women not allowed to distribute the Precious Body?

[pnewton]

Put that way it actually makes sense. In some places, it is traditional that women sit on one side, and men the other. Since it does not seem unreasonable for the priest to instruct the male EMHCs to serve on the right (if that’s where the men are sitting) and female EMHCs on the left, perhaps it is also reasonable for the priest to split distribution of the Eucharistic species according to his preference.

This is an excellent example of why we cannot second guess a priest from across the internet. Just because we think something makes no sense, all we can really say is that we do no know or understand the reasoning behind such an action. There might be a totally valid reason.

 

[zab]

Last week all of the Dominican priests at my parish were replaced with “conservative” diocesan priests. (This has been quite controversial and many longtime members have left the parish. My parish could definitely use prayers.) Anyway, one of the changes the new pastor made is not allowing the female lay Eucharistic ministers to distribute the Precious Body, but they are allowed to distribute the Precious Blood. I was quite confused by this, and I don’t believe I’ve seen this at any other parish. Does anyone know what this is about? Is this the traditional way, and if so, what is the meaning behind it?

It is sad when people leave a parish because they are afraid that the new pastor will not be to their liking or do things like they think should be done. I’ve seen it happen over the years in our parish, too. Sometimes people misunderstand things or do not like to accept that a pastor can make certain decisions on how he wants to do things. I have never heard of what you have described here of not allowing female extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to distribute the Hosts. It is not “the traditional way”. I have no idea of any meaning behind it. Like others have said, there must be more to the story. But even though I have never heard of it, my first reaction is not to assume discrimination. If you want answers, the best place to get them is to ask your pastor.

 

[zab]

That may be it. Perhaps the priest thinks men’s hands are holier, or just more appropriate than women’s. After all, some think the tongue is holier than the hand. I guess we all have our opinions. In this case, that of the priest should be respected.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

If by an “agenda” you mean phasing the Church into having a more reverent liturgy I disagree. A priest has the authority to change anything in his parish as long as it is still within the bound of the teachings of the Catholic Church. If he wants to eventually move into an all male sanctuary there is no point in sitting there for a year changing light bulbs.

It could be a liberal priest that has an agenda too…and in a conservative parish that could have a real bad effect. It works both ways.

If it was me as an EMHC…I’d just quit. If that is what he wants then fine but I wouldn’t just serve to serve the precious blood but not the body. Now on weekday Masses I will usually position myself to NOT serve the Body but that is my choice.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

I’ve seen this posted SO MANY TIMES.
So why is it that so many of the Archdiocese’ and Diocese’ ignore this?
Why?
It seems as if they use of EMHC as a way to have the laity participate more is EXCACTLY why we have them. We don’t need them at my parish, but we have at LEAST 8 at every Mass. Why then?
If the docs are CLEAR…which they seem pretty clear to me…why are they roundly ignored?

Hypothetical question, I know you can’t possibly read minds…but that’s at the root of these “discussions”. When you permit something, and then disallow it, the laity believe they have had something “taken” from them. And there follows ill will.
I don’t know why it has to be like this.

Because many parishes only have 1 priest…who is doing 3 Masses on Sunday (with permission from the bishop). So if a parish distributes communion under both species…it’s kind of a necessity to have EMHC’s.

 

[pianistclare]

Because many parishes only have 1 priest…who is doing 3 Masses on Sunday (with permission from the bishop). So if a parish distributes communion under both species…it’s kind of a necessity to have EMHC’s.

I wasn’t asking why they are used.
I was asking that if it’s so cut and dry, who do almost all parishes ignore this.
EMHC’s don’t bug me in the least.
I’m there for the Eucharist. I don’t believe He is less present or irreverently handled by lay people.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

I wasn’t asking why they are used.
I was asking that if it’s so cut and dry, who do almost all parishes ignore this.
EMHC’s don’t bug me in the least.
I’m there for the Eucharist. I don’t believe He is less present or irreverently handled by lay people.

It’s not really that Parrish’s ignore it…it’s that people think they know better and they determine that it should be rare or not used. Well, I hate to tell them that with 1 priest that is almost impossible! However I am always up for praying for more vocations and believe that is a good thing to do regardless. Until those prayers are answered…I will follow our priest’s lead on this…although he usually leaves the final number up to us (ministry coordinators). But we recently removed 4 at one of the Masses as we didn’t think it was sufficiently necessary. Now we had some complaints but he backed up out decision.

