Ran out of Communion

[Catholic4Christ]

At mass this morning, during Communion, the Eucharistic ministers and the presiding priest all ran out of hosts! Now, this was a big church, and there admittedly were an exceptional amount of people there. But this church employs many, many Eucharistic ministers (by the way, please don’t turn this thread into a discussion/argument over EMHCs ). Now, by the time I went up to receive (about halfway through) they were already resorting to breaking the hosts in half. At the end, 2 pretty large lines of congregants were unable to receive, and when the priest realized that there were no more hosts left to refill with, he made the sign of the cross towards the congregants and said a blessing (I couldn’t hear what he said). Everyone crossed themselves and returned to their pews.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? Were the breaking of the hosts and then the blessing the norm for such a situation? I was a bit perplexed, I have never experienced this before.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Why are you perplexed?

 

[paperwight66]

Well, I think I would be perplexed at the level of ineptitude. Unless all these extra people (although we are not told whether dozens or hundreds - presumably the latter) came in just before Communion, the sacristan had time to tiptoe out during the Mass with another bowl of altar-breads, I’d have thought.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

Well, I think I would be perplexed at the level of ineptitude. Unless all these extra people (although we are not told whether dozens or hundreds - presumably the latter) came in just before Communion, the sacristan had time to tiptoe out during the Mass with another bowl of altar-breads, I’d have thought.

Would that be the only job a Sacristan is tasked with, I can understand your point. But having been a Sacristan in my day, I’ll tell ya that there’s about a million responsibilities that they can have, and though that can easily be deemed the most important (I would say parishioner safety is first and foremost), I’ll just say that the Mass moves at a whoooooooole different pace when you have that job.

Believe me, once the Mass actually begins, the job of a Sacristan can be more stressful than that of the Clergy, EM’s, altar servers and cantors COMBINED!

One particular 11AM Mass that I can remember went like this,

11:00 Mass begins
11:01 Ten+ elderly people arrive late and need to be escorted up the stairs.
11:05-11:15: Recruit ushers (We don’t have enough!)
11:16-11:26: Oh no, a kid vomited in the Church. Go get the mop, loaded it up, clean the mess and dry it up before someone slips!
11:27-11:30: Count the number of parishioners, mark it down (Pastor wants every Mass counted. Not necessarily even thinking about parishioners in comparison to hosts at this time.)
11:30-11:40: Do collections. Supervise transfer of money to safe location.
11:41-11:50: The sound system is having strange problems out of nowhere, go to sound room and fix the darn thing cause everyone’s upset.
11:51-12:00: Person with emotional problems getting out of their seat during Mass and yelling, convince gentleman to move aside so he doesn’t disturb Parishioners, then escort him to a quiet place.
12:05 PM: “Hey, it was so cold in there! What did you put the thermostat to?”
“67 degrees ma’am.”
“It didn’t feel like that!”
“I’m sorry for that ma’am.”
“Next time, put the heat on earlier! This is a big building, it takes time to heat up!”

• “Yes ma’am. I’ll be sure to put it on earlier next time. [No I won’t.] I apologize for that, have a great week and God Bless you.”

…Ahhhhhh, a day in the life.*

 

[paperwight66]

That sounds horrendous, and i take your point that a lot of emergencies are quietly coped with behind the scenes that the parishioners don’t know about.

I have to say, though, as a fellow-sacristan - you are awfully hard-done by. If there aren’t enough people to be ushers, why not do what other churches do and don’t have them. Or appoint a team-leader and it’s their job to recruit more on the day.

And why is the sacristan having to count the congregation? In our parish, the team passing the collection-bags round do that while they are standing waiting.
But i see your parish doesn’t have a team for that. Can’t you suggest that, and immediately lose two jobs? i gather it’s a siazeable church, where is everybody?

Apart from anything else. it’s not good practice for only one person to be responsible for money. There should be witnesses.

 

[thistle]

At mass this morning, during Communion, the Eucharistic ministers and the presiding priest all ran out of hosts! Now, this was a big church, and there admittedly were an exceptional amount of people there. But this church employs many, many Eucharistic ministers (by the way, please don’t turn this thread into a discussion/argument over EMHCs ). Now, by the time I went up to receive (about halfway through) they were already resorting to breaking the hosts in half. At the end, 2 pretty large lines of congregants were unable to receive, and when the priest realized that there were no more hosts left to refill with, he made the sign of the cross towards the congregants and said a blessing (I couldn’t hear what he said). Everyone crossed themselves and returned to their pews.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? Were the breaking of the hosts and then the blessing the norm for such a situation? I was a bit perplexed, I have never experienced this before.

