Question for trained EMsHC

[TheMc]

That’s very harsh. Young people can suffer from infirmities too, you know, Are you saying that only the physically perfect can be EMHC?

All that is being said is that if you are unable to complete in a reverent manner, or if it makes you bitter to the point of lashing out when the priest does the right thing, then maybe you aren’t “the right stuff” for being an EMHC.

That’s all that was said.

 

[paperwight66]

All that is being said is that if you are unable to complete in a reverent manner, or if it makes you bitter to the point of lashing out when the priest does the right thing, then maybe you aren’t “the right stuff” for being an EMHC.

That’s all that was said.

No, that was NOT ‘all that was said’.

Have you read post 38?

 

[TheMc]

No, that was NOT ‘all that was said’.

Have you read post 38?

Yes, I read #38. It seems, to me, to be a response to #27 (by ChemicalBean), who gave these things (tired backs, achy knees and slow feet) as an excuse to not do their job well.

While it was not stated explicitly, it seems strongly implied.

 

[zab]

All that is being said is that if you are unable to complete in a reverent manner, or if it makes you bitter to the point of lashing out when the priest does the right thing, then maybe you aren’t “the right stuff” for being an EMHC.

That’s all that was said.

People who are having difficulties with the aging process will have no difficulty retireing themselves when they find that they can no longer keep up. And you are wrong about post #38. It was in response to paperwight66’s post that was just a sense of humor.

 

[EasterJoy]

Why?

Tired backs, achy knees, slow feet, spouses and children they had to crawl over to get out of the pew… Lots of well-meaning older people make it a point to be at the mass they were assigned to and will sit in a place where they can get to their spot. If your parishioners made sacrifices to serve (and many do), and nobody communicated to them that Fr. So-and-so was going to pop out of the sacristy for 10 minutes and then disappear after communion, or that 3 missionary deacons from Yakestoniezia would be visiting today, then displacing those trained, well-meaning, servants in such a manner could guarantee that their “assistance won’t be necessary in the future,” either.

That’s bad-news-Bob if your parish is trying to build a culture of stewardship.

I seem to remember a saying about gift horses and mouths.

My mouth drops open at the idea that somebody would quit being an EMHC because the clergy shortage isn’t always short enough to suit them, let alone that this attitude has any place whatsoever in a “culture of stewardship”. Amazing.

My point is that if the EMsHC are trained full in the knowledge that they will sometimes make the effort to be there and will not be needed, you don’t get this attitude of “being displaced”. If you know you’re there on an “in case I’m needed” basis, there isn’t this sense that it is “my” spot and that I’m being “displaced.” You know from the beginning that it is a clergy spot and if there aren’t enough clergy, you’re there to step in. If there are enough clergy, well, hurray, aren’t we fortunate this week to have so many!

Since we have a well-defined order in which people step down, it is also possible in our parish to ask the deacon on Friday how many clergy he believes will be there. If he’s sure that there will be three deacons from Yakestoniezia, he’ll say so, and if it turns out he’s wrong he’ll know to go find someone else to fill in the gap…or he’ll say, “But I need you there, in case they’re held up.”

I think it is the training that says know your spot, because you will step down in the order spot #1, spot #2, and so on that makes this a non-issue. The EMHC fully expect that they might come and not be needed. If they’re not OK with that, they don’t sign up.

I witnessed one of our EMHC’s tongue-lashing our deacon when he vested for a Mass that he wasn’t previously scheduled for. So as not to cause trouble, the deacon sat down during Communion so as not to “bump” said EMHC and cause further trouble.

This is totally unacceptable, on so many levels. Not just the behavior, but the self-important attitude. I can imagine that one of our transitional or visiting deacons might have responded that way, but when our pastor or permanent deacon got wind of what happened, that EMHC would be history. I don’t think they’d be allowed to do any volunteering at parish liturgies at all.

 

[Jack_Bauer]

That’s very harsh. Young people can suffer from infirmities too, you know, Are you saying that only the physically perfect can be EMHC?

I understand and agree with you. However, the truth is that priests are usually ordained form the healthy men so that they can fulfill their sacred duties. If an EMHC is not provided a sacred service, then I don’t see how they should be exempt from the same required of clergy. I’ve never seen any EMHC that was so unhealthy that they couldn’t perform the duties assigned to them. Guys, I do not like to call EMHC a vocation. I believe that people get the wrong impression that it is some semi-ordained role. The EMHC, no matter how many priests are present, provide a service for the priest. They are stand ins, not for clergy, but for the priest presiding over the particular mass they are attending.

We have 10 EMHCs for all masses, And it takes about 30 minutes with this many EMHCs. Four serve the body of Christ and 4 serve the blood of Christ. Unless you have at least 2 to 6 deacons at each mass, I don’t see how it could be done within a reasonable time period. If I were “Pope of a Day” I’d step up permanent deacons to at least 2 per parish. In fact, I 'd push for at least 4. Many of the men I know would make wonderful deacons. But, I would like to see the bishops push towards intinction, like the Orthodox and Anglican use parishes. It would cut back on need for one thing. If the kneelers were reinstalled and required, communion would take so much less time. Those who do not receive should walk to someone set aside for that “touch” thing if done at all.

One of the reasons justified for non-communicants is to make the flow of traffic much easier. Our pews are so close that it feels very cramped. People stumble over each other trying to get by. That can be dangerous for expecting mothers, elderly, and injured people. However, that is what we did growing up. The Lord knows that I’d love to become useless as an EMHC if vocations were strong enough to increase the presence of clergy.

