@ twf : We have a fair amount of deacons around the island of Montreal (english sector - I’m not too certain about the majority french sector). Our sister parish has 4 deacons serving.
I attend the daily Mass at my home parish 3 days a week, On other days ( which includes Friday ,Saturday, Sunday ), my apostolate requires me to serve (volunteer) as a lay assistant to the chaplain in a large palliative care institution. One of my duties is to help distribute Holy Communion to the sick and dying, both during Mass and outside of Mass. There is a legitimate need here for an EMHC. It’s even more important to know the needs of the patients here because some are blind, some are deaf, some can only consume a fragment of the Blessed Eucharist…others only a crumb, and others can’t swallow at all (they’re kept alive by a tube that runs food directly to their stomach).
For the last 8 of the 12 years that I’ve been involved in this apostolate, I’ve also been serving as a special skills lay assistant to a priest/patient (Père Georges A… - O.S.M.) who is half paralyzed from a stroke and who suffers from parkinsons. He only has one hand/arm which functions and it isn’t 100% . So he isn’t able to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by himself. As the illness takes its course, we’ve worked and prayed our way around all the obstacles which threatened to stop him from celebrating Mass.
At my home parish I would never serve as an EMHC (during the weekday Masses) because most of the time, there isn’t really a need. Holy Communion during the week is distributed under both species in two lines, ie : two chalices and two ciboria [or the presider’s paten and one ciborium], therefore a priest and 3 EMHC’s. Sometimes there may be only30 - 40 people attending Mass but they don’t change the format.
The EMHC’s do not sit in the pews adjacent to the sanctuary area during Mass. Instead, they are called up (the sacristan gives them a hand signal) from the general seating near the end of the Agnus Dei, while some of the faithful are still moving around looking for someone else to give the sign of distract…er peace to.
This moving of the EMHC’s towards the santcuary, in turn, sparks an early exodus of certain of the faithful to form the line for reception of Holy Communion even before we get to the “Lord I am not worthy…” . There isn’t anything really nice I can add here except maybe that I pray much better at this point in the Mass with my eyes closed.
To try to demonstrate how this wide variety of duties effets me personally:
Because I can be handling the Blessed Sacrament frequently ( it used to be for up to 8 hours at a time on occasion when visiting the sick), I prefer to personally receive on the tongue, just as a little reminder to our Lord that I acknowledge who He is, that I love Him, and also to beg him that handling Him doesn’t ever become a routine, to ask forgiveness for any times I haven’t remained conscious of His presence while between patients, etc.
When serving with Père Georges, it is too much to ask him to place Holy Communion on my tongue so I receive in the hand. For all the chaplains who are willing, when I have to distribute Holy Communion to the sick within Mass, I always ask the chaplain to bless my hands first.
I also used to have an issue with receiving Holy Communion from an EMHC rather than a priest. But there came certain things with the apostolate that changed me. On occasion, for example, Père Georges is not able with one hand to break off a fragment of the Host to be placed in the cup. In these instances, I’ve had to steady the Host on the paten with one finger so he could break off a fragment. This one necessary action makes me feel like the smallest most unworthy person in the world. I can’t explain why… and it doesn’t seem to matter how many times I wash my hands before we celebrate the Mass or even if I’ve just been to Confession…the feeling is always the same and a lump wells up in my throat, it feels like I’m so aware of God’s presence in the Host at that particular moment that I could almost die.
Receiving Holy Communion is a very personal thing and we are known to be extremely sensitive in this area. So I wouldn’t want to influence any one else’s decision re receiving from EMHC and orained MHC one way or the other. As one who has gone through the struggle I might offer a little food for thought for anyone else struggling with it : Learn the difference between an abuse and desecration of the Blessed Sacrament; because they are not the same, and because whatever decision you feel you need to make will be an informed one.
God Bless all who post on and visit this thread.
and help out.
.