When "Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist" become "ordinary"

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and everything here are guesses…none of us know for sure why the priesthood is shrinking. it’s all speculation, at best. unless we poll every man in the world as to why he would decided against the priesthood…we will all just be guesstimating.

I think that many don’t want to blame the scandals for the shortage of priesthood. Of course, this wasn’t an overnight thing…it’s been on decline for a much longer time than when the scandals broke…but again, it’s largely due to the lack of respect for the priesthood. (lack of respect within one’s own family, as well) If a man who might consider the priesthood, is told by his family that it’s a ‘bad idea,’ or ‘why don’t you want to get married,’ etc…he gets the idea that it’s not highly looked upon in his family.

There are such complex reasons behind it. But blaming women…or EEM’s or the fact that lay people are playing more of a role, solves nothing. After all…the Apostles were all lay men called to do extraordinary things.
 
dailymass said:
I believe the use of Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist has gotten gravely out of hand. If I recall, the rule is that if there are over 600 people attending Mass, the Priest may use them.
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Where did you hear this? Can you please site a source?
dailymass said:
One more thought - I will not receive from EMs - only from a Priest or Deacon. I will jump to a different line in order to make that happen. I have also seen MANY EMs administering “blessings” to children under the age of receiving Communion - only a Priest, Deacon, Bishop, or the Pope can give that! Just another undermining of the Priesthood.
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I don’t agree with EMs giving blessings, but since they are authorized to distribute, I will receive from them.
 
jpjd said:
I did tell my priest however, that I am uncomfortable with taking Communion to the sick and shut-in. In my mind, it’s one thing to distribute, it’s another level to conduct a Communion service. Not to mention, that I would be carrying the Eucharists in a pix in my purse! I told Father, I just couldn’t reconcile that during the feast of Corpus Christi, he carries the Eucharist in a monstrance, under a canopy, and we process around the church. And compare that grand treatment of the Eucharist to having it in a pix in my purse between my billfold and my cellphone. I just can’t do it. He said that he understood.
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The EMHCs at my church have small bags that hang around their necks. They keep the pix in that. Keeping communion close to their hearts while travelling to a shut-in seems completely appropriate to me. The joy of bringing Our Lord to someone who wouldn’t otherwise be able to receive as often seems like a wonderful act of charity.
 
Lay eucharistic ministers have become such a familiar sight in our churches that we have ceased to be aware of their proper place. Again, Inaestimabile Donum [prepared by the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship] states: “The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of the Mass excessively long.”

 
Yesterday I was with the choir and a very humble, sweet resident priest was celebrating mass. He began giving communion to the choir and right before some of us came up, an EMHC actually directed him to be in another place as she administered communion to the rest of us. I know this did not make the communion I received any less communion. I still received communion. However, I was disappointed she did that. I was feeling especially thoughtful of priests at the time because it was the choir’s last time at mass until after Labor Day and also because a priest had just been kidnapped in the Philippines that morning. I really wanted to receive communion from a priest yesterday but had no choice. Usually when I am in choir I resign myself to the fact that I might have to receive from an EMHC. Perhaps it was just Old Scratch trying to trip me up again by having this woman behave in a pushy manner toward the humble priest right before I received communion.
Please pray for our priests.
 
Aramis said:
At the roman parish I currently attend, the average Sunday mass is well over 800 at the 930AM, and again at the 1130AM, and over 500 at the saturday vigil, and the Sunday 7PM “Fisherman’s Mass” (Sunday Liturgy, by permission of the AB), with two permanent deacons, still results in an average of 32-34 EMHC’s in use, since the AB has also decided communion under both species is a good thing for all Sunday masses.

Daily mass, usually 1 EMHC, for the Chalice, since both deacons hold day jobs.
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I hope the 32-34 EMsHC was a total for all the Masses, and not the number at each!:bigyikes: At any rate, you’ve certainly provided an example where we can agree some EMsHC might be needed.

I think your last few comments highlight an important issue in the question, though, with the distribution of both species. Most people seem either to not realize or else not care that there is a simple way to distribute both species of the Eucharist to a congregation while cutting the number of extraordinary ministers to roughly one half or one third what is currently being employed - use intinction. For instance, the one EMHC at those daily Masses for the chalice is, given a relatively small investment in vessels to accomodate the practice, entirely unneccessary. We get so set in our ways, though, that people don’t like to think outside the box. There are ways to be much more faithful to our norms while still accommodating practices bishops and faithful have found worthwhile.
 
Sr_Sally said:
The EMHCs at my church have small bags that hang around their necks. They keep the pix in that. Keeping communion close to their hearts while travelling to a shut-in seems completely appropriate to me. The joy of bringing Our Lord to someone who wouldn’t otherwise be able to receive as often seems like a wonderful act of charity.
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That would be a burse that they place the pyx in. I posted a link that has a picture of a pyx and burse in post #21. I have never heard of carrying a pyx in anything other than a burse.
 
