In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel today

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Frosty_Gurl

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Forgive me if this is in the wrong spot 😊
Today I was praying at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, when a man walked in, kneeled down and prayed for about a minute, got up, walked over to the tabernacle, unlocked it, and took out 2-3 hosts. He then placed it in, I don’t know what it is, it sort of looked like a big round locket, locked the tabernacle back up, and knelt down and prayed for about a minute, and then walked out.
I am still new to the customs but am wondering what he was doing??? Is he a Eucharistic minister??? Any help will be greatly appreciated! 🙂
 
In all likelihood, he was taking the hosts to those who could not make it to Mass. So yes, he would be a Eucharistic minister (at my parish, they’re typically called ministers to the sick or something like that), and the “locket” in which he placed the hosts is a special container called a pyx. After he left, he probably would have gone to visit the homes of those who cannot leave their homes to attend Mass.
 
Awwwwww shucks! Sacrilege stinks don’t it!!

I went to Adoration today too! And thankfully there wasn’t any of that mess going on at the time.

Peace,

Gail
 
GailMac4 said:
Awwwwww shucks! Sacrilege stinks don’t it!!

I went to Adoration today too! And thankfully there wasn’t any of that mess going on at the time.

Peace,

Gail
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I’m not sure what sort of sacriledge you are talking about?

This could have been a deacon, or even a priest (not all of them wear their collars all the time, sadly).

~Liza
 
GailMac4 said:
Awwwwww shucks! Sacrilege stinks don’t it!!

I went to Adoration today too! And thankfully there wasn’t any of that mess going on at the time.

Peace,

Gail
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Sacrelige? Helping bring the Body of Christ to the homebound is sacrelige? :confused:
 
GailMac4 said:
Awwwwww shucks! Sacrilege stinks don’t it!!
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Um, there’s nothing sacrilegious about it. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion may remove the Blessed Sacrament to take them to the sick and home bound.

Deacon Ed
 
I think the fact that the individual was concerned enough to pray prior to opening and closing the tabernacle as well as had what we can only assume was authorized access to it, considering his key, and that he placed the host into a pyx rather than a Ziploc baggie or his shirt pocket might lead us to think that he was someone doing what he was supposed to.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I figured that he was a Eucharistic Minister…I just figured someone (not necessarily the priest, but maybe someone from the parish office gave them the Hosts) I didn’t think that they went to pick up the hosts from the Tabernacle themselves. (Remember, I am still learning :o ). Thanks again for the replies! 🙂 …And God Bless!!
 
Most EMHC go on their homebound routes on Sunday, so it is understandable that you would be concerned seeing someone approach the tabernacle on any other day.

I saw something similar happen at my parish and I inquired about it. It turned out that the EMHC was assigned to lead a Communion Service at a certain nursing home during the weekday.
 
I think that if someone has the tabernacle key and treats the hosts reverently, it’s a pretty sure bet he or she is an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (EMHC), and you need not be concerned.

However, for clarity I would recommend you not confuse EMHCs with “eucharistic ministers” (you’ve done so twice), which are only priests (in persona Christi), nor with “ordinary ministers of Holy Communion”, which are only bishops, priests and deacons (those who have been ordained).

For a more complete and official explanation on this, you might want to read Redemptionis Sacramentum, Paragraphs 154-156, which state:

[154.] As has already been recalled, “the only minister who can confect the Sacrament of the Eucharist in persona Christi is a validly ordained Priest”.[254] Hence the name “minister of the Eucharist” belongs properly to the Priest alone. Moreover, also by reason of their sacred Ordination, the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are the Bishop, the Priest and the Deacon,[255] to whom it belongs therefore to administer Holy Communion to the lay members of Christ’s faithful during the celebration of Mass. In this way their ministerial office in the Church is fully and accurately brought to light, and the sign value of the Sacrament is made complete.[155.] In addition to the ordinary ministers there is the formally instituted acolyte, who by virtue of his institution is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion even outside the celebration of Mass. If, moreover, reasons of real necessity prompt it, another lay member of Christ’s faithful may also be delegated by the diocesan Bishop, in accordance with the norm of law,[256] for one occasion or for a specified time, and an appropriate formula of blessing may be used for the occasion. This act of appointment, however, does not necessarily take a liturgical form, nor, if it does take a liturgical form, should it resemble sacred Ordination in any way. Finally, in special cases of an unforeseen nature, permission can be given for a single occasion by the Priest who presides at the celebration of the Eucharist.[257][156.] This function is to be understood strictly according to the name by which it is known, that is to say, that of extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and not “special minister of Holy Communion” nor “extraordinary minister of the Eucharist” nor “special minister of the Eucharist”, by which names the meaning of this function is unnecessarily and improperly broadened.Here’s the Vatican link online: vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html

