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anp1215
Guest
Do they announce before Mass, “We are in need of 5 Eucharistic Ministers. We are in need of 5 Eucharistic Ministers. Please see ________ if you can help.”
ugh. I used to hear that pretty much every Sunday.
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ugh. I used to hear that pretty much every Sunday.
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Mrs_Sally
Guest
Oh MY!!! I have never heard that at a Mass. I guess there are some advantages to scheduling people and then training them to count clergy and ciboria and do the math!
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anp1215
Guest
ha! The thing is, they do train and schedule, but I guess people don’t show up?? I just remember one time the music director said something along the lines of “It’s a disgrace that they even have to say that before Mass…if everyone would show up when they were supposed to they wouldn’t have to.”Oh MY!!! I have never heard that at a Mass. I guess there are some advantages to scheduling people and then training them to count clergy and ciboria and do the math!
There’s also a dry erase board in the narthex that says “We are in need of _____ EMs” and they fill in the number. As people volunteer, they erase and rewrite the number.
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ringil
Guest
I’ve never seen this done in my life. I suspect most CAF posters haven’t either.The number of EMHC’s on any given Sunday doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the illicit blessing they give in the communion line!
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maryjk
Guest
There have been many threads about how often this happens.
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ringil
Guest
Well OK but I grew up in the diocese of Richmond, one of the most leberal in the US and never saw it.
I am liturgically conservative but I think folks are stirring the pot with nothing to stir.
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Tigg
Guest
It’s done in nearly every parish in our city and the very reason I no longer feel comfortable being an EMHC because the CDWDS has given an explicit NO to this- but I’d like to ask another question. When we lived in a different state and diocese, EM’S needed to be re-commissioned once a year - had to attend a class - usually a movie regarding the Real Presence, or listen to a talk, but I’ve asked many here, who, once they’re put on the list, never have any “up-dating” or re-inforcement. Can anyone comment on this?
See comment above – it is not a practice of the universal church and RS states that nothing may be added to or deleted from the sacred liturgy.
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curlycool89
Guest
It all depends on the particular situation.Secondly, at my college, we have a Catholic Campus Ministry (which I am very involved in). We have Masses on the weekends. During these Masses, we have roughly 100+ people, and only 1 priest. We usually have 2-3 EMs, two for the Sacred Blood, and one for the Precious Body. Because we have a very diverse campus community, we have to offer both species, because there are those on campus that are not able to receive under the species of bread, for health reasons (Celiac disease, to name one). Now… there aren’t any time restrictions on Mass (it’s college). Is it necessary to have up to 3 EMs for only about 100+ people? At one time, I would have said yes, but recently I talked with a friend and he stated that if there are only that many people, why can’t the priest do it? I can say that I agree with him. There could be at most 1 EM for the Precious Blood, and then I don’t see why the priest can’t give out the Precious Body for everyone else. I plan on talking with our priest (Campus minister) about this, to see what he thinks.
We usually have 4 EMHC for the Precious Blood at our college because of the chapel set up. There are only pews in the back, and the front (near the alter) is just the floor that people will sit on. Could we get away with 2 EMHC’s for the chalices? Probably, but many people receiving under both species, and there’s not much room near the sanctuary, so the line would get backed-up pretty quickly (there’s no room for a second line for the precious blood).
Why are people so close? Because there’s an additional 20 people standing in the entrance area due to lack of space to sit.
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