Your Small Children being Blessed by the Priest, er, uh..EMC?

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When you go up to recieve communion, do you take your small children (too young for CCD) with you to be blessed by the priest??

What do you do when you are in the line that has an EMC ministering the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ?? Has an EMC “blessed” your child???
 
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jlw:
When you go up to recieve communion, do you take your small children (too young for CCD) with you to be blessed by the priest??

What do you do when you are in the line that has an EMC ministering the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ?? Has an EMC “blessed” your child???
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…not sure it works with EOMC… but our priest blesses every child that he can get to stand still… it’s cute and fun to watch…
 
As an EMC we were told not to bless, only a priest or deacon can do that, so when a child is in my line, I just smile at them!
 
The priest and deacon are the only people that can actually bless someone, however as I understand it an EMHC can say something which is asking God to bless the person. For example,
May the Lord bless you, protect you from all evil, and bring you to everlasting life. This is the closing from the liturgy of the hours. As long as the EMHC isn’t making the sign of the cross with their hand or say they bless you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit then I think its permitted.

God Bless
matt
 
Fr Z:
I think in that moment, if I were you I would do nothing and just wait for them to move along. This is another reason why things are somewhat complicated both by the odd custom of blessing people at Communion time and having many EMHC’s. I suppose at the very most you might say “God bless you” without making any gesture whatsoever.
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The fact that many parishes have a lot of EMHC’s is one reason why the practice of having non-communicants in the communion line should be discouraged. The communion line is for communion, not blessings.
 
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JimG:
The fact that many parishes have a lot of EMHC’s is one reason why the practice of having non-communicants in the communion line should be discouraged. The communion line is for communion, not blessings.
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I actually had to think for a while before I decided whether or not I agreed with you on this, but I think I do. During the year I was in RCIA, the candidates were all encouraged to get in line and recieve a blessing, and I found it an important way to connect tangibly with my new faith. That said, one Sunday I found myself visiting Chicago and, not knowing what else to do, I got in a line with an EMHC, crossed my arms over my chest, and then…we both stared awkwardly at each other for a couple minutes, I went back to a seat much further back than I had been sitting before, and quickly ducked onto a train as soon as Mass was over. I was horribly embarrassed.

The blessing seems appropriate for small children with their parents, and I do see a value in it for catechumens and candidates - but only if it is fully understood (I certainly didn’t understand it). Besides, the blessing of the catechumens before their dismissal during the Sundays leading up to Easter is far more meaningful, with the congregation joining in prayer for the same specific purpose.
 
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GULaw:
I actually had to think for a while before I decided whether or not I agreed with you on this, but I think I do. During the year I was in RCIA, the candidates were all encouraged to get in line and recieve a blessing, and I found it an important way to connect tangibly with my new faith. That said, one Sunday I found myself visiting Chicago and, not knowing what else to do, I got in a line with an EMHC, crossed my arms over my chest, and then…we both stared awkwardly at each other for a couple minutes, I went back to a seat much further back than I had been sitting before, and quickly ducked onto a train as soon as Mass was over. I was horribly embarrassed.

The blessing seems appropriate for small children with their parents, and I do see a value in it for catechumens and candidates - but only if it is fully understood (I certainly didn’t understand it). Besides, the blessing of the catechumens before their dismissal during the Sundays leading up to Easter is far more meaningful, with the congregation joining in prayer for the same specific purpose.
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We are very Blessed to have four priests and two Deacons!
My children are blessed every week.
At Christmas time, we did have an EMHC who was instructed before Holy Mass of the appropriate prayer to say. No blessing, with the sign of the cross just a laying of hands and a prayer. It worked great.
 
Our priest tells us that receiving a blessing in in the communion line is not quite kosher, though he doesnt turn people away. The entire congregation receives a blessing at the end of mass, and as posted earlier, simply being in the communion line implies that one is in union with the Church. Though for kids and RCIA who desparately want to be in the Church, they may be in union with the teachings, just not yet admitted to communion.
 
Hi from down under

we have few priests and no deacons in Australia and I am an Extraordinary Minister - there is a blessing of children by holding up the body of christ and saying god bless you - it is Christ who blesses and not me
 
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malcolm_davies:
Hi from down under

we have few priests and no deacons in Australia and I am an Extraordinary Minister - there is a blessing of children by holding up the body of christ and saying god bless you - it is Christ who blesses and not me
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I’m sorry, Malcolm, but it sounds as though you’re performing a mini-benediction there during Mass…:o

EmoHC are warranted in some parishes due to the length of time it takes to give everyone Holy Communion. Perhaps if only those who intend to communicate approach (and if we must bring our children, we need not expect them to receive an individual blessing during communion time) the length of the Mass might not be such an issue.
 
In Poland, where I am from, the Mass alway had at least 5-6 priest in attendance so no one was forced to receive communion from a lay person. When I moved here I was uncomfortable at first to receive communion from a lay person and still sort of am.

