I have a really bad question

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tad

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So, I’m in my home town visiting my mother who is dieing from pancreatic cancer. She’s not expected to live beyond a day or two.
Problem is, someone from her parish dropped off the Holy Eucharist a couple of days ago. While initially I welcomed the gesture, whoever it was didn’t stay to administer the Sacrament. I’ve discovered that we’ve been left a large number of hosts in a paper jewelry box. Left to my own devices, I’ve led a few impromtu scripture communion services, but we’re still left with a number of hosts and I’m very uncomfortable with this. I have no idea what I should do. Please advise, I’m only in town for one more day.
 
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If you have time, call the parish office and have them make arrangements to come for them. Right now, you focus is on being present for and with your mother. Went through a very similar sequence of events as you 25 years ago. These last days are precious. I will say a prayer for the two of you.
 
Tad, you’re right to be disturbed.
Please contact a priest about this.
I’ll have to look up Canon Law, but from research during my days as a special minister to the sick, leaving consecrated hosts in a non-sacred insecure location is against Canon Law. Not your fault in any way, but a mistake on the part of a well-meaning but a possibly ill-informed person.
 
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Call your parish and insist on the Last Rites immediately. If no priest answers from your parish, try a different parish until you get a priest willing and able to answer the sick call.
 
Can. 938 §1 The blessed Eucharist is to be reserved habitually in only one tabernacle of a church or oratory.

§2 The tabernacle in which the blessed Eucharist is reserved should be sited in a distinguished place in the church or oratory, a place which is conspicuous, suitably adorned and conducive to prayer.

§3 The tabernacle in which the blessed Eucharist is habitually reserved is to be immovable, made of solid and non-transparent material, and so locked as to give the greatest security against any danger of profanation.

§4 For a grave reason, especially at night, it is permitted to reserve the blessed Eucharist in some other safer place, provided it is fitting.

§5 The person in charge of a church or oratory is to see to it that the key of the tabernacle in which the blessed Eucharist is reserved, is in maximum safe keeping.
 
mythbuster1 said:
Call your parish and insist on the Last Rites immediately. If no priest answers from your parish, try a different parish until you get a priest willing and able to answer the sick call.
Click to expand...
He posted previously that his mother already received these.

tad, with respect to the Hosts, call the nearest parish - if possible the one where the EMHC who is dropping off these hosts is coming from - and inform them about this issue with the hosts. As someone else said, this sounds like a case of an improperly trained person. Normal procedure for an EMHC taking communion to someone in your mom’s situation is that they would stay to administer it, not just leave off a host and depart. If this has happened a number of times to the point where you have found a bunch of hosts, this is pretty serious and the pastor of whoever is doing this needs to know about it. Also as mtatum said, someone should come to pick them up.
 
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There is a problem that consecrated hosts are not being kept in a tabernacle.

Some ways of fixing this are:
  1. Put the consecrated hosts in a tabernacle. Contact the parish priest and organise for this. An advantage of this method is that he is made aware of the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion who has done the incorrect thing.
  2. Consume the consecrated hosts. An advantage of this is that it solves the problem quickly.
  3. Dissolve the consecrated hosts. Break them into small pieces over a plate, to collect any crumbs. Put the crumbs and broken pieces of hosts into a container of water. When they are dissolved pour the water onto the earth, a place where people do not normally walk on, like a garden bed.
 
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I am so sorry for your family and their sick bed vigil during this Easter Period. You are all in my prayers.
As Mtatum and Trishie have said , please contact your Priest. He may want to visit your mother again and administer the sacraments. And minister to her family.

As Mtatum1958 states, these last days are so very precious. Is your mother conscious?
 
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I am praying for you both. Don’t let this cloud your relationship with Christ. Call the parish priest, yes, but just be with you’re mother and Jesus until the end. ❤️
 
Call your parish priest. If you cant reach him call another parish until you find a priest who will come and pick up the hosts.
 
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Call the parish office tomorrow.

First, the EMHC must be educated to the proper procedure, and the Priest will properly care for the sacred Hosts.

I will pray for your mother.
 
call your nearest parish, ask them to either come pick up he hosts or if your situation allows, you can perhaps go drop them off
 
Tad, prayers for your mom and for you. You’ve both been in my prayers since you first posted. Gog be with you.
 
Thank you, everyone, for your responses. Knowing what I know about my mother’s parish I’m fairly confident that the EMHC performed in the manner that she had been instructed. I was watching my mother die. The last thing I wanted to do was to call a parish priest and tell him how to do his business.

In the end, we consumed the rest of the hosts on Monday. I asked mother if she would like to receive Holy Eucharist and she seemed to indicate ‘yes’. I took a tiny particle of the host and when I said “Body of Christ” my mom opened her lips a tiny bit and I was able to place it in her mouth. I then moistened her lips with brush dipped in water that the nurse had given us. That’s the last time I that my mother heard and responded to me.

Mom passed away in the wee hours of the morning last night.

Eternal rest grant her, Lord.
 
Praying for you Tad. I lost both my parents in 2018. I know how tough it is. May God bless and keep all of you.
 
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