Too Many EMHC's?

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jediliz said:
Perhaps if we had more vocations to the priesthood and a smaller shortage of priests, EMHCs could be used for hospital or home visits and in a rarer instance at Mass.

Of course, I’m spoiled…my parish has three priests and usually two distribute with an acolyte (sometimes all three plus acolyte), but only the host. We restored our communion rail, so communion goes fairly “fast”.
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That is one thing I have noticed being Episcopalian compared to Catholic Churches I’ve been to… the communion rail does seem to increase the speed and efficiency with which communion is provided to the faithful. Plus I’ve noted it allows those that may want to take a moment and reflect/linger a moment after reception to do so without slowing the flow of communicants.
 
I don’t think that is accurate; usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/norms-for-holy-communion-under-both-kinds/ :
49. Holy Communion may be distributed by intinction in the following manner: "Each communicant, while holding a Communion-plate under the mouth, approaches the Priest who holds a vessel with the sacred particles, with a minister standing at his side and holding the chalice. The Priest takes a host, intincts it partly in the chalice and, showing it, says: ‘The Body and Blood of Christ.’ The communicant replies, ‘Amen,’ receives the Sacrament in the mouth from the Priest, and then withdraws."54
  1. The communicant, including the extraordinary minister, is never allowed to self-communicate, even by means of intinction. Communion under either form, bread or wine, must always be given by an ordinary or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.
 
It would seem to me that an altar rail could speed up reception quite a lot, and not require so many people, ordinary or extraordinary, to distribute.

(I’m not a hardline trad, but altar rails seem to me to be very practical.)
 
SyroMalankara said:
I don’t think that is accurate; usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/norms-for-holy-communion-under-both-kinds/ :
49. Holy Communion may be distributed by intinction in the following manner: "Each communicant, while holding a Communion-plate under the mouth, approaches the Priest who holds a vessel with the sacred particles, with a minister standing at his side and holding the chalice. The Priest takes a host, intincts it partly in the chalice and, showing it, says: ‘The Body and Blood of Christ.’ The communicant replies, ‘Amen,’ receives the Sacrament in the mouth from the Priest, and then withdraws."54
  1. The communicant, including the extraordinary minister, is never allowed to self-communicate, even by means of intinction. Communion under either form, bread or wine, must always be given by an ordinary or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.
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From the GIRM 287: If Communion from the chalice is carried out by intinction, each communicant, holding a Communion-plate under the mouth, approaches the ***Priest ***who holds a vessel with the sacred particles, with a minister standing at his side and holding the chalice. The Priest takes a host, intincts it partly in the chalice and, showing it, says, The Body and Blood of Christ. The communicant replies, Amen, receives the Sacrament in the mouth from the Priest, and then withdraws. (emphasis mine)

Only a Priest or Bishop can self-communicate, since they are the only people with the faculties to consecrate. Personally, I think the wording is a bit rough on #50 of the Norms, but I didn’t write it. What I know from my Bishop and my Priest and all the training materials that I have for being an EMHC is that only a Priest or Bishop can perform intinction. A layperson can hold the chalice, but that’s as far as it goes.
 
pensmama87 said:
It would seem to me that an altar rail could speed up reception quite a lot, and not require so many people, ordinary or extraordinary, to distribute.

(I’m not a hardline trad, but altar rails seem to me to be very practical.)
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I actually like the rail. I’ve been to a couple Masses with the rail and communion goes rather quickly. One church was of good size (Fathers of Mercy in KY) on Divine Mercy Sunday and rather packed and communion was rather smooth and quick - even with some folks lingering at the rail!
 
Wendy1989 said:
From the GIRM 287: If Communion from the chalice is carried out by intinction, each communicant, holding a Communion-plate under the mouth, approaches the ***Priest ***who holds a vessel with the sacred particles, with a minister standing at his side and holding the chalice. The Priest takes a host, intincts it partly in the chalice and, showing it, says, The Body and Blood of Christ. The communicant replies, Amen, receives the Sacrament in the mouth from the Priest, and then withdraws. (emphasis mine)

Only a Priest or Bishop can self-communicate, since they are the only people with the faculties to consecrate. Personally, I think the wording is a bit rough on #50 of the Norms, but I didn’t write it. What I know from my Bishop and my Priest and all the training materials that I have for being an EMHC is that only a Priest or Bishop can perform intinction. A layperson can hold the chalice, but that’s as far as it goes.
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Thats in regard to SELF intinction, not when an ordinary or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion intincts and places in the recipients mouth
 
Padres1969 said:
That is one thing I have noticed being Episcopalian compared to Catholic Churches I’ve been to… the communion rail does seem to increase the speed and efficiency with which communion is provided to the faithful. Plus I’ve noted it allows those that may want to take a moment and reflect/linger a moment after reception to do so without slowing the flow of communicants.
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I am absolutely at a loss as to why we want speed and efficiency. When I was an altar boy in the late '50s and into the 60’s, we had a pastor who could distribute Communion as fast as anybody I have seen since then.

People cry and moan that there is not enough reverence in Masses; and then we have some who want speed and efficiency.

