After writing about mission and the call to holiness, I was asked to answer this question: “How did extraordinary ministers of holy communion become so ordinary? Did the Second Vatican Council call the laity to take up active participation through liturgical roles?”
Many people object to the use of extraordinary ministers for Communion because they have witnessed disrespect toward the Eucharist from them. For instance, as a 15-year-old altar boy at my parish in Pennsylvania, a Eucharistic minister approached me, saying, “The wine’s out. Should I go fill it up from the fridge?”
The rise in the use of extraordinary ministers has come with problems: lay ministers who are woefully unprepared to exercise this service, sometimes even without clear faith in the Lord’s presence, who often do not dress appropriately for the role, and whose function has become overused.
On the other hand, Father Joseph Crowley reported that on March 5, 2023, at St. Thomas Church in Thomason, Connecticut, “One of our eucharistic ministers was running out of hosts, and suddenly there were more hosts in the ciborium. God just duplicated himself in the ciborium.” The details have been investigated by the archdiocese and forwarded to Rome for consideration as a possible miracle.
The alleged miracle reminds us that God wants us to come to him as he pours himself out so generously and vulnerably to us in the Eucharist. But we must also do our part in approaching him worthily and reverently.
First of all, we should remember that priests and deacons are the ordinary ministers of Communion, with extraordinary ones reserved for true necessity. Pope St. John Paul II, speaking in response to a lack of reverence in receiving Communion, reminded us:
But one must not forget the primary office of priests, who have been consecrated by their ordination to represent Christ the Priest: for this reason their hands, like their words and their will, have become the direct instruments of Christ. Through this fact, that is, as ministers of the Holy Eucharist, they have a primary responsibility for the sacred species, because it is a total responsibility: they offer the bread and wine, they consecrate it, and then distribute the sacred species to the participants in the assembly who wish to receive them. . . . How eloquent therefore, even if not of ancient custom, is the rite of the anointing of the hands in our Latin ordination, as though precisely for these hands a special grace and power of the Holy Spirit is necessary! To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a privilege of the ordained, one which indicates an active participation in the ministry of the Eucharist. (Dominicae Cenae, 11)
Those called upon to assist the ordinary ministers should approach this weighty task only with sufficient preparation. The United States Bishops offer the following directives:
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion should receive sufficient spiritual, theological and practical preparation to fulfill their role with knowledge and reverence. In all matters they should follow the guidance of the diocesan bishop. . . . When recourse is had to Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, especially in the distribution of Holy Communion under both kinds, their number should not be increased beyond what is required for the orderly and reverent distribution of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
In general, all of us must overcome a nonchalant attitude toward the Eucharist, beginning to act like we are receiving the greatest gift imaginable.
The Bible offers examples of the overpowering mystery and power of God’s presence. The ark of the covenant contained only relics of the Exodus, yet touching it without permission led to the death of Uzzah (2 Sam 6). St. Paul, speaking of the Eucharist, which infinitely exceeds the ark, likewise cautions us: “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged” (1 Cor 11:29-31).
If we saw the Eucharist for what it is, we might be blinded by its glory, like Paul himself, who encountered the Lord on the road to Damascus. We certainly would prepare more seriously to enter his presence or assist in the liturgy in any way!
Likewise, when we enter the church, we should leave our desire for efficiency and entertainment at the door. We are not at Mass for ourselves but for God, to give him glory and to show him our love. We should be ready to slow down and adjust our expectations to focus on God more than ourselves. Mass does not have to conclude in less than an hour. We do not have to feel involved outwardly so long as we receive the Word and unite ourselves to Jesus’s sacrifice to the Father, as this forms the heart of participation. We should never expect to receive the Lord on our terms, but should surrender to his expectations. Communion is a gift that requires humility and preparation (particularly through Confession) and should be consciously accepted in love.
Finally, we should not confuse the laity’s mission with an imitation of the priest’s liturgical ministry. The liturgy is ordered toward mission, and the laity’s mission is in the world. The task of serving as an extraordinary minister is more of an exception than a model for lay mission. The Eucharist transforms us within, making Christ live in us evermore.
