Repose of Eucharist after communion

[jimmy_eblin]

At our parish during mass I noticed the altar servers putting the Eucharist in the Tabernacle after communion. I asked an apologist and Fr. Grondin said the priest should repose the Eucharist not the altar server, he cited GIRM #163. I asked my priest about this and he said he does not let the altar server repose the Eucharist but asks an emcee which is a trained and instituted acolyte. Isnt an acolyte an altar server, ive seen young girls ,boys and men and women repose eucharist, this still feels wrong to me. Second we sing the gloria and we sing “and on earth, peace on earth peace to people of good will”. The new translation is “and on earth peace to people of good will”. Our priest stated the repitition in words is used by the publisher we use and is allowed to make it more singable,this seems a lot different than the change we just made ,which was to make the language more perfect. Seems almost like old version of the Gloria.I love our priest and parish but wonder are these things ok?

 

[Zekariya]

Second we sing the gloria and we sing “and on earth, peace on earth peace to people of good will”. The new translation is “and on earth peace to people of good will”. Our priest stated the repitition in words is used by the publisher we use and is allowed to make it more singable,this seems a lot different than the change we just made ,which was to make the language more perfect.

I believe that this is correct. Every parish I have been visited sings the Gloria that way.

 

[revert_jen]

The ICEL chants, which I believe must be published in every worship aid, use the correct words. Perhaps if nobody else can manage to make music with the correct words of the prayer, people could use the ICEL version.

–Jen

 

[Gorgias]

I asked an apologist and Fr. Grondin said the priest should repose the Eucharist not the altar server, he cited GIRM #163.

In his Let Us Pray: A Guide to the Rubrics of Sunday Mass, Father Paul Turner writes (p 148, #761-2):

The remaining Communion breads may be placed in the tabernacle. The GIRM’s only reference to this comes from its treatment of Mass without a deacon. It says of the remaining consecrated hosts that the priest “either consumes them at the altar or carries them to the place designated for the reservation of the Eucharist” (163). … In practice, many parishes assign the reposition of the Eucharist to Eucharistic ministers or deacons. The trend of Roman documents has been to limit the service of Communion ministers, but there is no clear reason why the priest alone should repose the Blessed Sacrament after Communion, especially if the tabernacle is located in a separate chapel for private adoration (GIRM 315).

Note that, if one accepts Father Turner’s assertion here, then allowing an instituted acolyte to repose the Eucharist is reasonable.

I asked my priest about this and he said he does not let the altar server repose the Eucharist but asks an emcee which is a trained and instituted acolyte. Isnt an acolyte an altar server

Well, an ‘instituted acolyte’ isn’t a volunteer altar server; rather, it’s a ministry within the Church. Instituted acolytes may act as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and may purify the vessels after distribution of communion. Altar servers cannot.

ive seen young girls ,boys and men and women repose eucharist

This seems at odds with your pastor’s assertion about an ‘instituted acolyte’. Are you saying that you’ve seen young girls and boys (i.e., altar servers) repose the Eucharist at Masses that your pastor celebrates, or at other parishes and on other occasions?

 

[jimmy_eblin]

At our mass and young children.

 

[InThePew]

Looking at it from a pragmatic point of view, I think the issue is one of ensuring that the consecrated hosts re treated with proper reverence and dignity when they are reposed. thus, while younger altar servers could in theory undertake this task it would be important to ensure that they are properly trained and understand what they need to do. In my home parish, the hosts are reposed by a EMOC (usually me when I’m there).

 

[Phemie]

I asked my priest about this and he said he does not let the altar server repose the Eucharist but asks an emcee which is a trained and instituted acolyte. Isnt an acolyte an altar server, ive seen young girls ,boys and men and women repose eucharist, this still feels wrong to me.

An instituted acolyte will always be an adult male. In the US they must be 21. In Canada it would be even older because they only institute males who are close to being ordained deacon.