Laity blessing with hands

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MickeyM927

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At our parish, we do two things that I remember hearing (on Catholic Answers Live) are not liturgically correct.
  1. When our priest offers a blessing, he has the congregation raise their right hand to offer the blessing as well. Since hearing this was not the right thing to do, I just bow my head and fold my hands in prayer during that time.
  2. As an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, we were told that if someone comes up to receive a blessing, we can put our hands on them and give them a blessing. I, without holding Him in my hands, put my hand on their heads and say, "God bless you. Listening to the program the other night, I found out that we should not be doing this.
They mentioned a liturgical document that specifies this (and I believe they said it was in either paragraph or section #2). … but I cannot remember the document’s name. Does anyone know it? I would love to present this to my priest so we can be doing the correct thing.

Thank you so much for your help!! Have a great rest of your weekend.

God bless,
Michele
 
On EMHCs giving blessings, the relevant documents are Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; can. 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18 cited here “Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest”. That really addresses both points. Only a priest may confer blessings in the context of the Mass.
 
There is a sticky thread at the top of this forum page on the topic.

(FWIW, I usually just nod my head, occasionally say “May God bless you,” especially if they’re really adamant.)
 
I just heard on EWTN radio last week how Fr. Mitch Pacwa is dealing with this issue. In the Marionite Rite of which he is a member what their EMHC do is to take the Blessed Sacrament and wave it over the heads of those who are not receiving communion. They are then being blessed by the Blessed Sacrament, not the EMHC.
 
That sounds like something that is expressly forbidden in the Latin rite (I don’t have the reference, sorry). Notice that a cleric will use the humeral veil when giving the blessing during Solemn Benediction. I don’t know about the Maronites.
 
Adonia said:
I just heard on EWTN radio last week how Fr. Mitch Pacwa is dealing with this issue. In the Marionite Rite of which he is a member what their EMHC do is to take the Blessed Sacrament and wave it over the heads of those who are not receiving communion. They are then being blessed by the Blessed Sacrament, not the EMHC.
Click to expand...
The Maronite Church (it is Maronite Church not Marionite Church) does not have EMHC’s, as our communion is given by intinction, and therefor cannot be given by a lay person.** It is forbidden.**

Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand him? If you could provide the date you heard this it would be very helpful.
If Fr. Pacwa allows this it would be a serious abuse, and if he has seen it in a Maronite parish and didn’t make an effort to correct the abuse it would be terrible.
It this is true it would be a serious abuse.

I have my doubts that he said this, not to upset you, I just have doubts.
 
Adonia said:
I just heard on EWTN radio last week how Fr. Mitch Pacwa is dealing with this issue. In the Marionite Rite of which he is a member what their EMHC do is to take the Blessed Sacrament and wave it over the heads of those who are not receiving communion. They are then being blessed by the Blessed Sacrament, not the EMHC.
Click to expand...
Also, Fr. Pacwa is a Jesuit priest who is bi-ritual.
 
Adonia said:
I just heard on EWTN radio last week how Fr. Mitch Pacwa is dealing with this issue. In the Marionite Rite of which he is a member what their EMHC do is to take the Blessed Sacrament and wave it over the heads of those who are not receiving communion. They are then being blessed by the Blessed Sacrament, not the EMHC.
Click to expand...
Ok, I have found the audio of the show Fr. Mitch was on this past week.

ewtn.edgeboss.net/download/ewtn/audiolibrary/olwednesday_20160120.mp3

Starting at approximately the 20:00 min. mark.

If you listen carefully, Fr. Mitch is explaining what the Priest does (or can do) in blessing a child or non-receiving person in the communion line in the Maronite Church. The priest places the ciborium/intinction vessel over the top of the head of the child and says a blessing.

The problem is Fr. Mitch* is not clear*. By using the word “we” it gives the impression that the “we” is priests and EMHC’s, but as I said the Maronite Church doesn’t have EMHCs. Fr. Mitch just isn’t clear and unfortunately creates the misunderstanding. But, he doesn’t say that Maronite EMHC’s (which don’t exist in the Maronite Church), bless people by waving a host over top of a person’s head.

Then, Fr. Mitch said that he has suggested to Latin rite bishop(s) that maybe this would be a way for the EMHC in the Latin rite to give a blessing to those not receiving communion. He suggests/contends that the Host in the ciborium would bless the person not the EMHC. This is his suggestion. He said this would avoid the confusion between a priestly blessing and a personal blessing. You Latin rite Roman Catholics can debate that all you want 🍿

Personally, I have only seen the blessing in the communion line done for babies, and small children in our Maronite parish. I have never seen an adult or teen, go up for a blessing in our parish or in any of the Maronite parishes I’ve visited.
 
So now the EMHC’s can perform Benediction too? And without the humerus veil at that? :eek:
 
Father Mitch Pacwa is not a Maronite priest. He is a Latin Rite Jesuit priest with bi-ritual facilities for the Maronite rite. That does not make him a Maronite priest. It makes him a Latin rite priest who has the faculties and permission to preside at the Maronite Liturgy.
 
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