Qualifications, training, and testing for Extraordinary Ministers

[Lepanto]

This is not a thread about the justifiability of Extraordinary Ministers.

I’d like to know, in your dioceses or parishes:

1. Are the people screened so that only baptized Catholics can serve as Extraordinary Ministers?

• Must be free to receive communion.
• Other qualifications (proper age, nullity of marriage issues, etc.)

1. Is training required for Extraordinary Ministers?

• Are they trained to understand that what they are doing is “Extraordinary” and not a right? And, in fact, they should be praying for enough priest/deacon vocations and instituted acolytes so that Extraordinary Ministers will one day not be needed?
• Are they trained in the catechesis of the Real Presence?
• Are they informed that Communion on the Tongue is the norm whereas Communion in the Hand is only an indult in the United States?
• Does their training involve practical “how-to” regarding distribution?
• Are they trained to withhold communion from those who are clearly not disposed by their demeanor or dress?
• Are they trained to understand that only those free from mortal sin can receive?
• Are they trained to handle emergencies? (Dropped hosts/dropped particles/spilled blood, etc.)
• Are they taught to dress in any particular way?
• Are they trained to judge the size of the congregation so as to not step forward and serve as Extraordinary Minister?

1. Does the training involve some sort of testing?

• Are both the catechetical and practical aspects tested?
• Is there any refresher training? (Like annually.)
• Are there any consequences of repeatedly failing the tests (like being asked to no longer serve)?

 

[faithfulservant]

1. i’m not sure what screening goes on, but you must be a practicing Catholic to be an EMHC… don’t know if it is an honor systen or not… the age minimum is 18 at our parish
2. there is a training class which is 3 hours long …when i went

a) nothing was mentioned … we have 16 EMHCs serving at our Mass, in addition to the priest celebrant and deacon
b) yes
c) no
d) yes
e) no
f) no
g) yes
h) yes
i) the EMHCs at a weekend Solemnity are on a schedule, so they know when they will serve

1. no, to all 4… though when the “new norms” went into effect back when , it was “recommended” that all EMEs refresh their training to become EMHCs

on a side note, it is a pet peeve of mine for those that still refer to EMHCs as Eucharistic Ministers… i always correct them by saying … oh you mean the priest…he is the ONLY minister that we have that can confect the Eucharist :getholy:

 

[Joannm]

<<<<- Are they trained to withhold communion from those who are clearly not disposed by their demeanor or dress?

• Are they trained to understand that only those free from mortal sin can receive?>>>

An EMHC is in NO WAY allowed to make that judgement.

 

[faithfulservant]

true that joannm… and i almost mentioned that in my response… but i decided to just answer the questions posed

 

[Rickwood]

This is not a thread about the justifiability of Extraordinary Ministers.

I’d like to know, in your dioceses or parishes:

1. Are the people screened so that only baptized Catholics can serve as Extraordinary Ministers?

• Must be free to receive communion.
• Other qualifications (proper age, nullity of marriage issues, etc.)

You are asked if you have received first communion and confirmation, and if you are in perfect communion with the Church. It’s based on one’s word – there is no interrogation or investigation. One man who applied to the permanent diaconate formation (where they do interrogate/investigate) is no longer able to be an EMHC based on their findings.

1. Is training required for Extraordinary Ministers?

• Are they trained to understand that what they are doing is “Extraordinary” and not a right? And, in fact, they should be praying for enough priest/deacon vocations and instituted acolytes so that Extraordinary Ministers will one day not be needed?
• Are they trained in the catechesis of the Real Presence?
• Are they informed that Communion on the Tongue is the norm whereas Communion in the Hand is only an indult in the United States? ← Scary
• Does their training involve practical “how-to” regarding distribution?
• Are they trained to withhold communion from those who are clearly not disposed by their demeanor or dress?<-- Scary
• Are they trained to understand that only those free from mortal sin can receive?<-- Scary
• Are they trained to handle emergencies? (Dropped hosts/dropped particles/spilled blood, etc.)
• Are they taught to dress in any particular way?
• Are they trained to judge the size of the congregation so as to not step forward and serve as Extraordinary Minister?

Training is brief and perfunctory. It’s almost all about the mechanics of being an EMHC.

1. Does the training involve some sort of testing?

• Are both the catechetical and practical aspects tested?
• Is there any refresher training? (Like annually.)
• Are there any consequences of repeatedly failing the tests (like being asked to no longer serve)?

Nope.

 

[ProVobis]

What’s to stop everyone in the parish from being accepted into this ministry? What’s to stop everyone communicating one another like in families, for example? Or why don’t we just pass the Hosts around, like Christ’s Apostles did? Don’t laugh, I was at a retreat where this almost happened.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

What’s to stop everyone communicating one another like in families, for example?

There’s actually a married couple here who do this. She receives in the hand and steps aside, he receives in the hand and steps aside. Then they “feed” each other. They learned it at some couples’ retreat weekend, and have been doing it ever since. I know it’s forbidden, and it drives me crazy … something for me to “offer up,” I guess.

 

[Rickwood]

There’s actually a married couple here who do this. She receives in the hand and steps aside, he receives in the hand and steps aside. Then they “feed” each other. They learned it at some couples’ retreat weekend, and have been doing it ever since. I know it’s forbidden, and it drives me crazy … something for me to “offer up,” I guess.

