Guardians at Communion line?

[Mayo]

Hello and God bless you all

I am an Usher at my church and I do stand up at the front of the Communion line. The reason it is done is to make sure that the people do put the SACRED HOST in their Muoth before they leave the front of the Alter.

There have been instances where the Host was found inside the Books in the Phew and I saw where it was on the table in the Foyer of the Church. We try to stop this behaviour as it is total disrespest for our Divine Lord.

It happens mostly with young children who may not be paying proper attention and or people who rarely come to Mass.

We do not have a seperate name. We are just Ushers who do this for the love of Our Lord and to try and make sure that God is shown the utmost respect.

As for how many Parishes do it I do not know. I have been to a lot of churches in my lifetime and this is the first one where I have seen it done.

As far as I know it was started by one of our late Pastors and carried on by all the others since.

I hope this helps answer some of your Question.

Mayo.

 

[cecilia97]

Hello and God bless you all

I am an Usher at my church and I do stand up at the front of the Communion line. The reason it is done is to make sure that the people do put the SACRED HOST in their Muoth before they leave the front of the Alter.

There have been instances where the Host was found inside the Books in the Phew and I saw where it was on the table in the Foyer of the Church. We try to stop this behaviour as it is total disrespest for our Divine Lord.

It happens mostly with young children who may not be paying proper attention and or people who rarely come to Mass.

We do not have a seperate name. We are just Ushers who do this for the love of Our Lord and to try and make sure that God is shown the utmost respect.

As for how many Parishes do it I do not know. I have been to a lot of churches in my lifetime and this is the first one where I have seen it done.

As far as I know it was started by one of our late Pastors and carried on by all the others since.

I hope this helps answer some of your Question.

Mayo.

Thanks, Mayo…it’s great to hear from someone who does this themselves!

This thread has left me with more questions, especially since we have a large Catholic population here and I’ve never seen the practice at any other church, even another parish right up the road. I do feel our parish tends to take the sacredness of the Blessed Eucharist more seriously than that other parish, however.

Thanks to all for the thoughts and info…and especially the folks out there who perform this important service!

 

[fierysword1920]

I_believe you are right. I believe that I am not worthy to handle the Body of Christ and that really only the Priest should handle him. I am not for Eucharistic ministers except extremely exigent circumstances and special time restraints.

 

[cecilia97]

Well, I finally had the chance to ask about this. Sadly, our region does have some satanic activity and that is part of the reason this is done. Also, Father says that when he first came to our parish, he would indeed find pieces of Host on the floor near the pews after Mass! I never imagined that would really happen. I guess I’m naive.

 

[CatholicCajun]

We had a lady at our church notice a young person just playing with the host after Communion and she told her to either comsume it now or give it to her to consume. There are many abuses that goes on in our churches, that’s why I pray a prayer of Reparation every day. God Bless.

 

[jmcrae]

We had a lady at our church notice a young person just playing with the host after Communion and she told her to either comsume it now or give it to her to consume. There are many abuses that goes on in our churches, that’s why I pray a prayer of Reparation every day. God Bless.

Thank you for your prayers.

 

[benedictgal]

Hey y’all,

I’ve been at my present parish for about a year now and never gotten around to asking this question. Not at every Mass, but frequently, we will have gentlemen standing next to the priest or EMHC at the head of the line, watching that the Hosts are recieved/consumed properly. Usually they’re the same men who serve as ushers.

We also have altar servers with a paten at each line. Our pastor has instructed us to make sure to recieve the Host over the paten and not to walk off while popping it into our mouth.

Our parish seems (to me) to have a great level or reverence for the Eucharist, I believe in part because we’re blessed with perpertual Adoration.

My questions are:

1. what are these guys called? I would say Eucharistic Guardians but that’s actually the term we use for scheduled Adorerers in the chapel.
2. why are they only doing this duty some of the time and not at every Mass? We have ushers at every Mass?
3. how common is this? I’ve never seen it before in 30 years.
4. are they mainly there to watch for falling hosts, or to watch for anyone trying to walk off with a host for improper reasons?

Thanks! I do have a meeting with my pastor for other reasons next week and can ask him or someone at Adoration, but I wanted to get a range of answers here if I could, especially to find out how common this is!

The reason you listed in your post is indeed a most valid one. Now, when I read your OP, I thought of an entirely different scenario that perhaps y’all may not have realized.

My dad is a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus. When they have their tails and feathers, one member stands beside the deacon/priest/bishop as Holy Communion is being distributed. Call it standing watch. In the event EHMC’s are present (and, if there are sufficient Knights), a member will stand by each as well.

My dad has done this on numerous occasions. Just thought I’d give you a different spin on things.

 

[Godi]

Well, I finally had the chance to ask about this. Sadly, our region does have some satanic activity and that is part of the reason this is done. Also, Father says that when he first came to our parish, he would indeed find pieces of Host on the floor near the pews after Mass! I never imagined that would really happen. I guess I’m naive.