 

[pianistclare]

It’s not really that Parrish’s ignore it…it’s that people think they know better and they determine that it should be rare or not used. Well, I hate to tell them that with 1 priest that is almost impossible! However I am always up for praying for more vocations and believe that is a good thing to do regardless. Until those prayers are answered…I will follow our priest’s lead on this…although he usually leaves the final number up to us (ministry coordinators). But we recently removed 4 at one of the Masses as we didn’t think it was sufficiently necessary. Now we had some complaints but he backed up out decision.

Good! This underscores the point that the priests really DO care, really DO monitor these things, and are not making these decisions lightly.
We do have to follow the instruction of our pastors.
Peace.

 

[cycleman]

I apologize if this was asked and answered in the thread, but I didn’t see it.

Did anyone ask the new priest why he did what he did? If so, what was the answer?

 

[Brendan]

Because many parishes only have 1 priest…who is doing 3 Masses on Sunday (with permission from the bishop). So if a parish distributes communion under both species…it’s kind of a necessity to have EMHC’s.

We have about 1200 at a given Sunday Mass. Community is given at the communion rail as both species via intinction.

So yes, it is quite possible for a single priest to distribute Holy Communion to large numbers and both species.

 

[zab]

We have about 1200 at a given Sunday Mass. Community is given at the communion rail as both species via intinction.

So yes, it is quite possible for a single priest to distribute Holy Communion to large numbers and both species.

I thought our church was big. It has a capacity of around 700. You must have a huge church to have about 1200 present at Mass.

 

[pnewton]

We have about 1200 at a given Sunday Mass. Community is given at the communion rail as both species via intinction.

So yes, it is quite possible for a single priest to distribute Holy Communion to large numbers and both species.

If we take a rate of, say three seconds, leaving time for a really fast bow, reception and on to the next, that is 20 communicants a minute. Communion therefore would last one hour.

 

[Rico_S]

We have about 1200 at a given Sunday Mass. Community is given at the communion rail as both species via intinction.

So yes, it is quite possible for a single priest to distribute Holy Communion to large numbers and both species.

1200 with a single priest…that is impressive!!

Running the math…it could be done in 30 minutes if the priest distributed at a rate of 1 person/ 1.5 sec. Seems unlikely though that distributing through intinction could be done even close that quickly…I am not even sure just distributing the single species of the Body of Christ can be sustained at that rate. How long does communion generally take?

 

[Lapey]

We have about 1200 at a given Sunday Mass. Community is given at the communion rail as both species via intinction.

So yes, it is quite possible for a single priest to distribute Holy Communion to large numbers and both species.

If we take a rate of, say three seconds, leaving time for a really fast bow, reception and on to the next, that is 20 communicants a minute. Communion therefore would last one hour.

I could be wrong but I don’t think the point was that one priest distributes both species to 1200 people. I think the point was that many more can be Communicated using ordinary ministers only and use fewer EMHC if we truly wanted to.

But hey, maybe this priest is a super distributor or he can bi-locate like Padre Pio. This would allow him to give Communion to many at the same exact time!

Yes, I am kidding…

 

[phil19034]

Some churches have only one priest and one Mass. Also, if EMs are abolished the people in hospitals and those who are home bound would not have the option of Communion unless they call a priest. We have a hospital ministry where I live, and many of them are so happy to receive Christ, it doesn’t matter if a woman or a man bring Him to them.

Kind of funny. Gender doesn’t mean much when babies are proudly shown to friends and relatives. You would never know which is a boy and which is a girl unless they are dressed in pink or blue. We all start out on an equal path. Older people (like in their seventies and eighties) very often look like they could be a man or a woman. I have often mistaken one for the other because they dress alike, wear no makeup, and have their hair cut really short (I’m talking about here in Arizona, in a retirement community

I am not being a smart-aleck when I tell you that we have a pair of altar servers, husband and wife. They look like twins. I wonder if, to play down the sexes of each person and make them look unisex, would make a difference. When we were at a Doctors’ office once we met a child of an employee. We said “glad to meet your son”, and the employee said, "It’s not a son, it’s my daughter.