Thanks for your watchful eye, caring heart and obvious devotion.
 
Appreciate Tassitus’ detailed explanation re: ordinary and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist…and…ordinary and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.

Would add for consideration…another Holy Eucharist protocol…(I am not sure if this is applicable only in our local Church (our Bishop) or for the USCCB (Bishops in USA) or for the Universal Church (Magisterium)…but I have been instructed that only ordained ministers (bishop/priest/deacon) are allowed to open and remove/return the Blessed Sacrament from/to the Tabernacle. If none are available, we first must seek a religious (Sister or Brother)…and if due to time constraints (time scheduled for a visit to the sick or elderly in their home)…the EM of Holy Communion may remove the Blessed Sacrament from the Tabernacle. Also, only the ordained ministers are normally authorized to carry/give Holy communion to those Catholic who are hospitalized or in prison.

I have never seen a priest or deacon remove the Blessed Sacrament from the Tabernacle when not clearly dressed in their religious or liturgical clothes/garments. To do otherwise, I believe, unnecessarily invites confusion and irreverence due to a real or perceived “too casual an attitude” towards the real presence of Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. A real emergency type situation should be the only exception to the above (per our Bishop).

Pax Christi
 
I have seen priests remove the blessed sacrament from the tabernacle when not in clerical nor religious garb. In one case, due to an urgent call for viaticum. In another, to provide the eucharist to one who missed mass due to late busses; he was preparing to go hiking for almost a week, and noticed us from the rectory window. (Anchorage’s bus system used to be notoriously unreliable.)
 
Lancer said:
Appreciate Tassitus’ detailed explanation re: ordinary and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist…and…ordinary and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.

Would add for consideration…another Holy Eucharist protocol…(I am not sure if this is applicable only in our local Church (our Bishop) or for the USCCB (Bishops in USA) or for the Universal Church (Magisterium)…but I have been instructed that only ordained ministers (bishop/priest/deacon) are allowed to open and remove/return the Blessed Sacrament from/to the Tabernacle. If none are available, we first must seek a religious (Sister or Brother)…and if due to time constraints (time scheduled for a visit to the sick or elderly in their home)…the EM of Holy Communion may remove the Blessed Sacrament from the Tabernacle. Also, only the ordained ministers are normally authorized to carry/give Holy communion to those Catholic who are hospitalized or in prison.

I have never seen a priest or deacon remove the Blessed Sacrament from the Tabernacle when not clearly dressed in their religious or liturgical clothes/garments. To do otherwise, I believe, unnecessarily invites confusion and irreverence due to a real or perceived “too casual an attitude” towards the real presence of Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. A real emergency type situation should be the only exception to the above (per our Bishop).

Pax Christi
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Those are good principles, but what the Church actually says is that no one even is an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion unless and until he has been appointed as such by a priest for that particular moment–to put it another way, unless a priest at that moment made such an appointment, then he shouldn’t have been removing the Eucharist (indeed, the priest should have done that himself). In unusual circumstances, the bishop may appoint EMHCs on a more stable basis (say a year for example).

We don’t know exactly what was happening. The person might have even been a priest or deacon (as others have alluded).

My point here is to remind people that there is a misconception out there that certain people “are” EMHCs. That’s not the case. The function of an EMHC can only be for a particular act/moment and once that moment is over, the temporary function of EMHC ceases to exist. So unless there was a priest there to make that appointment, no layperson should be taking the Eucharist out of the church.
 
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