In Poland, people still kneel before the alter and the priest move down the line to give each person the Eucharist. Then moves in the other direction and so forth until everone receives communion. So only the people who intend to receive communion go to receive communion.

Here, however, many look at you funny if you do not go into the communion line because than they have to squeeze through get to the end of the pew.

What really bothered me was when my little cousin was receiving her First Communion a couple of years ago. In Poland it is a huge deal and all the kids go together and receive the communion from a Priest. My poor cousin had to receive her FIRST COMMUNION FROM AN EMC. I just find that wrong. The church really did nothing special for these children. Now my othe little cousin will be receiving her 1st Communion in a couple of weeks. She is the only one that will be receiving her 1st communion during that mass and I hope she will receive it from a priest.

Does anyone else think that is inappropriate for a child to receive her First Communion from an EMC, I certainly do. They only had a handful of children (5 or 6) and they could have organized it better.
 
Unfortunately, I think this is one of those things that just didn’t get thought of when the use EMsHC was introduced. And I don’t see any easy way of fixing it, short of 1) having a universal instruction for EMsHC not to bless or do anything like a blessing, 2) issuing instructions that only the faithful who are receiving Holy Communion are to come forward (but then are small children to be left in the pews, where they can disappear?), or 3) relaxing the rules on who can bless whom.

We have that situation all the time at our parish. Our pastor is crippled and does not distribute communion, and our one deacon isn’t at all the Masses, so the usual routine is five or six EMsHC across the front.

GULaw, I had exactly the same thing happen to me in a personal retreat at our local Benedictine monastary. A pious non-recipient had told me about getting a blessing the previous day, but when I went up the next day, there was a different presiding priest, one of the older monks. He looked me like a calf at a new gate and finally muttered something about “God bless you,” and I slunk back to my seat. By coincidence, the very next day I caught a Q&A on Catholic Answers on this very subject, and the respondent said that going forward with crossed arms for a blessing was not something that was recognized by Rome, and that he wished they would come out with something, one way or the other.

With regards to the three choices in my first paragraph, I would prefer #3. But I don’t get a vote, and there may be very good reasons for not doing that.

And for my own edification, where exactly is it in Da Rules that only priests and deacons can bless?

DaveBj
 
My husband is an EMHE and sometimes the little children move toward him as if they were expecting some sort of contact…In that case he just smiles. Once a little girl started tugging at his trousers so he just gave her a little pat on the head…not a blessing…
 
Does anyone else think that is inappropriate for a child to receive her First Communion from an EMC, I certainly do. They only had a handful of children (5 or 6) and they could have organized it better.
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I’m with you. But some people think I’m being “hyper-religious” to say so. 😦
 
I have been blessed before in such a manner and I believe it is simply requesting a blessing.
 
In fact, I believe that there is nothing wrong with say, a husband and wife blessing each other, or blessing their children, usually in the context of the home. But these are simple personal blessings. In the context of Mass, any blessing gives the appearance of being a liturgical blessing, and laity are not permitted or empowered to conduct liturgical blessings.
 
Our parish was one where blessing by EHMC’s were common. Our Bishop has recently directed the EMHC’s, or the clergy, to no longer offer any blessings, however, he also still encourages people to come forward if they so desire. Instead of a blessing, each person who comes forward with their arms crossed receives a simple prayer. There is no physical contact at all. We simply say, “May God give you the fullness of life.”

I like the idea of still allowing people to come forward. Otherwise we run the risk of looking like some sort of exclusive club where outsiders aren’t allowed. Really doesn’t help with the evangelization part of it in my opinion!
 
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ames61:
Though for kids and RCIA who desparately want to be in the Church, they may be in union with the teachings, just not yet admitted to communion.
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Please allow me a quick question of any EMHCs out there (don’t mean to hijack the thread 🙂 )…

In our Eastern Catholic Churches children, infants actually, are admitted to the Holy Eucharest immediately after baptism (in fact, infants receive all three Sacraments of Initiation, baptism, confirmation and Holy Eucharist, within the same ceremony. From that point on, these infants/toddlers/children can, and do, receive the Eucharist routinely during the Divine Liturgy.

As an EMHC, how were you instructed to handle a parent with babe in arms who may approach to receive Our Lord for him/herself and for the youngster, given that this may, indeed, be an Eastern Catholic family visiting your parish, for whom reception of the Eucharist by a very young child is both fully accepted and encouraged by Rome?

Related sidebar comment - In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the normal posture for the reception of the Blessed Sacrament is with the hands crossed across one’s chest, identical to the accepted Latin “symbol” for “no communion… just a blessing, please.” Has this ever been a point of confusion for you as an EMHC with regard to a visiting Eastern Catholic?
 
Actually, I heard on Catholic radio that going forward with arms crossed to receive a blessing was not in the rubrics, and as such, was not considered something that we should be doing, i.e. hand holding during Our Father, etc. It’s something we made up ourselves for our own benefit.
 
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