Andreas_Hofer said:
I hope the 32-34 EMsHC was a total for all the Masses, and not the number at each!:bigyikes: At any rate, you’ve certainly provided an example where we can agree some EMsHC might be needed.

I think your last few comments highlight an important issue in the question, though, with the distribution of both species. Most people seem either to not realize or else not care that there is a simple way to distribute both species of the Eucharist to a congregation while cutting the number of extraordinary ministers to roughly one half or one third what is currently being employed - use intinction. For instance, the one EMHC at those daily Masses for the chalice is, given a relatively small investment in vessels to accomodate the practice, entirely unneccessary. We get so set in our ways, though, that people don’t like to think outside the box. There are ways to be much more faithful to our norms while still accommodating practices bishops and faithful have found worthwhile.
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It’s 7-10 per mass.
1 at daily… for the cup… unless one of the deacons has the day off.

And intinction still requires certain tools or additional ministers, extraordinary or otherwise…
Holy Family Cathedral had ciboria with tea-cup-like handles, so you could hold the chalice and the ciborium in the same hand.
St. Andrew’s has chalice-like ciboria. So, unless you’re 3 handed, it’s not going to happen. And further, intiction IS restricted to the ordinary ministers alone to do, last I checked.
 
Aramis said:
And intinction still requires certain tools or additional ministers, extraordinary or otherwise…
Holy Family Cathedral had ciboria with tea-cup-like handles, so you could hold the chalice and the ciborium in the same hand.
St. Andrew’s has chalice-like ciboria. So, unless you’re 3 handed, it’s not going to happen. And further, intiction IS restricted to the ordinary ministers alone to do, last I checked.
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Well, the question of who can intinct is the subject of another thread (one that I’ve seen around here somewhere…), but, as I said, using it at daily Mass would be rather simple with a small investment in vessels designed for (or at least amenable to) that purpose. They make sets specifically for intinction.
 
Writer said:
Just simple question here… I’m curious whether the majority of people who feel strongly against the use of EEMs in Mass are from small parishes? I’m noticing that most of us supporters seem to be from much larger parishes than those who have expressed their concerns. If true, that would be interesting to know–might shed some light on the issue.
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I’m from a very large parish we have 22000. registered parish members. I’m not for the over use of EMHC. I know they are necessary most of the time. We have 18 to 20 ppl mulling around the altar all the coming and going is very distracting. If I just kneel and keep my eyes closed the whole time I’m able to stay in the reverent moments. But like many of you I have small children and I have to make sure they are behaving so I can’t always keep my eyes closed. We can certainly get by with half that number. Mass would take a few minutes longer, I wouldn’t mind that if we had more reverence and less commotion.
 
angiegirl67 said:
I’m from a very large parish we have 22000. registered parish members. I’m not for the over use of EMHC. I know they are necessary most of the time. We have 18 to 20 ppl mulling around the altar all the coming and going is very distracting. If I just kneel and keep my eyes closed the whole time I’m able to stay in the reverent moments. But like many of you I have small children and I have to make sure they are behaving so I can’t always keep my eyes closed. We can certainly get by with half that number. Mass would take a few minutes longer, I wouldn’t mind that if we had more reverence and less commotion.
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Wow. 22000 is huge. About how many people are there at each Mass?
 
lak611 said:
That is probably why there are so many EMHC’s then.
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I do know the reasoning for it… It is just a little ridiculous with all the distraction and coming and going’s …it could be done with less. But you know got to whip them in and whip them out. Can’t expect ppl to have to be in Mass to long …
 
angiegirl67 said:
I do know the reasoning for it… It is just a little ridiculous with all the distraction and coming and going’s …it could be done with less. But you know got to whip them in and whip them out. Can’t expect ppl to have to be in Mass to long …
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You mentioned that there are 5 Masses. How far apart are they scheduled? I could see a definite problem with parking if there are 2300 people trying to leave while others are arriving for the next Mass.
 
lak611 said:
You mentioned that there are 5 Masses. How far apart are they scheduled? I could see a definite problem with parking if there are 2300 people trying to leave while others are arriving for the next Mass.
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Parking isn’t an issue…
 
Aramis said:
It’s 7-10 per mass.
1 at daily… for the cup… unless one of the deacons has the day off.

And intinction still requires certain tools or additional ministers, extraordinary or otherwise…
Holy Family Cathedral had ciboria with tea-cup-like handles, so you could hold the chalice and the ciborium in the same hand.
St. Andrew’s has chalice-like ciboria. So, unless you’re 3 handed, it’s not going to happen. And further, intiction IS restricted to the ordinary ministers alone to do, last I checked.
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Wouldn’t the simple answer be, only the Priests and Deacons intinct, and the EMHCs offer the Body only. If you announce this ahead of time, people who want both species can go to those lines.

God Bless
 
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