In a Parish I was at several years ago, a host was found stuck to the bottom of a pew.

 

[THurifer2]

I have heard of hosts being placed between the pages of the Hymnals…(yikes)

I witnessed a lady pocket the host…at the time I was an EMHC…I chased her down…I knew the lady but and she had alzheimers…I asked her husband to fish it out of her pocket…Of course I was kind and gentle this whole time…I also did it in the back of the church…no one noticed…I felt very sorry for her and her husband…no malice was intended…A

Approach in such matters is essential

 

[Nechasin]

I had noticed this when I went to a different parish for Mass on Ash Wednesday. I think it was fantastic and am going to ask about starting it my home parish because I really think it helps to show the reverence for the Eucharist.

On a side note, my pastor from my college Church told a story how someone told him that someone did not consume the Eucharist. The pastor knew the individual and went to his apartment and to ask him about it. The person said that he keeps the Host to prove to his mother that the has been going to Church. The person had a whole stack of Host sitting on the bookshelf. Father grabbed the Host and consumed them right there. He also todl the person that his mother could come talk to him and he would vouch for his Church attendance.

 

[tee_eff_em]

On a side note, my pastor from my college Church told a story how someone told him that someone did not consume the Eucharist. The pastor knew the individual and went to his apartment and to ask him about it. The person said that he keeps the Host to prove to his mother that the has been going to Church. The person had a whole stack of Host sitting on the bookshelf. Father grabbed the Host and consumed them right there. He also todl the person that his mother could come talk to him and he would vouch for his Church attendance.

Well that’s just silly – Everyone knows the church bulletin is your receipt, proving you have attended Mass…

[We now return to serious discussion of a serious subject]

tee

 

[MarieVeronica]

I think it’s a wonderful idea, although… I have not (yet?) noticed it in my current parish.

I think it falls directly in line with our belief that the Eucharist is TRUELY the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. And therefore… we should take every measure possible to prevent potential abuses. Including, and up to… (if necessary) following people down the isle to make sure that the Sacred Host is consumed.

Further, I would be very, very suspicious of any “Catholic” who took a Host and did not immediately place it in the mouth. If I were one of these Guardians… I would follow this individual, ask them quietly to step outside… and make sure that they are Catholic. If they say “no”, then a calm, charitable explanation of our beliefs is in order. They need to be told why a non-Catholic is not permitted to receive Holy Communion, during a Catholic Mass.

If an Usher/Guardian does not feel able to function as such… then, maybe there should be people specifically trained to offer this service to Our Lord. People specially trained in what to say… and how to say it, charitably. I know that this might present certain difficulties… for an elderly usher… or a very young usher (we have a few boys in training… of about 12-13 years old). This function should be allowed, though… to people who are very certain that they can follow through on protection of the Eucharist.

 

[jfallaw]

Well that’s just silly – Everyone knows the church bulletin is your receipt, proving you have attended Mass…

[We now return to serious discussion of a serious subject]

tee

HAHA! An extremely Lutheran friend of mine used to tell stories about getting out of mass as a Catholic youth. This included having a friend ‘on the inside’ swipe a couple of extra bulletins as proof of attendance.

 

[cecilia97]

I think it’s a wonderful idea, although… I have not (yet?) noticed it in my current parish.

I think it falls directly in line with our belief that the Eucharist is TRUELY the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. And therefore… we should take every measure possible to prevent potential abuses. Including, and up to… (if necessary) following people down the isle to make sure that the Sacred Host is consumed.

Further, I would be very, very suspicious of any “Catholic” who took a Host and did not immediately place it in the mouth. If I were one of these Guardians… I would follow this individual, ask them quietly to step outside… and make sure that they are Catholic. If they say “no”, then a calm, charitable explanation of our beliefs is in order. They need to be told why a non-Catholic is not permitted to receive Holy Communion, during a Catholic Mass.

If an Usher/Guardian does not feel able to function as such… then, maybe there should be people specifically trained to offer this service to Our Lord. People specially trained in what to say… and how to say it, charitably. I know that this might present certain difficulties… for an elderly usher… or a very young usher (we have a few boys in training… of about 12-13 years old). This function should be allowed, though… to people who are very certain that they can follow through on protection of the Eucharist.

We do have Jr. high age boys acting as ushers at our parish, but the gentlemen I’ve seen acting as guardians at the Communion line have always been the adult men who look a little serious and stern. Not scary, just stern. They stand next to the priest or EMHC with their hands clasped and look rather like bouncers.

Thank God for our priests. Apparently it is our pastor who has spearheaded this activity and helped to stop some of the prior abuses. From some of the things I read on CA, and the story I heard about what went on in my own parish just 5 years ago, I feel blessed to be at one of those near-mythical, elusive, reverent NO parishes where there is a devotion to the Real Presence. It can be done and it gives me hope!