I've put myself between a rock and a hard place!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Johnakochmanski1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

Johnakochmanski1

Guest
About a month ago our parish priest fell I’ll during a Saturday night mass in which I was serving. At the end of the mass he was barely able to finish I offered to him that if he wasn’t well enough in the morning that I would celebrate a communion service. But that was only if he wasn’t feeling well enough. As I expected I got the call later that night that I was going to say a communion service. After that week the week following I said a communion service for all three masses we have offered at our parish due to our priest being ill and the other priest we have for a Sunday midmorning mass falling sick
Since then for the last few weeks we’ve been able to get coverage for all the Sunday masses but not Saturday night. Knowing how quick communion services are I’ve had more and more people attending the communion service over celebrating holy mass. Now I find myself sad and upset because our own congregation wants to attend communion services over the great and holy mass. Now a woman who is like an administrator for our parish has put in our bulletin that Saturday night mass will be a communion service until further notice. Assuming I will keep it up but in reality I dont want to keep doing this. Less and less people are attending mass that we have priests driving round trip 1 hour to come celebrate to hear me a lowly laymen of the church who reads a reflection to the gospel. I was even asked to do a communion service on Christmas day and there I said no to the administrator. She was very upset but respected the fact I didnt feel comfortable saying a service Christmas day. To further extent I have done research and I have know been informed that scheduling a communion service is not allowed. How can I address this issue and what should I do?
 
Johnakochmanski1 said:
. To further extent I have done research and I have know been informed that scheduling a communion service is not allowed.
Click to expand...
Are you sure abut this? I’d have thought people would appreciate knowing if a usual Mass was going to be replaced by a Communion Service, so that they had the option of seeking out a Mass somewhere else.
 
I see where your coming from but do you see what I’m realizing? I go to almost every mass every weekend at our pa re ish to help anyway I can some days I sing other days I serve and it’s all depending on who shows up that normally does the jobs. I want to honestly tell the administrator that we should get rid of the communion service all together because they are opting to go
I read on the usccb that it’s not allowed to schedule communion services. And cannon law uses gray language on the matter
 
I’m overwhelmed. Can you include the gospel & sermons at a communion service? Gear your talks on a real relationship w Christ. Wanting to spend time w him in the Mass/Last supper. Do this in rembrance of Me! A priest must bless the communion.
Time is precious. More so, is God. I’m still overwhelmed.
Talk to the administrator. Go over rules. The priests should get well. Reduce communion services, so they long for mass.??? None on Sat. Night?
Heavenly Father. Help this deacon start a revival in his parish for You. Holy Spirit, ignite his words w Your power.
In Jesus name. Amen
 
Yes, you are absolutely doing too much, it seems to me. You run the risk of burning out, or harming your own health.

Of course, it does not need a deacon to preside at a Communion service. Do you have any EMHCs in your parish? They are allowed to do it.
 
I’m not a deacon, I was discerning priesthood but was told no by my diocese and 4 other orders or dioceses so I do what I can when i can when I can for my home parish. What is an EMHS. The one priest who visits does enough communion for the Saturday service so there are a lot left over. Another issue I have is when asked doing a communion service for Christmas day I was very uncomfortable and told the administrator no she got very upset with me. I do pray for her but I just wonder what she would say if I told her how I really felt. I am worried she is having me do communion services to keep monetary flow for the collections
 
The issue with Communion Services is not scheduling them, but rather using them in place of Mass when there’s a priest available (or/especially on weekdays).

The way I see it, Sunday Mass is available with a priest; the Saturday Mass should have been suspended until a priest becomes available for it, rather than replacing it with the Communion Service, especially if known far enough in advance to communicate it to people (different story of it’s short notice). This combination of Mass and Communion Services as a plan is a very poor arrangement. Yet, I don’t know the pastoral circumstances of your parish.

I would talk to the priest in charge; even though you have an administrator, there should still be a priest assigned by the bishop to oversee the sacramental life of the parish.
 
Oh yeah and I’m 24 so burning out really isn’t an option for a guy like me
 
May God heal your ill priest!

OP, do you live in the United States?

I don’t understand this thread. If this happened where I live, our bishop would call upon retired priests (in good health) to fill in until your priest was well again, or until an interim priest was appointed.

Qhy hasn’t an interim priest been appointed to take the place of your ill priest?

And why is the bishop allowing so many communion services in a parish?
 
This is in the the United states and it is in the state of New York. Right now we have several priests who are ill unavailable or out on administrative leave
 
An EMHC is an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion someone who has been through training and commissioned by the Bishop to help administering Holy Communion at Mass and also taking the Host to hospitals and the housebound.
 
I apologize for my ignorance on the subject but a communion service is not a Mass, right? Catholics have an obligation to attend a Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, if possible, but they have no obligation to attend a communion service, right? Attending a communion service does not fulfill one’s obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, does it? Those who can attend a Mass but choose to attend a communion service instead are not fulfilling their obligation, are they?

Shouldn’t the parishioners be informed that they are welcome to attend the communion service but attending the communion service will not fulfill their obligation to attend Mass and, if they can attend Mass, they are obliged to do so?
 
Last edited:
Perhaps they don’t commonly use that particular acronym where he is from. Some years ago, an EMHC was commonly called a Eucharistic Minister.
 
Last edited:
Our Archbishop has banned Communion Services. I think he is right. There are a lot of reasons that they can lead to problems.
 
Todd_Easton said:
Perhaps they don’t commonly use that particular acronym where he is from. Some years ago, an EMHC was commonly called a Eucharistic Minister.
Click to expand...
Indeed. When I was first commissioned, we were called ‘Special Ministers of Holy Communion’
I was just surprised that if the OP was dong the job, he didn’t know his official title, because surely it appears on all literature, certificate signed by the Bishop and so on?

OP, haven’t you been trained and commissioned? That’s a grave oversight by your parish. You shouldn’t be put in the position of filling-in when you haven’t an official appointment, that’s not fair on you.
 
Last edited:
Johnakochmanski1 said:
Since then for the last few weeks we’ve been able to get coverage for all the Sunday masses but not Saturday night. Knowing how quick communion services are I’ve had more and more people attending the communion service over celebrating holy mass. Now I find myself sad and upset because our own congregation wants to attend communion services over the great and holy mass.
Click to expand...
It would be helpful to remind people in the bulletin that when Mass is available, as you indicated three times on Sunday, it is their obligation to attend. No shortcuts allowed! Unless you know their circumstances, it is not good to judge the intentions of those who go on Saturday night.

Our Lord is honoring you and depending on you to bring Him to those who cannot otherwise receive Him or hear the readings with your reflection.

As for your research, what does it say about emergency situations as illness? Our priest had open heart surgery, and we were without Mass for over a month during the week, while neighboring priests filled in for Sunday. Fortunately, we had other parishes nearby for those who attend daily Mass. Are you in an extremely rural area that makes this impossible for folks to travel elsewhere?

I pray you will reconsider that Jesus is depending on you, despite your negativity. He wants to nourish His flock.
 
Someone needs to speak with the Diocese, with the Office of Clergy or the Chancery, to inform them that the priest is facing a long lasting illness. They would also then ask if Communion Services are allowed.
 
On second thought, I think we were called Lay Eucharistic Ministers and the acronym used back then was LEM.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top