Just a word to correct you. Only the priest is the Eucharistic Minister. The EMHC’s are NOT Eucharistic ministers.

 

[Phemie]

@VeritasLuxMea, wow, your duties go far beyond the duties of any sacristan I’ve known. Our sacristan has no duties once Mass starts so could easily slip out and retrieve more altar bread from the sacristy.

Our sacristan is responsible for making sure the altar linens are clean, preparing the vessels and species for each Mass, making sure the Lectionary and Intercessions binder are set out with the markers at the appropriate pages, setting out the Roman Missal with the marker at the right day, setting up for baptisms if there is no one from the baptismal prep team available, making sure the sacred vessels are properly cleaned after each Mass. Of her own volition and since long before she became the sacristan, she also looks after the plants and flowers each week.

 

[Lapey]

Would that be the only job a Sacristan is tasked with, I can understand your point. But having been a Sacristan in my day, I’ll tell ya that there’s about a million responsibilities that they can have, and though that can easily be deemed the most important (I would say parishioner safety is first and foremost), I’ll just say that the Mass moves at a whoooooooole different pace when you have that job.

Believe me, once the Mass actually begins, the job of a Sacristan can be more stressful than that of the Clergy, EM’s, altar servers and cantors COMBINED!

One particular 11AM Mass that I can remember went like this,

11:00 Mass begins
11:01 Ten+ elderly people arrive late and need to be escorted up the stairs.
11:05-11:15: Recruit ushers (We don’t have enough!)
11:16-11:26: Oh no, a kid vomited in the Church. Go get the mop, loaded it up, clean the mess and dry it up before someone slips!
11:27-11:30: Count the number of parishioners, mark it down (Pastor wants every Mass counted. Not necessarily even thinking about parishioners in comparison to hosts at this time.)
11:30-11:40: Do collections. Supervise transfer of money to safe location.
11:41-11:50: The sound system is having strange problems out of nowhere, go to sound room and fix the darn thing cause everyone’s upset.
11:51-12:00: Person with emotional problems getting out of their seat during Mass and yelling, convince gentleman to move aside so he doesn’t disturb Parishioners, then escort him to a quiet place.
12:05 PM: “Hey, it was so cold in there! What did you put the thermostat to?”
“67 degrees ma’am.”
“It didn’t feel like that!”
“I’m sorry for that ma’am.”
“Next time, put the heat on earlier! This is a big building, it takes time to heat up!”

• “Yes ma’am. I’ll be sure to put it on earlier next time. [No I won’t.] I apologize for that, have a great week and God Bless you.”

…Ahhhhhh, a day in the life.*

You need to do a better job of training ushers in your parish, as many of these duties belong to them. One person cannot and should not perform all of these duties, unless he is a peacock and likes to be seen doing these things.

A sacristan should be invisible during mass and making sure there are enough host to be consecrated for the number of people, assuring there are proper number of communion ministers, lectors, commentators, etc. before mass starts.

I’d have to ask the original poster if there was a deacon at the mass. If so he should be attune to all that is going on and when the gifts are prepared at the altar he can tell if there will be enough to consecrate, and know what’s in the tabernacle in case of a miscount. I have often left the altar to go retrieve more hosts or purificators while the priest begins the prayers over the gifts, although our sacristy is directly to the side of the altar and this can be done without distraction. But there is no bigger distraction than telling some of the communicants there isn’t enough for them to receive, not good!

Also to the OP, yes, breaking the hosts is acceptable and normal when you are running close, but it NOT the norm to run out; that is lack of pre-mass preparation and would not be tolerated at my parish. My pastor is very sensitive to being prepared, that is refreshing to me, as I am an organization nut.

 

[1ke]

It happens.

Yes, breaking the hosts into parts is the norm once the priest or EMHCs realize a shortage is at hand.

Yes, the priest can bless the would-be communicants, although it is not necessary.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

This does happen occasionally and was handled exactly correctly. Receiving half or even a quarter of a normal host is fine - you’ve still received communion and the full Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. Even if you aren’t able to receive communion at a Mass, you still receive the graces of attending. Those parishioners who did not get communion behaved correctly in accepting the blessing with a sign of the cross.