Our mission, therefore, stems from bringing his presence into the world so it, too, may be transformed by him. The Second Vatican Council’s decree on the laity explains:
[The laity] exercise the apostolate . . . [by] penetrating and perfecting of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel. . . . Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ. (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 2)
The distinct mission of the laity does not focus on taking a lead within the liturgy, but on leading within the world with the grace God gives us through the liturgy.
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Repeat, please.
Sorry Dr Stuart, these people usurp the roll given to the clergy PERIOD! At a priest mother’s funeral where there were over15 priests vested, at the Our Father over 6 eucharistic minister’s came up to do the priests function!!! A better perspective is to do away with them and see the priest return to his official mission and when that is appreciated then vocations will come and there will be no need for the former!
Absolutely. I cannot say I really know what is going on lately with the Novus Ordo, since the only NO Masses I have attended in the past decade (maybe three total) were all funerals. But many years ago, when I was a church musician and choir director, there was nothing “extraordinary” about these “ministers.” They ran the “show,” while the priest(s) generally sat down or did very little. It was all obviously about drawing attention AWAY from the Eucharist and towards the laity.
I agree wholeheartedly!
I totally disagree. What needs to occur is outstanding Training. I was a young man when my church trained me as a Eucharistic Minister. It was a process of prayer and learning. It’s a very serious role and those trained properly approach their role with dignity and respect for the body and blood of Jesus.
I have spoken in over 85 US dioceses over the years and witnessed thousands of Masses. I can count on one hand the number of parishes that did not employ so-called “extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.” In not a single instance, were the canonical/liturgical requirements for their use verified. I told one lady I did not need an extraordinary minister, to which she replied, “I’m an ordinary minister. I do it all the time.” Of course, she was right!
When I was a graduate student, there was a parish in the town that had so many different types of “ministry” that virtually every person was a minister of something. The choir director was a minister, the cleaning ladies were ministers, the ushers were ministers, the guy who mowed the grass was a minister, and about 40 people were Eucharistic ministers. A nice lady, noticing that I was a rather frequent Mass goer, asked me if I had signed up for a ministry. (Maybe she was recruiting?) I replied sarcastically: “Yes, I am an Exit Minister.” In all seriousness, the lady asked me: “And what are your duties?” I wanted to reply: “I help people get out of this parish.” But I held my tongue, and just got out of the place myself.
I watch the priest meticulously clean his fingers into the chalice after Communion to properly care for any remnant particles. Does a receiver in the hand lick his palm? Does an EM lick his/her fingers? No wonder no one Believes. /s
At a local Maronite Parish only the Priests give the Eucharist and with Intinction. Why cannot the Roman Church learn from their Brothers in Christ?
It’s a great article, but I think we need to realize that certain folks (e.g., medical professionals who are taking an hour out of work to attend Holy Mass) really need to get back to work because others are dependent on them, especially during the week. Many hospitals in the United States are running on a shoestring staff, especially since the COVID pandemic. My department in my hospital went from 8 people to 3, and instead of working one weekend a month, we were working 3 weekends a month (and it was overtime–6 or 7 days a week instead of 5). As far as I know, they are still dangerously shoft-staffed. The Catholic hospital in my former city (Order of St. Francis) held a “workers’ Mass” on Sundays that literally lasted only a few minutes so that the workers could get back to their healing duties.
As a health care professional, I understand the concern expressed, but it is an example of a misunderstanding of the importance of time spent well. Would she have the doctor look in the door, and then only refer to the nurses notes, rather than examining the patient himself? It would “save time”.
In the “Nun’s Story” Sister got Communion in the surgical room.
Don’t forget about the food service workers.
People who absolutely cannot make it to Mass can get a dispensation, and receive Holy Communion outside of Mass.
People who can only make it to part of the Mass can do the same.
