What is the average depth of liturgical knowledge by EMsHC in your parish?

[Reuben_J]

Ours is a very big parish and therefore we have many EMCs. Furthermore they are divided into teams to serve in the different masses.

How is their liturgical knowledge? I don’t know. Many of them are senior people in the church who regularly are quite active in other minintries or leaders in their own respective movements. These may have considerable religious knowledge as they do give teachings and seminars outside of serving in the liturgy.

Others may have less knowledge especially if they are roped in to make the required number so that there are enough EMCs to serve in every mass.

EMCs are appointed by the bishop here. They would have a yearly EMC retreat which is usually given by one of the priests and where (name removed by moderator)uts are given.

I would say they are knowledgeable as far as the service that they do. That would be the bare minumum. Some people might be more knowledgeable and some less so.

 

[superblue]

in order to carry out the ministry well… what is there to really understand about standing in one spot, and either saying, The Body of Christ, or, The Blood of Christ, and then handing the species to the person …
??

I mean maybe for those who travel in town to deliever to the home bound, they might want to be knowledgable so they can speak with the person, but even then they are not there to teach or preach.

 

[Katie777]

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-wor...inary-ministers-of-holy-communion-at-mass.cfm

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I mean maybe for those who travel in town to deliever to the home bound, they might want to be knowledgable so they can speak with the person, but even then they are not there to teach or preach.

I wish the person delivering to my mom had been knowledgable, as well as kind, and a few other things she wasn’t. I won’t go into what happened but she upset Mom so much that mom told her not to come back. I am glad of that too because after I heard about this I was very upset with the woman too.

 

[superblue]

well then there ya for those that minister to those who are home bound then needing some knowledge would be beneficial. it is sad to hear that you had to go through a situation like that, anyone caring for the elderly that in turn abuse that position or mistreat them to any degree are pretty worthless to society.

 

[DarkLight]

I wouldn’t really consider those odd locations - they’re normal locations where you’d interact with someone you considered a friend. But that sort of discussion doesn’t often take place in the limited socialization around Mass.

And that’s not even counting someone like me. I wouldn’t even say I could point out who our EMHC’s are out of the parish.

 

[Duesenberg]

I wouldn’t really consider those odd locations - they’re normal locations where you’d interact with someone you considered a friend. But that sort of discussion doesn’t often take place in the limited socialization around Mass.

They’re quite odd in the context of this thread.

 

[DarkLight]

Not really? They’re entirely normal in the context of the thread within the meaning of the post. I don’t get at all why you consider them odd. It’s not like church people only interact with each other within church or something.

 

[Reuben_J]

superblue:

I mean maybe for those who travel in town to deliever to the home bound, they might want to be knowledgable so they can speak with the person, but even then they are not there to teach or preach.

I wish the person delivering to my mom had been knowledgable, as well as kind, and a few other things she wasn’t. I won’t go into what happened but she upset Mom so much that mom told her not to come back. I am glad of that too because after I heard about this I was very upset with the woman too.

He shouldn’t be an Eucharistic minister. Sigh.

Being kind is a given for any Christian but more so if one is dispensing the Body of Christ.

In my parish, appointment of the EMHC is by personal invitation from the bishop and have to has at least two referees, usually from the list of existing EMHC. So, not anybody can become one. Needlessly to say, the person has to live the Sacramental life himself and thus he/she has to be somebody personally known to the bishop/EHMC there.

I remember before being one myself, how disconcerted it was to receive the Eucahrist from a very rough and indifferent priest/EHMC. Sometimes their saying ‘the Body of Christ’ is barely audible and mostly there is no eye contact.

Personally I don’t do that. Receiving Communion probably is the height or climax, if you may, of the mass, when communicants come up to receive the Holy Communion. To me, I see them as holy people of God invited to come to the Lord’s table to partake in the feast, the Body of the Lord Himself no less.

What is wrong to hold the host at their eye level, look at them in the eyes and say audibly, ‘the Body of Christ’ and wait for them to answer, ‘Amen’ and minister the host to them. There are children too coming up (in our parish this is common and they are used to it), their arms crossed on their chest for blessing.

It is an awesome sight to see poeple lining up partaking in th feast of the Lord. Giving Holy Communion gives as as much satisfaction as receiving it. How can EHMC not be kind and grateful in doing it, it’s hard to understand. And when you are loving doing it, the vibe transfers to the communicants certainly.

 

[on_the_hill]

I couldn’t possibly know. I presume they’re liturgically knowledgeable enough to do the job. The question is—how much liturgical knowledge is needed to serve as an EMHC?

 

[Duesenberg]

He shouldn’t be an Eucharistic minister. Sigh.

Being kind is a given for any Christian but more so if one is dispensing the Body of Christ.

Absolutely.

In my parish, appointment of the EMHC is by personal invitation from the bishop and have to has at least two referees, usually from the list of existing EMHC. So, not anybody can become one. Needlessly to say, the person has to live the Sacramental life himself and thus he/she has to be somebody personally known to the bishop/EHMC there.

Wow, this sounds interesting and good – but couldn’t it also lead to inbreeding of negative qualities if the parish ever suffered from poor pastoral leadership?

Receiving Communion probably is the height or climax, if you may, of the mass

I really like your posting, but that’s not true. It’s the miracle when Jesus Christ is sacrificed on the altar for our sins.

What is wrong to hold the host at their eye level, look at them in the eyes and say audibly, ‘the Body of Christ’ and wait for them to answer, ‘Amen’ and minister the host to them.

I do exactly that.