However, that is not likely anytime soon. I firmly believe there is a correlation between feminism and the lack of women’s vocations to the consecrated life. But mostly the first. I see women in mass acting like their saying mass when distributing communion. It’s not a theatrical performance. When I serve, I try not to be full of emotion. If anyone is theatrical, that’s the priest or deacon. Sometimes they say things to people in the communion line, particularly my children because of their personalities. But I wish they would not pay so much attention to my children during the mass so that it disrupts the flow and distracts.

 

[Corki]

My mouth drops open at the idea that somebody would quit being an EMHC because the clergy shortage isn’t always short enough to suit them, let alone that this attitude has any place whatsoever in a “culture of stewardship”. Amazing.

This!

 

[Phemie]

One of the reasons justified for non-communicants is to make the flow of traffic much easier. Our pews are so close that it feels very cramped. People stumble over each other trying to get by. That can be dangerous for expecting mothers, elderly, and injured people. However, that is what we did growing up.

I’ve heard this before and I must have been living under a rock because I’ve never seen a church where opting to not receive Communion and remaining in the pew presented a hazard for anyone. I’ll bet those very same people would have no problem making it to the center of a row in a theater to watch Avatar or something…

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Why are you coming up during the Agnus Dei? You should be approaching after the celebrant has communicated.

Because that is what our pastor has asked us to do. The EMHCs do not come on to the altar. We stay in the santuary and kneel at the altar steps while the priest communicates. We also stay there until the priest has given us communion and we receive the ciborium from him. Then we go to our “stations”.

We have a very correct, reverant pastor and one of our PV is the Bishop’s MC, so I have no worries about the process used for EMHCs at my parish.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

One other comment that confuses me is someone who said that the EMHCs rearrange their schedules to be at a particular Mass so that is a reason why they might be upset at not being needed that Mass. Since we all need to be at Mass every Sunday anyway, why would it be such an issue? It’s not like the EMHC would otherwise not have to be at church at all.

Also, when EMHCs are scheduled (as they are in my parish), they all give a Mass time preference, so usually people are scheduled for their preferred Mass, which is when they would be at church anyway. We do have 6 Sunday Masses and so scheduling can sometimes get hairy, particularly during the summer, it isn’t all that hard.

Perhaps the net thread should be a “best practices” for training and scheduling EMHCs.

 

[paperwight66]

The EMHC in our parish come up before they strictly should, too, because that is what the priest instructs us to do, and it’s what suits the layout of the church.

What else can we EMHCs do ? The priest is in charge, we are his servants. The archbishop seems quite happy when he says Mass in our church, too. The system we have works, because there is time for for an off-duty person to come forward if there is a gap, and everything proceeds smoothly.

It seems to me that the documents can be quoted until the cows come home, but if they don’t suit the priest or the situation on the ground, pragmatism and common-sense should rule.

 

[benedictgal]

The EMHC in our parish come up before they strictly should, too, because that is what the priest instructs us to do, and it’s what suits the layout of the church.

What else can we EMHCs do ? The priest is in charge, we are his servants. The archbishop seems quite happy when he says Mass in our church, too. The system we have works, because there is time for for an off-duty person to come forward if there is a gap, and everything proceeds smoothly.

It seems to me that the documents can be quoted until the cows come home, but if they don’t suit the priest or the situation on the ground, pragmatism and common-sense should rule.

However, someone could point out that the GIRM instructs us to do things differently. According to the GIRM:

1. The priest may be assisted in the distribution of Communion by other priests who happen to be present. If such priests are not present and there is a very large number of communicants, the priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, e.g., duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose.97 In case of necessity, the priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion.98

These ministers should not approach the altar before the priest has received Communion, and they are always to receive from the hands of the priest celebrant the vessel containing either species of the Most Holy Eucharist for distribution to the faithful.

It’s not about quoting the documents until the cows come home; these are not there for the convenience of the priest nor to accommodate particular situations. In our parish, the EMHCs remain kneeling in their pews at the Agnus Dei. Once the celebrant has communicated, then, they approach. We don’t have a communion rail and the altar is up about two steps.

 

[TheMc]

The EMHC in our parish come up before they strictly should, too, because that is what the priest instructs us to do, and it’s what suits the layout of the church.

What else can we EMHCs do ? The priest is in charge, we are his servants. The archbishop seems quite happy when he says Mass in our church, too. The system we have works, because there is time for for an off-duty person to come forward if there is a gap, and everything proceeds smoothly.

It seems to me that the documents can be quoted until the cows come home, but if they don’t suit the priest or the situation on the ground, pragmatism and common-sense should rule.

The Mass is not ours to tinker with. If using EMHCs correctly is as difficult as you imply, maybe they shouldn’t be used.

“…but if they don’t suit the priest or the situation on the ground, pragmatism and common-sense should rule.” Actually, what should rule is what the church says. It matters not if it suits the priest.

 

[MusherMaggie]

I witnessed one of our EMHC’s tongue-lashing our deacon when he vested for a Mass that he wasn’t previously scheduled for. So as not to cause trouble, the deacon sat down during Communion so as not to “bump” said EMHC and cause further trouble.

Reprehensible!

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Not a problem at our parish. We only have one priest…and no deacons. What usually happens is that an EMHC doesn’t show up…and then you might be called to fill in…but that happens before Mass.

Only one time has that happened. actually…we had a visiting priest while ours was away…from up at the seminary…and then a deacon from another parish showed up. But that is not likely to happen very often. I don’t know what happened with the EMHC that was scheduled to serve but I don’t remember a big stink.

I’d gladly step down if we had another priest or deacon show up:thumbsup: