Something that did not seem right at Mass this morning

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lakotak

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This does not seem right. It is the first time I have ever seen it happen in all the time I have been going to Masses.

It was just before the distribution of the Eucharist. The person was standing waiting to receive Jesus and also to distribute. The priest turned to him and offered him the paten and he took one of consecrated host off of it himself. The priest did not offer to hand him a host. Does anyone else think this was not right? Maybe I am just ignorant of something here.
 
I have always thought receiving the Eucharist in the hand was a little disrespectful of Our Lord because we do not have the consecrated hands that a priest does and it takes some of the sacredness away of receiving Jesus. But I have never seen what you are describing. It does seem a little disrespectful to me because Jesus is being handled more like an object. He isn’t someone we can just pass to another person. The priest picking Our Lord up in his sacred, consecrated hands and placing Him directly in the mouth of another person is one thing. That way there is a less chance of someone disrespecting Him. But just handing a paten to a person and having that person pick him up with unworthy hands and possibly doing something disresepctful with him (for example, like hiding Him in someone’s pocket after taking Him from the priest) seems more disresepctful. I am just thinking out loud. These are my feelings about it.
Emily S.
 
lakotak said:
This does not seem right. It is the first time I have ever seen it happen in all the time I have been going to Masses.

It was just before the distribution of the Eucharist. The person was standing waiting to receive Jesus and also to distribute. The priest turned to him and offered him the paten and he took one of consecrated host off of it himself. The priest did not offer to hand him a host. Does anyone else think this was not right? Maybe I am just ignorant of something here.
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You are right - we are not allowed to “self communicate” - Holy Communion is not a buffet line where we help ourselves, regardless if one is an EMHC.

Also - if I’m not mistaken - there should not be a pile of consecrated hosts on a paten. Surely someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I do not believe that is allowed.

~Liza
 
lizaanne said:
You are right - we are not allowed to “self communicate” - Holy Communion is not a buffet line where we help ourselves, regardless if one is an EMHC.

Also - if I’m not mistaken - there should not be a pile of consecrated hosts on a paten. Surely someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I do not believe that is allowed.

~Liza
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I am sure the EMHC didn’t have a clue that this was out of the ordinary. In this case, what should he have done?
 
lakotak said:
I am sure the EMHC didn’t have a clue that this was out of the ordinary. In this case, what should he have done?
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Maybe he could have distributed communion and then received from the priest or another EMHC? It’s possible the priest thought that all the EMHCs had already received communion (maybe he was on "autopilot).
 
Yes, the priest is supposed to GIVE the host, not offer for the person to TAKE it.
 
silicasandra said:
Maybe he could have distributed communion and then received from the priest or another EMHC? It’s possible the priest thought that all the EMHCs had already received communion (maybe he was on "autopilot).
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There was only one EMHC. The morning Mass usually has around 8-12 people attending.
 
Was the other person waiting to receive a concelebrating priest? That’s the only instance I can think of where such a thing would happen.
 
lakotak said:
There was only one EMHC. The morning Mass usually has around 8-12 people attending.
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Why was there an EMHC at all for so few people? They are ‘extraordinary’ and ever since Mediator Dei popes have been declaring that EMHC’s being used on a regular basis is a grave abuse.
 
Joe_5859 said:
Was the other person waiting to receive a concelebrating priest? That’s the only instance I can think of where such a thing would happen.
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No, only one priest. The priest just turned to the EM and offered him the paten with the hosts on it and the EM took a host. I never saw that done before.
 
dshix said:
Why was there an EMHC at all for so few people? They are ‘extraordinary’ and ever since Mediator Dei popes have been declaring that EMHC’s being used on a regular basis is a grave abuse.
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This person was waiting to receive Communion and to distribute the Precious Blood.
 
lakotak said:
No, only one priest. The priest just turned to the EM and offered him the paten with the hosts on it and the EM took a host. I never saw that done before.
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Perhaps it was just a case of miscommunication. But yeah, your instinct is correct that it’s not the way things should be done.
 
mfrances said:
Why is the world was there an EMHC with only 12 people there!
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There is always someone there to distribute the Precious Blood at this morning Mass. The priest distributes the hosts and there is a person to distribute the Precious Blood.
 
Was this the usual priest? Was this someone who usually acts as EMHC?

This is really, really weird.
 
lakotak said:
This does not seem right. It is the first time I have ever seen it happen in all the time I have been going to Masses.

It was just before the distribution of the Eucharist. The person was standing waiting to receive Jesus and also to distribute. The priest turned to him and offered him the paten and he took one of consecrated host off of it himself. The priest did not offer to hand him a host. Does anyone else think this was not right? Maybe I am just ignorant of something here.
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Couple of questions. Who was this person? Could he possibly bein training to be a deacon, or be a deacon, and you are not aware? Or a seminarian?

If the priest offered him communion from the priest’s paten, then he is likely to be one or the other.

If you have never seen this before, than it isn’t a usual occurance in your parish and so either allowed because of who the EMHC is, or a one time goof that probably won’t happen again.
 
silicasandra said:
Was this the usual priest? Was this someone who usually acts as EMHC?

This is really, really weird.
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This priest does Mass a couple of time a week regularly. There are a couple of people that act as EMHC. This person does it regularly, at least for the past five years that I have been going. There area actually several people who participate.
I was really taken back as I witnessed this. I think the Holy Spirit was yelling at me that this was not right.
 
catholicgirl97 said:
I have always thought receiving the Eucharist in the hand was a little disrespectful of Our Lord because we do not have the consecrated hands that a priest does and it takes some of the sacredness away of receiving Jesus. But I have never seen what you are describing. It does seem a little disrespectful to me because Jesus is being handled more like an object. He isn’t someone we can just pass to another person. **The priest picking Our Lord up in his sacred, consecrated hands **and placing Him directly in the mouth of another person is one thing. That way there is a less chance of someone disrespecting Him. But just handing a paten to a person and having that person pick him up with unworthy hands and possibly doing something disresepctful with him (for example, like hiding Him in someone’s pocket after taking Him from the priest) seems more disresepctful. I am just thinking out loud. These are my feelings about it.
Emily S.
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Emily;

Consecrated hands are for consecration of the Eucharist, not for distribution. Deacons do not have consecrated hands and they are ordinary ministers of communion in the Church. Deacons are not being disrespectful of Our Lord when they distribute.

Both consecration of the hands at ordination and purification of the fingers during Mass are for consecration of the Eucharist, not distribution.

-Tim-
 
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