I’ve heard of low Tridentine Rite Masses being said in less than 20 minutes, and it was referred to as a clear liturgical abuse. (It might not have been, but only because it might have had no homily, and distribution of Holy Communion after Mass instead of during). But the principle holds. Rushing Mass to suit peoples’ schedules has backwards priorities.
I am so glad to have found the Byzantine Rite 30 years ago. This conversation about “extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist” would never take place there. So when I cannot find the TLM, I have that wonderful “back-up.” It is also gratifying to note that the same priests who have devoted the time and effort to learn the TLM have also unlearned the worst aspects of the Novus Ordo, such as the use of these “ministers.” It is rare, but one can find the communion rail back in use, with no “ministers” running around, at Novus Ordo parishes where the TLM is still celebrated. Of course, this is the real reason that Bergoglio wants to destroy the TLM. It has the effect of remaking the Novus Ordo into something more Catholic.
I once went to Mass at a Parish near mine because I have a particular devotion for its eponymous Patron Saint. There were more than 10 Eucharistic ministers, a downside I suppose of all the aisles in the radially arranged churches so typical now. They deliberately made a pageant of how they all assembled, processed up into the sanctuary and took their chalices or ciboria, returned after Communion and dispersed. It just seemed that the intent was more a celebration of the lay participation than actual reverence for the Eucharist. Could be I was uncharitable in my impression but I never went back.
Thank you for the article. I have attended countless Masses that needed a traffic cop👮♂️ to coordinate the congestion of the laity on the alter at Communion. Extraordinary is the priest bothering to distribute. Is it any wonder that these ”Communities” are being consolidated or closed?
Let this corrupt generation die out. Reverence and reform are on the way.
The article is good but incomplete.
Our parish is very careful about only using the extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion,(EMHC) when needed, and as many as needed.
Also, we take Holy Communion to the homebound & nursing homes. These people would only receive Jesus once a month, if not for EMHC.
We have training once or twice a year, as needed.
The article would be complete with a renewed call for prayer for vocations.
May families have more children. And from these families may the sons answer the call to the priesthood. And may we support them in their call.
Then and only then, will the need for EMHC be filled, by priests, as it should be.
Until then, do not denigrate and cause confusion to those who have offered to serve in this capacity when asked by their parish priest.
Thank you Mary, finally a voice of reason in these comments. To all of the others, don’t simply complain, instead offer and work toward a solution. Don’t simply whine.
That should be the only duty of EM, The Ill and home bound. . I’m hoping a priest could visit at least once month
The Legion of Mary at my parish has worked out a system in which the lay members go to the nursing home, to each person who is Catholic, and set everything up. Then the priest comes, hears Confession if needed, gives the resident Holy Communion, then goes to the next. Because everything is set up for him, and the resident is ready when he arrives, his time commitment is about a half hour, and they can do this every week.
There are other solutions. You just have to think for a bit.
O Lord, spare us from the banality of Eucharistic ministers. Well said Dr Staudt.
I often see the priest seated while the Extraordinary ministers distribute communion….
I agree 100% with Dr. Staudt. In some parishes it’s like a circus when 10 or more “extraordinary” ministers flood the altar! Not very extraordinary.
17 years ago, I switched from Novus Ordo to TLM because of the many abuses I have witnessed. One happened in a Jesuit parish. During communion, a heavyset woman, wearing a cotton T-shirt with prints in front that was so thin that one can see she was not wearing anything underneath, was giving communion. You will never see this happening in a TLM parish.
You left the true Church, the mystical body of Christ, to join a group in disunity of the Church because of flimsy T shirt?
Most TLM Masses are in full communion with the Church.
Not all NO Masses are.
There is no reason to judge people guilty of disunity.
There are some TLM communities in full communion with Rome, such as FSSP. Other groups, such as the SSPX, should be avoided. I attend a reverent Novus Ordo parish and we are lucky to have 2 traditional, orthodox priests and zero liturgical abuses.
