Preserving the Host

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Cam-masta

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I am a Eucharistic minister at my parish. This past Sunday, a gentleman in line opened up one of those little round things to preserve the Host and held it in front of me. Should I have put the Host in? It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. Some good concrete answers would help! God bless.
 
If you are in doubt, no. If your parish has a system for an extraordinary minister to present a pyx during Mass, that is one thing. However, if you do not know this person and he has not explained himself, you should not entrust someone who is not Catholic for all you know with the Blessed Sacrament in a pyx. This is a different situation than something simply wanting to receive.
 
Cam-masta said:
I am a Eucharistic minister at my parish. This past Sunday, a gentleman in line opened up one of those little round things to preserve the Host and held it in front of me. Should I have put the Host in? It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. Some good concrete answers would help! God bless.
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You need to ask your priest as only he knows who has a valid reason for approaching the altar with a pyx in your parish.
 
cue said:
If you are in doubt, no. If your parish has a system for an extraordinary minister to present a pyx during Mass, that is one thing. However, if you do not know this person and he has not explained himself, you should not entrust someone who is not Catholic for all you know with the Blessed Sacrament in a pyx. This is a different situation than something simply wanting to receive.
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Thank you for your answer. I am a new Catholic (2006) and this was a heat of the moment decision. The gentleman looked very sincere. Next time, I will tell him/her to consult the parish priest.
 
Cam-masta said:
Thank you for your answer. I am a new Catholic (2006) and this was a heat of the moment decision. The gentleman looked very sincere. Next time, I will tell him/her to consult the parish priest.
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Not to put too fine a point on it but I think the message is that You should consult your parish Priest and ask him what you, as an EMHC, should do when approached by someone with a pyx. The Priest may want you to place the Eucharist in the pyx or he may not…ask him and find out otherwise you run the risk of embarassing yourself and others. There’s not a smiley to show that I am not trying to be mean or stern…so please take this with all of the charity with which it was intended.
 
Cam-masta said:
I am a Eucharistic minister at my parish. This past Sunday, a gentleman in line opened up one of those little round things to preserve the Host and held it in front of me. Should I have put the Host in? It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. Some good concrete answers would help! God bless.
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I have been an EMHC in different dioceses and different parishes within those dioceses. In some parishes, the EMHCs who bring Communion to the sick are instructed to leave their pyxes (sp?) on the altar at the beginning of Mass to be filled; in others, they are instructed to bring their pyxes with them while in line for Holy Communion – they then get two Hosts (one for them, one for their pyx).

I think you should check with the person in charge of training the EMHCs in your parish. It may just be that this is the way the EMHCs for the sick get Communion for their homebounds in your parish.
 
With all due repect, I am a bit concerned about someone who has been Catholic for such a short time already serving as an EMHC. This concern is compounded by the apparent lack of training at the parish, to wit:

—the EMHC is unaware of the proper name of the ministry, as evidenced by the use of an improper nomenclature (“eucharistic minister”)

—the EMHC does not know the proper name for a pyx (“one of those little round things”?) Yikes! :banghead:

—the EMHC has not been trained how to deal with the appearance of someone with a pyx

—the EMHC has not been trained to recognize who is authorized to carry the Blessed Sacrament at the parish and who is not

These are extremely serious matters. The handling of the Most Holy is of paramount importance, and it seems that a parish is not properly preparing someone for this extraordinary function.
 
Cam-masta said:
I am a Eucharistic minister at my parish. This past Sunday, a gentleman in line opened up one of those little round things to preserve the Host and held it in front of me. Should I have put the Host in? It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. Some good concrete answers would help! God bless.
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No. I think this was acceptible in the past, but nowadays, people should only receive hosts to take to the sick/homebound from the priests. The priest also should know who is doing this beforehand- it isn’t something you can just decide to do one day.
 
We have only a few Eucharistic ministers at our parish who take the Eucharist to the shut ins and sick (and our parish is quite large) and they always make sure to go to the priest when getting hosts for the pyx. I assume to avoid the situation of another Eucharistic minister during Mass refusing them.