No one is talking about EMHC who take Communion to the sick, homebound or hospitals. The discussion is regarding at Mass only.

 

[Sunbreak]

It could be a liberal priest that has an agenda too…and in a conservative parish that could have a real bad effect. It works both ways.

If it was me as an EMHC…I’d just quit. If that is what he wants then fine but I wouldn’t just serve to serve the precious blood but not the body. Now on weekday Masses I will usually position myself to NOT serve the Body but that is my choice.

Wow, with an attitude like that, a person shouldn’t be serving at all. It’s a privilege to be an EMHC not a right.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

We have about 1200 at a given Sunday Mass. Community is given at the communion rail as both species via intinction.

So yes, it is quite possible for a single priest to distribute Holy Communion to large numbers and both species.

We don’t have a communion rail…and it would be difficult to fit every one at one given our current space…

So while it might be possible some places…it may not be possible others. I’m well aware of what your parish does as you’ve stated it numerous times.

Regardless, it’s not something our priest has chosen to do. Although I still think given the space, it would back up too much into the other Masses.

Remember…I live in Oregon…we are blessed to have as many Catholics as we do in this mostly un-churched state.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Wow, with an attitude like that, a person shouldn’t be serving at all. It’s a privilege to be an EMHC not a right.

Excuse me but that wasn’t nice at all!

I never said it was a right…did I?

I just said that I would quit…which is my right. If the priest were to think I’m not good enough to serve the Eucharist as the body…then I would say I’m not good enough to serve the Eucharist as the blood. I see no difference. I doubt that my quitting would make any difference to such a priest but it would make me feel better. It is a privilege to serve…but it is serving…and it is as a volunteer. There are many times I end up serving EVERY Sunday because other’s don’t show up. And of course at daily Mass since I’m one of the few that is not elderly, it’s a given that if I’m there, I’m pretty much going to serve. Hey…I’m human and it does get tiring…sometimes I would just like to be a pew sitter. So, yea if a priest would decide that (which would be his right) then it’s within my right not to choose to volunteer. Where is it written that I HAVE to volunteer? If it’s a privilege (which it is) then someone else can enjoy that privilege…maybe a male so the priest would be happy? But from experience…we don’t tend to get all that many people to step up.

If you think that is a bad attitude…then I feel sorry for you…you must think all EMHC’s are super human. News flash…I get annoyed just like everyone else–and go to confession just like everyone else.

The “right” part would come into play if I thought I had a right to serve every time - especially if there was a concelebrating priest (rarely happens) or a transitional deacon (also rarely happens but we did have one last year). If I am there and scheduled and they don’t need me…GREAT! I don’t consider it my “right” because I was scheduled. That would be more appropriate to say then that I consider it a right…not the way that you are attributing it to me.

 

[Corki]

Excuse me but that wasn’t nice at all!

I never said it was a right…did I?

I just said that I would quit…which is my right. If the priest were to think I’m not good enough to serve the Eucharist as the body…

Why would you assume that a priest who made a decision based entirely on personal preference thinks you are “not good enough”? Unless you are a mind reader, aren’t you attributing the worst possible motive to his (hypothetical) choice? There are quite a few reasons a priest might make this choice and none of them have anything to do with women not being “good enough”.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Why would you assume that a priest who made a decision based entirely on personal preference thinks you are “not good enough”? Unless you are a mind reader, aren’t you attributing the worst possible motive to his (hypothetical) choice? There are quite a few reasons a priest might make this choice and none of them have anything to do with women not being “good enough”.

Alright…let’s hear one…

I just stated what I would do. There hasn’t been any such good reason put forward here. Just if he would have the authority to do so. There has been no correct theological reason put forth. To me it would not matter if it was his “personal” preference.,still same effect. I would not appreciate that either.

Listen…the priest has the choice to do it…but why do I not have the choice to continue to volunteer without being jumped on? Seriously I doubt it would really matter all that much in the scheme of things…,unless other females felt the same way.

Of course this is all hypothetical…I would of course ask what the reasoning was. But I can’t think of one that would make me not want to quit.