How can EHMC not be kind and grateful in doing it, it’s hard to understand.

It is difficult – particularly if one’s parish has the selection process your diocese does.

In my parish it’s much different. Some people have been EMsHC for years and treat the ministry as something ordinary, just another worldly task. “I’ll do the wine”, “I’ll take the bread today”, “I’ll do the dishes” is often heard in the sacristy and it’s most saddening. The awe and respect is not there for a number of reasons, principally due to the laypersons who “coordinate” EMsHC in my parish.

 

[Reuben_J]

Basically the mass and the Real Presence. Preferrably in depth. Preferrably personally believing in it. One can only appreciate and respect the Eucharist by knowing what it is and how it transpired; and thus act and behave accordingly.

 

[casslean]

I’m an EMHC and I’m not sure what “curve ball” I’d need to respond to; if something unexpected or unforeseen happens during the Mass while I’m serving, I look to the priest and seek his instructions. It isn’t my place to take the initiative to do anything more.

I know my role thoroughly, and I know the theory behind each task involved in my role. I don’t more you think I should know.

 

[Duesenberg]

I’m an EMHC and I’m not sure what “curve ball” I’d need to respond to

I’ve seen a number of EMsHC react inappropriately when problems arose – the dropping of a host, the dropping of MANY hosts, dealing with mentally-impaired people, the spilling of Precious Blood, a parent presenting their infant for communion and the EMHC being completely clueless when the parent said “Eastern Catholic”, etc., etc.

 

[Reuben_J]

Wow, this sounds interesting and good – but couldn’t it also lead to inbreeding of negative qualities if the parish ever suffered from poor pastoral leadership?

That is my concern too as it can lead to being clicky. However, in our parish, we do not have problem with numbers, there are many to choose from. It is the selection and thus filtration has to be done strictly.

I really like your posting, but that’s not true. It’s the miracle when Jesus Christ is sacrificed on the altar for our sins.

It goes without saying. Yes, of course.

It was more of a rhetorical statement, saying from a communicant perspective, after all is done, the receiving of the Communion is the finality to it. That’s the problem with talking in the internet, but if you want to argue on that, I agree with you then - then the consecration has to be the most spectacular.

In my parish it’s much different. Some people have been EMsHC for years and treat the ministry as something ordinary, just another worldly task. “I’ll do the wine”, “I’ll take the bread today”, “I’ll do the dishes” is often heard in the sacristy and it’s most saddening. The awe and respect is not there for a number of reasons, principally due to the laypersons who “coordinate” EMsHC in my parish.

I can see that. Not in our parish where EHMC’s tenure of service is not permanent but renewed yearly. They really have to want to serve to be bothered to go for the yearly EHMC retreat and to agree to make the pledge to serve for another year. They have to come for the commissioning and if they can’t for some reason, then they have to write personal letter to the Bishop explaining why.

Different parish has different ways of doing it obviously.

 

[Reuben_J]

casslean:

I’m an EMHC and I’m not sure what “curve ball” I’d need to respond to

I’ve seen a number of EMsHC react inappropriately when problems arose – the dropping of a host, the dropping of MANY hosts, dealing with mentally-impaired people, the spilling of Precious Blood, a parent presenting their infant for communion and the EMHC being completely clueless when the parent said “Eastern Catholic”, etc., etc.

We have standard operating procedure, if you may, to deal with situations like that. EHMC are being brief quite regularly and usually they know what to do in the situation.

 

[Duesenberg]

I can see that. Not in our parish where EHMC’s tenure of service is not permanent but renewed yearly. They really have to want to serve to be bothered to go for the yearly EHMC retreat and to agree to make the pledge to serve for another year. They have to come for the commissioning and if they can’t for some reason, then they have to write personal letter to the Bishop explaining why.

That really is fascinating. I noted that EMsHC are commissioned by the local bishop here as well and really got attacked on this forum. We don’t have the level of training/retreat that you enjoy however. I have to ask – what is the linkage between your pastor and the EMsHC? Are there others in the chain? Paid staff, volunteers? This is where the real liturgical cancer lies in my parish in my opinion. We have lay coordinators who viciously hold onto their positions and they have done so for years. The effects are now gravely evident.

In years past there was always an abundance of EMsHC – both for Mass and home visits. Now there is a great shortage, largely due to the aforementioned lay coordinators. EMsHC who attend one Mass are now scheduled to minister at other Masses. It’s really a sad mess. The consequences of a complete dearth of leadership.

 

[DarkLight]

In my parish it’s much different. Some people have been EMsHC for years and treat the ministry as something ordinary, just another worldly task. “I’ll do the wine”, “I’ll take the bread today”, “I’ll do the dishes” is often heard in the sacristy and it’s most saddening. The awe and respect is not there for a number of reasons, principally due to the laypersons who “coordinate” EMsHC in my parish.

Honestly, this doesn’t strike me as disrespectful. I’ve certainly said after Mass, “Sister, if you need someone to do the dishes this weekend, let me know” with no disrespect. Mass is both ordinary and extraordinary, and I never saw the need to avoid plain language in speaking of it.

 

[Duesenberg]

“I’ll do the dishes!” is not only disrespectful in that context, it’s crude.

 

[DarkLight]

Again, I’m really not seeing it. It seems to me more like you have a very specific way you see things as being respectful. But a lot of these things, many people don’t see them as disrespectful at all, and I’m not really sure how you’re getting that they’re disrespectful. I’d be careful of mixing up someone not showing respect in the way you would do it, with someone being disrespectful.