I wonder if Christ made the Last Supper "speedy and efficient’… I kind of have my doubts.
 
Wendy1989 said:
Only problem is that in the Latin/Roman rite, only a priest or bishop has the authority to intinct.
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And with one priest per parish average, and with 300, 400 or more communicants, that is going to take how long? We have another thread right now in which people are complaining about having a baptism during the Mass once in a while, as that might add (horror of horrors!) 15 minutes on a Sunday.

Of course, a solution would be to have other EMHCs distributing without intinction, but then you would be left with a constant jockeying in and out of the line the priest has - which simply creates ongoing chaos.

The purpose of standing from the Angus Dei until after receiving Communion is that we are in procession. and procession doe snot imply people constantly changing lines.

That - the procession - is why the GIRM stated that one was to remain standing after one has received, until all have received (a point modified by Cardinal Arinze to the dubium of Cardinal George on the matter).
 
Wendy1989 said:
From the GIRM 287: If Communion from the chalice is carried out by intinction, each communicant, holding a Communion-plate under the mouth, approaches the ***Priest ***who holds a vessel with the sacred particles, with a minister standing at his side and holding the chalice. The Priest takes a host, intincts it partly in the chalice and, showing it, says, The Body and Blood of Christ. The communicant replies, Amen, receives the Sacrament in the mouth from the Priest, and then withdraws. (emphasis mine)

Only a Priest or Bishop can self-communicate, since they are the only people with the faculties to consecrate. Personally, I think the wording is a bit rough on #50 of the Norms, but I didn’t write it. What I know from my Bishop and my Priest and all the training materials that I have for being an EMHC is that only a Priest or Bishop can perform intinction. A layperson can hold the chalice, but that’s as far as it goes.
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Paragraph 50 of the USCCB document seems to say otherwise, although it is not mentioned in paragraph 49, which you quote. 🤷
 
Wendy1989 said:
I actually like the rail. I’ve been to a couple Masses with the rail and communion goes rather quickly. One church was of good size (Fathers of Mercy in KY) on Divine Mercy Sunday and rather packed and communion was rather smooth and quick - even with some folks lingering at the rail!
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However, use of the Communion rail makes reception of the Blood at best awkward, and likely hazardous, as one is liable to bump one’s arm into the rail when returning the Cup.
 
otjm said:
However, use of the Communion rail makes reception of the Blood at best awkward, and likely hazardous, as one is liable to bump one’s arm into the rail when returning the Cup.
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Simple solution to that… don’t hand the cup to the recipient. The minister’s hands should never leave it.
 
Intinction is forbidden in this Archdiocese.
As far as altar rails, they are pretty alright, but with a growing elder population in parishes, they lose their popularity soon enough. It;s logistical nightmare for some.

People love receiving both the Body and the Blood. I don’t care to go backward in time.
The Church has granted us so many privileges in liturgy. Time to count our blessings and stop trying to re-write rubrics to suit our own personal preferences.
We don’t get a vote. We do what the Church permits us to do, and we should be grateful.
It was not so very long ago that people seldom received, and also never received the Precious Blood.
Thank goodness for the wisdom of the Council Fathers and pastoral theologians.
 
I used to be a Eucharistic Minister (EM) at both Daily and Weekend Masses. The church I served as an EM had about 50-100 people at the Daily Mass (2 EM’s and the priest for the consecrated host and three EM’s for the precious blood) and hundreds at the Weekend Mass (2 EM’s and the priest for the consecrated host and three EM’s for the precious blood). I now worship in a church that does NOT have lay people who serve as EM’s. Where I worship now the priest is the ONLY ONE permitted to dispense holy communion to the faithful and tincture is permitted. The priest therefore dips the consecrated host into the precious blood PRIOR to placing it on your tongue! NO-ONE is permitted to receive in the hand!
 
otjm said:
However, use of the Communion rail makes reception of the Blood at best awkward, and likely hazardous, as one is liable to bump one’s arm into the rail when returning the Cup.
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I don’t think that’s necessarily true.

I remember a pic of presidential candidate John Kerry receiving communion at a Methodist Church, kneeling at the communion rail. It was presumably not really familiar to Mr. Kerry, but was to the Methodist ministers there.

I think if you get the protocol down right, there shouldn’t be a logistic problem at all.
 
otjm said:
However, use of the Communion rail makes reception of the Blood at best awkward, and likely hazardous, as one is liable to bump one’s arm into the rail when returning the Cup.
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I think this would be very low on a list of receiving at the altar rail or kneeling.

Not awkward nor is it hazardous.
 
SyroMalankara said:
Of course, one could half the number with something like this.

https://www.churchsupplies.com/store/media/004.2919.jpg
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If communion is to be distributed under both species, intinction is an ideal method. But is must be administered by a priest and placed on the tongue.

My own parish is very large and we do use EHMC’s but do not distribute under both species except on special occasions, but distribute the sacred host only, which is precisely the solution proposed by the Liturgy Guy. It takes longer to receive Jesus twice than to receive him once.
 
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