutely necessary. If the Communion would only be 15 minutes without them, that doesn’t seem, to me, to be a dire necessity.

The qualifying words used by the Church are: “reasons of real necessity” and “when the number of faithful coming to Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged. This, however, is to be understood in such a way that a brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason.”

It does not use words like “dire necessity.”

Secondly, even when warning against using EMHC to avoid “brief prolongation” it still measures the “brief” aspect according to circumstances and culture.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

If parishes only used instituted acolytes to help distribute communion at Mass would we see a similar amount of threads questioning their use and affect on vocations?

 

[Kerry77]

The qualifying words used by the Church are: “reasons of real necessity” and “when the number of faithful coming to Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged. This, however, is to be understood in such a way that a brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason.”

It does not use words like “dire necessity.”

Secondly, even when warning against using EMHC to avoid “brief prolongation” it still measures the “brief” aspect according to circumstances and culture.

Thank you for the correct words. Does reducing the time from 15 minutes to 5 minutes constitute a reason of real necessity? Seems like a brief prolongation to me?

 

[zab]

If parishes only used instituted acolytes to help distribute communion at Mass would we see a similar amount of threads questioning their use and affect on vocations?

We need every opportunity to use our that we can get