As to why they ran out of hosts at this Mass, could have been a simply oversight. Someone counted 5 ciboria in the tabernacle and there were only 4, the supply of hosts in the sacristy was low, many more people did arrive after Mass had started, etc.

Since you were startled by this expereince, it’s obviously not common at your parish and just a weird one-time oversight. Do not let it worry you.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Also to the OP, yes, breaking the hosts is acceptable and normal when you are running close, but it NOT the norm to run out; that is lack of pre-mass preparation and would not be tolerated at my parish. My pastor is very sensitive to being prepared, that is refreshing to me, as I am an organization nut.

Deacon, Ithink you are being too hard on the OP’s parish. He was obviously very suprised by what happened, which implies that it is not a common occurance. I doubt there are many pastors who are OK with running out of hosts at Mass.

 

[Lapey]

Deacon, Ithink you are being too hard on the OP’s parish. He was obviously very suprised by what happened, which implies that it is not a common occurance. I doubt there are many pastors who are OK with running out of hosts at Mass.

You’re probably right Mrs. Sally; I guess I would feel like a completely inept deacon if we ever run out while I was serving. I am hard on myself, my job as deacon is to be sure the faithful have the opportunity to fully worship without distraction. On the other hand, me nor anyone in service to the parish are perfect, that is why we should be there early and leave late to make sure all things are accounted for. We all make mistakes, I have read the wrong Gospel passage before; guess that’s why I check the book of the gospels 5 times before mass now!

As a communicant the OP had nothing to do with the situation and should have felt as he did. These things do happen in other parishes, I was speaking in general terms hopefully I didn’t imply that this was the only place I thought these things happened.

It’s really hard to find the “perfect” person to serve as sacristan. We have about 4 men who share the duties all week long, and two out of the four I would say are true sacristans and do it for the right reason. The other two are peacocks…lol (now this sounds harsh, sorry).

I would ask the OP, have you made an appointment to see your pastor about this mishap? Not to complain, but to maybe offer help in mass prep. There are so many humble and diligent people who would make incredible sacristans or servers and they don’t feel worthy to serve. These are the ones who turn out to be the most reliable and trustworthy; please consider this.

 

[Cathryn]

I am a sacristan and this has never happened to me however my pastor does not want too many consecrated Hosts left over after Mass. This means that there is a fine line between too many and not enough. Another problem is people coming in late. When I have expressed a preference for having too many than not enough, my pastor says if it gets low he will break them and if that is not enough Communion ends. There is also the. problem of people coming in late. Also after the gifts are brought up there is no adding to the number of unconsecrated hosts on the altar. And yes people continue to come in even after the epiclesis. If we ever do run out and the priest ends up ending Communion before everone receives, I realize people will assume it is my fault. The guidelines in my diocese however is to try to give peuople Hosts that are consecrated at the same Mass.

 

[Corki]

I am a sacristan and this has never happened to me however my pastor does not want too many consecrated Hosts left over after Mass. This means that there is a fine line between too many and not enough. Another problem is people coming in late. When I have expressed a preference for having too many than not enough, my pastor says if it gets low he will break them and if that is not enough Communion ends. There is also the. problem of people coming in late. **Also after the gifts are brought up there is no adding to the number of unconsecrated hosts on the altar. ** And yes people continue to come in even after the epiclesis. If we ever do run out and the priest ends up ending Communion before everyone receives, I realize people will assume it is my fault. The guidelines in my diocese however is to try to give people Hosts that are consecrated at the same Mass.

To the bolded above: why not? Is this your pastor’s rule? I have seen many parishes with an extra ciborium on the credence table filled with unconsecrated hosts for just this sort of occassion.

 

[Sarabande]

At mass this morning, during Communion, the Eucharistic ministers and the presiding priest all ran out of hosts! Now, this was a big church, and there admittedly were an exceptional amount of people there. But this church employs many, many Eucharistic ministers (by the way, please don’t turn this thread into a discussion/argument over EMHCs ). Now, by the time I went up to receive (about halfway through) they were already resorting to breaking the hosts in half. At the end, 2 pretty large lines of congregants were unable to receive, and when the priest realized that there were no more hosts left to refill with, he made the sign of the cross towards the congregants and said a blessing (I couldn’t hear what he said). Everyone crossed themselves and returned to their pews.