That’s one place I would LOVE to be an EMHC! My eyes would remain trained on her and with my hand covering the top of the ciborium I would simply say very quietly “consume the host.” I would be completely oblivious of her husband and others in line – even if it meant not distributing even one more host as people switched lines.

Around here that would create enough of a problem for the couple to be spoken to by our pastor.

 

[davidcoit]

That’s one place I would LOVE to be an EMHC! My eyes would remain trained on her and with my hand covering the top of the ciborium I would simply say very quietly “consume the host.” I would be completely oblivious of her husband and others in line – even if it meant not distributing even one more host as people switched lines.

Around here that would create enough of a problem for the couple to be spoken to by our pastor.

Yes, I would do the same thing. It may be the last time I would be called to be EMHC, but it would be a well deserved lesson to the couple as well as to the rest of the church.

 

[Rickwood]

Yes, I would do the same thing. It may be the last time I would be called to be EMHC, but it would be a well deserved lesson to the couple as well as to the rest of the church.

Yeap. That would be a very small sacrifice.

The key would be to protect the Blessed Sacrament in the ciborium and to be extremely tactful and gentle with the person holding the host. I don’t think I would say more than “please consume the host.”

It would be a waiting game – maybe 10-30 seconds but I would bet she would consume it. If they made an issue out of it with the pastor after Mass THEN all heck might break loose, but I would bet it would never happen again.

 

[Ruthie]

I’d love to see my DH and I trying that - we both receive on the tongue!

Ruthie

 

[Chatter163]

 

[EasterJoy]

According to my memory:

1. Are the people screened so that only baptized Catholics can serve as Extraordinary Ministers?

• Must be free to receive communion.
• Other qualifications (proper age, nullity of marriage issues, etc.)
  Made aware of the requirements. There wasn’t a background check that I was aware of, but we were all known to the deacon.

1. Is training required for Extraordinary Ministers?

• Are they trained to understand that what they are doing is “Extraordinary” and not a right? And, in fact, they should be praying for enough priest/deacon vocations and instituted acolytes so that Extraordinary Ministers will one day not be needed?
  Well, praying for vocations is a given in our parish. We are given to know that deacons and priests are the ordinary ministers, and how we know which of us won’t be needed if more ordinary ministers show up than is usual.
• Are they trained in the catechesis of the Real Presence?
  That was presumed in everything he said. It would have been like asking if we knew addition and subtraction before starting an algebra class.
• Are they informed that Communion on the Tongue is the norm whereas Communion in the Hand is only an indult in the United States?**
  We were taught that communion on the tongue is a right, yes. Let’s just say it is clear that from the top down, everything we do in our parish, including whether or not we do it at all, is subject to what Rome or the archbishop say. There is not any question about that.**
• Does their training involve practical “how-to” regarding distribution?
  Yes…as in, what are the methods to safeguard from dropping, that we are to make certain the Eucharist is in fact consumed, that only priests may recieve either species from their own hand, that we DO NOT do the purification of vessels, and so on.
• Are they trained to withhold communion from those who are clearly not disposed by their demeanor or dress?
  I have never seen the Eucharist withheld from someone on account of dress or demeanor in my life. You have me picturing people disrobing or showing up drunk or something. Maybe I’ve led a sheltered life? Maybe I misunderstand the question?
• Are they trained to understand that only those free from mortal sin can receive?
  That depends on what you mean by that. Do we know what the requirements are? Yes. Do we take it upon ourselves to decide who may or may not receive in any particular case? No. This is the position of the archbishop. He teaches clearly what the requirements are for reception, but the conscience is with the individual. He doesn’t have a “most wanted” list we or even the priests are supposed to know, for the purpose of withholding the Eucharist for notorious offenders, either.
• Are they trained to handle emergencies? (Dropped hosts/dropped particles/spilled blood, etc.)
  Yes.
• Are they taught to dress in any particular way?
  We’re informed that dress is to be appropriate for Mass. My impression was that we could be certain that problems would be addressed in person, if we didn’t get the picture.
• Are they trained to judge the size of the congregation so as to not step forward and serve as Extraordinary Minister?
  This is the call of the celebrant. We’re trained to do what we’re told.

1. Does the training involve some sort of testing?

• Are both the catechetical and practical aspects tested?
• Is there any refresher training? (Like annually.)
• Are there any consequences of repeatedly failing the tests (like being asked to no longer serve)?
  No. There is continual observation and encouragement to please ask questions if necessary, though. If a person were to start telling people the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing, the pastor or the deacon would take care of contacting them in private and let them know personally. If there are problems, we are to let the pastor or the deacon know about it.

 

[EasterJoy]

What’s to stop everyone in the parish from being accepted into this ministry? What’s to stop everyone communicating one another like in families, for example? Or why don’t we just pass the Hosts around, like Christ’s Apostles did? Don’t laugh, I was at a retreat where this almost happened.

The EMHCs do not go to the altar and help themselves to chalices or ciboria, as ordinary ministers do. An ordinary minister must hand one of these to any EMHC selected to assist them. If they were to forget, we would just stand there and do nothing until they remembered, and go back to our pew if we were not needed.

We are also strictly trained to make certain each person consumes the Blessed Sacrament before we go on to the next person.