I would have the person who approached you speak to the priest or maybe you could talk to the priest so you’ll know who can have them to carry and who cannot. 🙂
 
Cam-masta said:
I am a Eucharistic minister at my parish. This past Sunday, a gentleman in line opened up one of those little round things to preserve the Host and held it in front of me. Should I have put the Host in? It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. Some good concrete answers would help! God bless.
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If you knew the person and were instructed to do so by the priest.

Many parishes allow this when a person is taking Holy Communion to a family member. I however don’t like the possibility of abuse, anyone even a non-Catholic who has other ideas could present a pyx and get a Host. Not enough control for me.
 
In my parish, the EMHC’s who are taking Holy Communion to the homebound place their pyxes on the creedence table before Mass starts. If they need more than one Host, they indicate the number needed. When Father goes to the tabernacle to get more Hosts than those he consecrated at the Mass (before the Agnus Dei), he stops at the creedence table to fill the pyxes. After everybody in the congregation has received Holy Communion, the EMHC’s place their host bowls and chalices on the creedence table for Father to purify and pick up their pyxes.
 
People should not bring up pyxes during the Communion Procession in Mass.

From the 2002 General Introduction to the Roman Missal (GIRM) approved for the USA, which can be accessed from romanrite.com/girm.html :
“161. If Communion is given only under the species of bread, the priest raises the host slightly and shows it to each, saying, *Corpus Christi *(The Body of Christ). The communicant replies, Amen, and receives the Sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is allowed and if the communicant so chooses, in the hand. As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes it entirely.”

If someone is taking Communion to the sick they should go directly to them. They should not wait for a blessing at the end of Mass. But if someone is at Mass, they should not leave before the blessing. So Communion to be taken to the Sick should not be given during Mass. From the 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum:

“[133.] A Priest or Deacon, or an extraordinary minister who takes the Most Holy Eucharist when an ordained minister is absent or impeded in order to administer it as Communion for a sick person, should go insofar as possible directly from the place where the Sacrament is reserved to the sick person’s home, leaving aside any profane business so that any danger of profanation may be avoided and the greatest reverence for the Body of Christ may be ensured. …”.
 
I bring communion to the sick on a weekly basis. We can either get it during mass from the priest during communion or if we’re not able to go to mass on a day when we are bringing someone the Eucharist we are given permission to take some of the preserved Eucharist from the tabernacle and then sign out on a sheet in the sachristy. I’ve often wondered if it is appropriate for us to open the tabernacle without a priest present. Then again I realize how busy our priests are. I actually prefer to get the Host outside of mass because of the risk of dropping it while the priest or extraordinary minister is placing it in the pyx.
 
Chatter163 said:
With all due repect, I am a bit concerned about someone who has been Catholic for such a short time already serving as an EMHC. This concern is compounded by the apparent lack of training at the parish, to wit:

—the EMHC is unaware of the proper name of the ministry, as evidenced by the use of an improper nomenclature (“eucharistic minister”)

—the EMHC does not know the proper name for a pyx (“one of those little round things”?) Yikes! :banghead:

—the EMHC has not been trained how to deal with the appearance of someone with a pyx

—the EMHC has not been trained to recognize who is authorized to carry the Blessed Sacrament at the parish and who is not

These are extremely serious matters. The handling of the Most Holy is of paramount importance, and it seems that a parish is not properly preparing someone for this extraordinary function.
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  • The EMHC hasn’t been trained…period. To be honest, I received zero training which is wrong. I signed up and was never told that training was necessary (which it most certainly should be.) Keep in mind that I was raised an Anglican and have been Catholic for one year, so I have much to learn regarding the Catholic Liturgy and terminology such as pyx and Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Communion. Be ye patient with me. It was an honest heat of the moment mistake and I won’t be an EMHC anymore until I get the proper training and have been Catholic a bit longer.
 
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