Has this ever happened to anyone before? Were the breaking of the hosts and then the blessing the norm for such a situation? I was a bit perplexed, I have never experienced this before.

I’ve seen something similar happen once. I had been studying abroad in Europe and would attend mass at the cathedral there. During the time I was studying, it was always packed, with standing room only. This one Sunday, though, it seemed to be more packed than usual. I’m assuming they were tourists as I was there during a summer semester. They had at least 6 priests distributing communion. I remember there was no semblance of a queue. No matter where you were located in the cathedral, people rushed up to the altar rail like a swarm, some literally doing a slow run up to the rail. I was towards the end and I remember seeing the priests going to the back to bring in more hosts, but then they started to break the hosts into little pieces. My piece ended up being extremely small, like half the size of a dime. I do not know if they ran out of hosts, but I had never experienced something like that before then.

 

[paperwight66]

To the bolded above: why not? Is this your pastor’s rule? I have seen many parishes with an extra ciborium on the credence table filled with unconsecrated hosts for just this sort of occassion.

Yes, indeed, chalices containing wine, too. In our offertory procession there is only a token representation of the Gifts - one bowl of altar-breads, a small cruet - so there is always extra on the credence table that can be used or not.

I didn’t realise that some parishes brought up everything in the procession.

 

[Phemie]

Yes, indeed, chalices containing wine, too. In our offertory procession there is only a token representation of the Gifts - one bowl of altar-breads, a small cruet - so there is always extra on the credence table that can be used or not.

I didn’t realise that some parishes brought up everything in the procession.

Oh yes, ours is one. One small cruet with at most 6 oz of wine and a flat ciborium that can hold a concelebration host and ~200 regular hosts. As a rule there would be enough hosts consecrated at every Mass to allow everyone to receive.

In the name of truth I must admit that the sacristan has palpitations if there is not enough of the reserved Blessed Sacrament to feed a 747 load of travellers – can’t seem to convince her that the odds of there being a plane load of Catholics who require Viaticum in case of a crash are slim and that the priest would have ample time to celebrate a quick Mass before he’d be given access to the site anyway – so there is always a full ciborium in the Tabernacle and that reserved is brought out before the fractioning rite. As much as the priest tries to keep the amount down, she keeps adding more and more and I’ve seen her in tears at the thought that there should be fewer than 150-200 Hosts reserved. “But what if the priest can’t be here for Mass on Sunday and we run out of Hosts???” “Then people go without Communion for a week, until he gets back.” That response is enough to make her cry.

 

[paperwight66]

At a guess, we have two or three hundred reserved in the tabernacle, and sometimes more if a funeral hasn’t had as many communicants as expected, for example, or it’s school holidays so the school chapel has been closed and their Hosts transferred to the church for safe keeping. Our Sacristans are expected to check and adjust what they put out if necessary.

 

[Cathryn]

Originally Posted by paperwight66
Yes, indeed, chalices containing wine, too. In our offertory procession there is only a token representation of the Gifts - one bowl of altar-breads, a small cruet - so there is always extra on the credence table that can be used or not.

I didn’t realise that some parishes brought up everything in the procession.

My parish usually only uses what is brought up with the gifts, but if much more is needed, a ciborium is placed on the credence table and this is brought to the priest by the altar servers. They are instructed to bring any other ciboriums to the priest for Consecration. At my parish the sacristan is told what to do, we don’t decide to have hundreds of extra Hosts for what we consider emergencies. My pastor doesn’t want this. He has been instructed by his Bishop not to reserve too many, so that people generally are receiving Hosts from the same Mass they are participating in. Actually, this has worked for us since we have never run out. The pastor says if we run out, we run out. Ultimitely it is the pastor’s responsibility, not the sacristan. Now if the sacristan does not do what the pastor says, then he could blame the sacristan. The Pastor is the boss and is in charge.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Our priests act as sacristan, so I do not know what the specific formula is that they use for estimating the numbers of hosts to consecrate at each Mass. While an individual ciborium or two have run out at a Mass, we have never run out completely that I know of. We are one of the largest parishes in the diocese and have responsibility for a nursing home as well, so we always need to have reserved consecrated hosts to take for sick calls. We are close to an airport (although there are other parishes closer) but I don’t think our pastor worries about a 747 full of Catholics needing viaticum.