Requirements for Eucharistic Minister?

[bejo]

I have been looking everywhere for some information on this. Isn’t the lay minister required to be a Catholic in good standing? A nice lady at our small church (20-30) wants to be one, but she has told me she is not married to the man she has lived with for the last 10 or so years. She receives Holy Communion also (as does another lady in the same situation), our priest must know this. If all the parishioners know this, what does this do to their faith?? I told her I would email some information to her on the requirements.
Anyone know where to look?
Thanks

 

[richwmiller]

I have been looking everywhere for some information on this. Isn’t the lay minister required to be a Catholic in good standing? A nice lady at our small church (20-30) wants to be one, but she has told me she is not married to the man she has lived with for the last 10 or so years. She receives Holy Communion also (as does another lady in the same situation), our priest must know this. If all the parishioners know this, what does this do to their faith?? I told her I would email some information to her on the requirements.
Anyone know where to look?
Thanks

In theory but not always in practice an extraordinary minsiter of Holy Communion should be a catholic in good standing with the church .
If a scandal (divorced and remarried without annulment) is well known about a person that person should not be any kind of minster in the church including lector.
Ministers such as lector and EOHC should take a course designated by the bishop.

 

[bejo]

I have looked in all my favorite Catholic sites, but have not found anything that gives a detailed list of what a EM should have. Any clues?

 

[thistle]

I have been looking everywhere for some information on this. Isn’t the lay minister required to be a Catholic in good standing? A nice lady at our small church (20-30) wants to be one, but she has told me she is not married to the man she has lived with for the last 10 or so years. She receives Holy Communion also (as does another lady in the same situation), our priest must know this. If all the parishioners know this, what does this do to their faith?? I told her I would email some information to her on the requirements.
Anyone know where to look?
Thanks

An EMHC is not a Eucharistic Minister. The Eucharistic Minister is the priest.

 

[marty1818]

An Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (EMHC) should be a fully initiated Catholic living a life in agreement with the commandments. For one to be and EMHC, however, living a life contradictory to the commandments would be scandalous to others.

 

[Ad_Deum]

May I know why she wanted to be a “Eucharistic Minister”?

Pax
Laudater Jesus Christus

 

[quiet52]

No person has the “right” to serve in a liturgical ministry. Each ministry is a privilege. The pastor has the duty to review the integrity of each person applying to serve as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. After all, receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist (who is Jesus) as a congregation is a sign of our unity. The unity is fractured by sin and non-belief. Why should a person who is not in communion with the Church think he/she has a right to serve in this ministry?

[46.] The lay Christian faithful called to give assistance at liturgical celebrations should be well instructed and must be those whose Christian life, morals and fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium recommend them. It is fitting that such a one should have received a liturgical formation in accordance with his or her age, condition, state of life, and religious culture. No one should be selected whose designation could cause consternation for the faithful.

[81.] The Church’s custom shows that it is necessary for each person to examine himself at depth, and that anyone who is conscious of grave sin should not celebrate or receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession…"

[83.] It is certainly best that all who are participating in the celebration of Holy Mass with the necessary dispositions should receive Communion. Nevertheless, it sometimes happens that Christ’s faithful approach the altar as a group indiscriminately. It pertains to the Pastors prudently and firmly to correct such an abuse.

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html#Chapter%20IV

Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion should receive sufficient spiritual, theological, and practical preparation to fulfill their role with knowledge and reverence. When recourse is had to Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, especially in the distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds, their number should not be increased beyond what is required for the orderly and reverent distribution of the Body and Blood of the Lord. In all matters such Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion should follow the guidance of the diocesan bishop.

usccb.org/liturgy/current/norms.shtml

 

[kage_ar]

You Diocese should have a set of guidelines, training requirements etc. Give 'em a call.

 

[bejo]

thanks quiet52 for the link and the information. I will check this out and see what happens.
Thanks for all the (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[viktor_aleksndr]

If i were to answer the question **Requirements for Eucharistic Minister? **i would say you must be a priest!

**There is no Eucharistic Minister other than the ordained persons (priests and bishops). **

 

[quiet52]

thanks quiet52 for the link and the information. I will check this out and see what happens.
Thanks for all the (name removed by moderator)ut.

You’re welcome, Bejo. I’ll pray for your friend. Encourage her to speak with a priest – not about being an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, but about her sin of living with someone outside of marriage and about her receiving Holy Communion in defiance of what the Church teaches.

 

[imom130]

I don’t think you need to search for Requirements of a Eucharistic Minister as much as you need the Requirements of a Member in Good Standing. Which I’m pretty sure is not living in sin (living as a married couple, not being married, not going to mass, receiving all the sacraments, including marriage in the Catholic church, etc) My church said the only requirements were to be a practicing Catholic in good Standing, and be a member of the parish. Best Wishes!

 

[diggerdomer]

I have been looking everywhere for some information on this. Isn’t the lay minister required to be a Catholic in good standing? A nice lady at our small church (20-30) wants to be one, but she has told me she is not married to the man she has lived with for the last 10 or so years. She receives Holy Communion also (as does another lady in the same situation), our priest must know this. If all the parishioners know this, what does this do to their faith?? I told her I would email some information to her on the requirements.
Anyone know where to look?
Thanks

As kage_ar noted, helpfully and correctly (imho), your diocese and/or parish is the place to look for the answers to your question (as you can see from responses here, things tend to go in all directions regardless of the initial question).

 

[Kielbasi]

An EMHC is not a Eucharistic Minister. The Eucharistic Minister is the priest.

