Having a personal EMHC

[GodsGadfly]

On another thread, DebChris wrote, replying to me,

The role of caretaker is the reason many choose to become trained as an EMCH

Yes, and that’s what my deacon friend said when she went to the enrollment/training session. He was quite happy to have someone volunteer who actually wanted to do it for that reason and not to parade up to the front of church every week.

The problem twofold: on the one, my DW is on the shy side, so she’s afraid to ask. At our current parish, requests for emergency communions have not exactly been responded to.

The other side is that people don’t really understand my medical condition; never have. Back when I was growing up, they’d tell my parents, “We don’t know when he’s going to be at Mass or not.” My dad said, “I play the 5 PM Saturday Mass. If he’s going to be at Mass that weekend, he’ll be at that one.”

I’m not exactly an invalid or homebound, but I’m pretty severely disabled when it comes to daily activities. Most times, I don’t get to Mass on Sunday because I’m too worn down from my work week, or at least I’m too worn down to have to go to Mass and take care of the kids. If any of the kids are sick or especially misbehaved, I stay home with them or drive them around in the car while my wife goes to 5:30.

We chose our current parish for its orthodoxy in terms of our sacraments and CCD. The pastor knows us well enough, but we haven’t broached that subject with him yet.

He did an Anointing of the Sick mass on March 19 and, appropriately, I was having severe chest pain as I stumbled up to receive the Anointing. I was clutching my chest in pain, and he had to pry my hand away to anoint my palm.

Ever since then, he’s always come down to the handicapped pew to give me Communion!

Technically, a Marfan who’s had an aortic surgery already can have an aortic dissection without any warning or dilation: I know of several Marfans who’ve died just from coughing really hard. Then there’s the high risk of stroke, since I have an artificial valve. Now that I know my aorta’s actually growing again, the risks are even higher. Every time I have a really bad chest pain, I pray that I don’t die an unprepared death.

But people just don’t comprehend the idea of being a 31 year old who’s trying as best as possible to live an otherwise normal and productive life while having a serious, debilitating and life-threatening medical condition.

 

[Sr_Sally]

Your wife should contact the parish or your dioscese and see what the regulations are. Once she is trained I would hope that she would be willing to take communion to other sick or homebound people also.

 

[Ghoti]

I have no advice, but I’ll say a prayer for you and your family.

 

[EasterJoy]

He was quite happy to have someone volunteer who actually wanted to do it for that reason and not to parade up to the front of church every week.

Is that the way that he put it? He must have a great deal more difficulty getting ministers to the homebound than ministers who are willing to be available at a Mass that they are already obliged to attend? That seems a little harsh, at any rate. I guess I come from a place where the deacon is happy to have reliable people who are willing to commit to be available as EMsHC at a particular Mass even once a month.

But people just don’t comprehend the idea of being a 31 year old who’s trying as best as possible to live an otherwise normal and productive life while having a serious, debilitating and life-threatening medical condition.

“People” don’t need to comprehend. It isn’t any of their business.
This is between you and your pastor.

 

[jpjd]

…my deacon friend…was quite happy to have someone volunteer who actually wanted to do it for that reason and not to parade up to the front of church every week.

I think your deacon friend should be a little more understanding. It’s entirely possible that the EMHCs that “parade up to the front of church every week” are not able to bring the Eucharist to the homebound during the week because they work.

 

[DebChris]

The procedure for the EMCH bringing Communion to the homebound is to bring the pix to the altar or to the priest before Mass. After Mass, he/she retrieves the pix and hurries to the person ASAP without stopping to talk or communicating with anybody on the way. I hope this helps DW for those times when you cannot attend Mass. In the meantime, you and your wife are both in my prayers.

 

[EasterJoy]

The procedure for the EMCH bringing Communion to the homebound is to bring the pyx to the altar or to the priest before Mass. After Mass, he/she retrieves the pyx and hurries to the person ASAP without stopping to talk or communicating with anybody on the way. I hope this helps DW for those times when you cannot attend Mass. In the meantime, you and your wife are both in my prayers.

I was aware that the EMHC should administer Holy Communion to the homebound or hospitalized without delay, avoiding anything like running errands in the meantime, but I had never been told that the person was bound to literally hurry out of church after Mass, or could not stop to communicate with anyone whatsoever.

This seems problematic to me. What if a person brings Holy Communion to a patient, only to find that the patient is sleeping? Must the patient be awakened? Must the EMHC cloister themselves somewhere until the patient wakes, in order to avoid inappropriate contact? This doesn’t seem right.

Do you have a source for that? And are the rules the same for an ordinary minister, such as a priest or a deacon, once the priest has removed the Blessed Sacrament to a pyx?

 

[DebChris]

I was aware that the EMHC should administer Holy Communion to the homebound or hospitalized without delay, avoiding anything like running errands in the meantime, but I had never been told that the person was bound to literally hurry out of church after Mass, or could not stop to communicate with anyone whatsoever.

This seems problematic to me. What if a person brings Holy Communion to a patient, only to find that the patient is sleeping? Must the patient be awakened? Must the EMHC cloister themselves somewhere until the patient wakes, in order to avoid inappropriate contact? This doesn’t seem right.

Do you have a source for that? And are the rules the same for an ordinary minister, such as a priest or a deacon, once the priest has removed the Blessed Sacrament to a pyx?

We recently had retraining at our parish for all lectors and EMCHs to make sure all of us were uniform. Most of the instruction was for those of us who act as EMCH or lector during Mass. The person who was in charge of the retraining also brings Communion to the homebound. The emphasis he placed on Communion for the homebound was bringing the Eucharist without delay.
He didn’t want any of us to think he was being rude if after Mass he chose not to stop and talk to anybody. He would have the pix carrier around his neck.
You are right about bringing the host without delay and avoiding any unnecessary errands. Again, the focus was on protection of the host. As with anything else, when it comes to reaching the hospital, I think the Law of Love trumps everything else.

 

[EasterJoy]

We recently had retraining at our parish for all lectors and EMCHs to make sure all of us were uniform. Most of the instruction was for those of us who act as EMCH or lector during Mass. The person who was in charge of the retraining also brings Communion to the homebound. The emphasis he placed on Communion for the homebound was bringing the Eucharist without delay.
He didn’t want any of us to think he was being rude if after Mass he chose not to stop and talk to anybody. He would have the pix carrier around his neck.
You are right about bringing the host without delay and avoiding any unnecessary errands. Again, the focus was on protection of the host. As with anything else, when it comes to reaching the hospital, I think the Law of Love trumps everything else.

That makes sense…certainly the Blessed Sacrament does not need an incognito trip through the grocery store!

 

[DebChris]

That makes sense…certainly the Blessed Sacrament does not need an incognito trip through the grocery store!

This was the only thing I found in Canon Law.

Can. 935 No one is permitted to keep the Eucharist on one’s person or to carry it around, unless pastoral necessity urges it and the prescripts of the diocesan bishop are observed.

Obviously taking the Eucharist to the homebound falls under pastoral necessity.