This trend must stop: the EMHC hand sanitizing procession

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TheLittleLady said:
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bobperk:
, then the first person in line takes communion on the tongue and has a cold. Or they’re touching someone’s hand that was just sneezed in. I’m not sure how long the efficacy of the cleaner lasts in the first place.
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The fingers of the EMHC ought not touch the hand nor the tongue of the people receiving. If either happens, the EMHC needs further training.
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As someone who has the privilege of distributing Communion, I disagree. What’s happened is that - generations removed from the good sisters - people fail to stick their tongues out far enough or open their mouths wide enough or long enough. From time to time I’ve come quite close to being bitten. It’s not on the EMHC’s.
 
phil19034 said:
If Father wants them to clean their hands in front of everyone, that’s fine with me.
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Honestly, in my experience it has nothing to do with anyone wanting the EMHCs to clean their hands in front of people. It has nothing to do with EMHCs wanting to make a “show”.

It has to do with logistics of where the sacristy is, where it’s logical to put a little bottle of sanitizer that is easy and within reach (near the credence table seems to be the place), the size of the altar and location of various items in relation to the altar.

It would make absolutely no sense in most churches for the EMHCs to go into the sacristy and then come back out-- that would be even MORE “distracting” and take a lot of time.

Really, people are spending way too much time straining at gnats over this. If it bothers you, tell your priest. Make a suggestion of where the sanitizer bottle may be better placed. Be CONSTRUCTIVE rather than simply running down fellow parishioners.

We here can’t do anything about it.
 
Pitcairn17 said:
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TheLittleLady:
40.png
bobperk:
, then the first person in line takes communion on the tongue and has a cold. Or they’re touching someone’s hand that was just sneezed in. I’m not sure how long the efficacy of the cleaner lasts in the first place.
Click to expand...
The fingers of the EMHC ought not touch the hand nor the tongue of the people receiving. If either happens, the EMHC needs further training.
Click to expand...
As someone who has the privilege of distributing Communion, I disagree. What’s happened is that - generations removed from the good sisters - people fail to stick their tongues out far enough or open their mouths wide enough or long enough. From time to time I’ve come quite close to being bitten. It’s not on the EMHC’s.
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Quite. There’s one or two I distribute to who hump up their tongue, making it difficult to place the Host with any security as the flat surface is so small. .There’s someone else who doesn’t fully open their mouth but snaps with their teeth and the minister has to be quick to get their fingers out of the way. And there’s another who breathes out when receiving, thus bathing the minister’s fingers in warm moist air presumably full of bacteria. .

It’s definitely not the minister’s fault, whether Extraordinary or Ordinary.
 
I’d hope that Father can speak with these people, or, do some instruction.
 
Ah yes, the new post-Conciliar Liturgy of radical sanitation. Another Bugnini Freemason/Protestant innovation.

I sense a business opportunity here, as a retired chemist wishing to supplement my pension income: hand sanitizer that smells like incense!

Kill two post-Conciliar birds with one stone: sanctify the Liturgy of Radical Sanitation, and make up for the lack of use of incense (it’s all Bugnini’s fault) at Mass.

Lest anyone think I’m serious: 🤣🤣
 
One of my favorites “…and pure heart.”

I work in a hospital and we always have to foam (sanitize) in and out.
 
This is just another temptation to distraction when you should be collecting your mind and heart go up receive our Lord.

Close your eyes and chose a beautiful image of our Lord. Push the distraction out. This is how saints are made!
 
Thing is, the washing in water is symbolic. Plain water will not remove any bacteria, virus, etc. that are on the hands.

Not going to touch if the people are supposed to use the purification vessel.
 
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That’s where incense should come in. Nothing better than the smell of incense…
 
Widespread use of hand sanitizer, like anti-bacterial soap, promotes resistant bacteria, so for that reason, I am not a fan of it. Maybe the EMHCs could just wash their hands before Mass with plain old soap and water?

The priest doesn’t Purell his hands before distributing Communion, does he? And I have never heard of anyone worried about getting germs by receiving from the priest. So I don’t know why there is the need for EMHCs to disinfect their hands before distributing.

This thread has been rather entertaining, though. 😄 I have never thought about the EMHC Purell practice as distracting, although to the small extent I have thought about it at all, I always wish they wouldn’t use hand sanitizer for the above reason. But you can’t please everybody. I’m sure many would complain if the parish discontinued the use of hand sanitizer.
 
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EnglishTeacher said:
The priest doesn’t Purell his hands before distributing Communion, does he? And I have never heard anyone worried about getting germs by receiving from the priest. So I don’t know why there is the need for EMHCs to disinfect their hands before distributing.
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That’s because you’ve seen the priest’s hands and what he’s been doing with them for the past hour. Not so with EMHCs… 🤣
 
Well they haven’t been picking nits. That’s what the Liturgy Police does… 🤣
 
This would stop if parishes started using EMHCs as they’re supposed to be used.
 
So, we have to shake hands at the sign of peace ( or face weird looks for not shaking hands or being forced to come up with a quick excuse not too ) then there is the option to drink out of a public chalice… and the complaint now is, no public hand sanitation during mass…

The point of ministers hand sanitizing , who knows, I know that the ministers at the Cathedral in my town do the same thing, but it isn’t made into a spectacle , they are off to the side, pass around the hand pump thing, and done.

It is rather interesting how there isn’t diseases floating around as it is just from shaking hands with strangers and the public chalices.
 
OSN said:
So, we have to shake hands at the sign of peace ( or face weird looks for not shaking hands or being forced to come up with a quick excuse not too ) then there is the option to drink out of a public chalice… and the complaint now is, no public hand sanitation during mass…

The point of ministers hand sanitizing , who knows, I know that the ministers at the Cathedral in my town do the same thing, but it isn’t made into a spectacle , they are off to the side, pass around the hand pump thing, and done.

It is rather interesting how there isn’t diseases floating around as it is just from shaking hands with strangers and the public chalices.
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Maybe an equivalent moment could be everyone taking a swig of Listerine and rinsing, before they approach the chalice!
 
I understand why the EMHCs have to sanitize, but I actually think some exposure to germs is more authentic to the experience of the early Christians. Sure, they were supposed to wash hands before eating (although I believe Jesus at one point rebukes some Pharisees who are fussing over some people eating without ritually washing) but I’m sure it didn’t always get done and the water, which was probably kind of germy itself, didn’t always clean germs when you did. I bet they weren’t wiping the cup when they handed it around either and who knows how many hands the Body went through passing it round the table? Plus half the time you were having Mass in a catacomb full of recently deceased and unembalmed people anyway. It was just a grubby time and it didn’t matter.
 
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I agree with the poster that said all that hand sanitizing is not healthy, it encourages the development of resistant bacteria. One problem in our society is that we are too clean. Our immune systems are under-utilized and that’s why there’s been an increase in food allergies. Immune systems are like humans, if they aren’t kept busy, they get into trouble!

Before anyone quips… yes I do shower every day! But just soap and water!
 
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