I know that you have a good point.

But language is largely determined by usage, and in many Catholic churches, parishes and dioceses throughout the United States, the term eucharistic minister is currently used for lay people who help in the distribution of Holy Communion.

Language changes- I guess it can change back, too- but just like the definition of *celibacy *changed from “unmarried” to “no sex”, so it has been in many places with eucharistic minister.

 

[JFK]

No person has the “right” to serve in a liturgical ministry. Each ministry is a privilege. The pastor has the duty to review the integrity of each person applying to serve as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. After all, receiving the sacrament of the Eucharist (who is Jesus) as a congregation is a sign of our unity. The unity is fractured by sin and non-belief. Why should a person who is not in communion with the Church think he/she has a right to serve in this ministry?

Amen, Brother!

 

[Mrs_Sally]

In every instance that I am aware of, the pastor must invite someone to be an EMHC. It is not a role that one can self-select for in the way one volunteers to be an usher. After the invitation, there is training both from the diocese and the parish. There are also limitations on the role. If you are an EMHC at your home parish, you don’t get to automatically be one at any other parish, nor do you get to start taking communion to family or homebound friends without permission.

The OPs friend needs to be directed to her pastor for counselling on her life state, and to her diocese or pastor on answers to her questions about the requirements to be an EMHC.

OP, I will be praying for your friend and the other woman you spoke of. Also, praying for a growth in your parish. Twenty to thirty people is very small!

 

[sinner_saint]

An divorced woman I know is a new Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion (EMHC) at a local parish. She is in a relationship with a man and I have it on good word (from mutual friends) that it is a sexual relationship. This causes great consternation in my soul and leaves me disappointed in the Church that this is allowed to happen. I would like to think that anyone who is given the privilege of distributing The Body of Christ would also follow ALL of the Catholic dogma. I assume this woman completed the necessary requirements under the guidance and watchful eye of the parish priest and/or program director. The fact that there are disingenuous members such as this embedded within the congregation is unsettling to me.

I don’t intend to use this forum as a gossip column but this and other hypocritical issues have distanced me from the Catholic Church - although I am a strong believer in the Church and what it stands for.

 

[ConstantineTG]

An divorced woman I know is a new Eucharistic Minister at a local parish. She is in a relationship with a man and I have it on good word (from mutual friends) that it is a sexual relationship. This causes great consternation in my soul and leaves me disappointed in the Church that this is allowed to happen. I would like to think that anyone who is given the privilege of distributing The Body of Christ would also follow ALL of the Catholic dogma. I assume this woman completed the necessary requirements under the guidance and watchful eye of the parish priest and/or program director. The fact that there are disingenuous members such as this embedded within the congregation is unsettling to me.

I don’t intend to use this forum as a gossip column but this and other hypocritical issues have distanced me from the Catholic Church - although I am a strong believer in the Church and what it stands for.

If you’re worried about the sins of the woman, why are you not worried about the sins of the priest? I think we should be worried about our own sins. When we receive Christ, we receive Him fully. There is no sin a priest or an EMHC can have that can ever diminish Christ. Christ has conquered sin and death, let us not forget that.

The second part here is, you are becoming very judgmental on the person. A priest will evaluate them if they are worthy of service. We have no right to judge someone’s soul, that alone belongs to the Judge, Jesus Christ.

 

[Phemie]

Sad that she doesn’t seem to know herself that her ‘marital situation’ or lack thereof makes her ineligible.

Of all the people in irregular situations I’ve known, only three people refrained from Communion. Almost every baptism in our parish is the child of unmarried parents and they always go to Communion. Sadly, most people think nothing of it.

 

[Elizium23]

But language is largely determined by usage, and in many Catholic churches, parishes and dioceses throughout the United States, the term eucharistic minister is currently used for lay people who help in the distribution of Holy Communion.

Language changes- I guess it can change back, too- but just like the definition of *celibacy *changed from “unmarried” to “no sex”, so it has been in many places with eucharistic minister.

While I appreciate your linguistic argument, (such a position is called ‘descriptivist’ where usage determines meaning, rather than the other way around) we are in the Liturgy and Sacraments forum, and we should be especially careful with our usage of terms. In our world, the Church defines many terms very precisely; this is borne out in translations of documents and shown clearly when documents are mis-translated. Especially in Canon Law, there are words and terms which have very specific meanings, for example: “a just cause” is more easily met than “a grave reason.” And in catechesis, “perfect contrition” has a very specific meaning that you will find defined in the book, The Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Therefore, while we recognize that “Eucharistic Minister” was a common term in the past which referred to EMHCs, the Church in her wisdom has deprecated this term, and I think that you will find in reality that nobody officially representing the Church will use the term “Eucharistic Minister” when they in fact mean an EMHC. The term may still be ingrained in the minds of many laity who used to understand it as an acceptable term, and that is where you find it in common usage. But the fact of the matter is that “EMHC” is the term the Church has decreed for this purpose, and as you have seen, using another term like “Eucharistic Minister” stirs up confusion and ire because it is imprecise. It is imprecise because it lacks two things: It lacks the term “extraordinary” which has a very specific meaning in Church language when it modifies the term “minister.” It also uses the term “Eucharistic” which connotes the ability to celebrate and confect the Eucharist, which are faculties reserved to the priest alone. (Not even a Deacon is able to validly confect the Eucharist, while he is an Ordinary Minister of Holy Communion.)

So please do not promote the usage of an inaccurate, outdated term on such a linguistic basis. If laity such as us begin using the correct terms for things in the liturgy, then others will follow.