Why do those who profess only a Tridentine Mass but yet use the wrong language to talk to a Tridentine Mass, there is no such liturgy as a traditional Latin mass or a TLM parish. This is just poor language and poor Catholic education.
Well, I’m no expert on any of this but there are in fact people working to create a TLM parish in our area. They’ve purchased property with a large building and currently use that to host events and lectures.
The TLM isn’t a deal breaker for me but I really do prefer it. I grew up during the 1960s- 1970s era and I’m tired of experimentation. Give it a rest please. It’s time.
Nothing said about Deacons?
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion = Here Comes Everybody
The Seattle archdiocese was judged wanting when JPII sent Bp. Wuerl as auxiliary (McCarrick colleague) to oversee diocesan liturgy, seminaries, and morals. Now some 50 years and three more orthodox archbishops after Abp. Hunthausen, some Seattle parishes still manifest liturgical abuses and irreverences. Believe me—I was known as a notorious church shopper before I finally had the good sense to join a TLM parish.
Despite all you who think that most TLM devotees are sedevacantist, schismatic, traditional witches, or otherwise not faithful Catholics, our parish has been blessed and consecrated by the current archbishop, and our parish gains more members every year. No. My FSSP parish knows not a single liturgical abuse or EEM. The priests perform all catechesis, all sacramental prep, and all altar server training. They and they alone distribute Holy Eucharist, praying an individual prayer before each individual receiver. The priests also personally travel a wide geographical swathe in order to offer sacraments to the homebound, hospitalized, or other parishioners in assisted living facilities. Two priests staff the parish.
One of the most egregious EEM abuses I ever witnessed in Seattle was the “Teen Mass.” Just prior to the Consecration, the priest invited all teens in attendance into the sanctuary to surround the altar. They were not all EEMs, but in any event, most were immodestly dressed. On many hot summer Sunday evenings, male and female teens and preteens stood gawking around the altar, many in spaghetti straps, short shorts, halter tops, flip-flips, sneakers, and in other modes of undress down to there and up to here. Some chewed gum. They were shameless, it was shameful, and the priest was worse. These same kids then parted ways as sacred vessels were handed around among them. Some kids returned to the pews and the others offered the sacrament to the congregation. Very very sad.
Methinks Meiron abbreviates too much, and distorts, when he opines “Bp. Wuerl as auxiliary (McCarrick colleague).” This is a too-hasty caricature, and I propose unjust to both St. John Paul II and Cardinal Wuerl…
A dry run for much of what’s wrong in the Church as a whole today, the saga of Seattle in the 1980s was also unique in all of Church history and surely too excruciating to be repeated. The sequence of corrective actions included:
The (a) Visitation (the later Cardinal Hickey), (b) a publicly released letter of mandated corrective actions (plus a not-public list with more specifics), (c) then a totally unique and balanced triumvirate of United State brother-bishops to supervise things, which due to Cardinal O’Connor’s illness, foundered a bit (Bernardin, Quinn, and O’Connor…left, middle and right), (d) an auxiliary bishop (Wuerl) with undisclosed special powers and which, therefore, confused communication, and who reportedly was treated with disrespect, partly by the media, of course, (e) then, as leftist demonstrators crowded around St. James Cathedral, arrival of the coadjutor Archbishop Thomas Murphy (1932-1997), and (f) after four more years, in 1991 the healthy Archbishop Hunthausen resigned early at the age of 70.
The earlier and public letter of corrective actions, signed by the Apostolic Pro-nuncio Pio Laghi (Nov. 14, 1985) was artfully written to avoid creating a martyr—the abuses were framed not as in direct leadership, but as things done on his watch, softened further with recognition for social justice initiatives.
As for the current situation, all is not well everywhere, but also much water under the bridge. Yours truly happens to belong to one of many very reverent Novus Ordo parishes, and which after many years with no Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at all, now uses only one on Sunday Masses.
When dioceses across the country during the COVID lock-down were losing sight of the Eucharistic Presence, the current Archbishop Paul Etienne published an excellent pastoral (with further and separate corrective instructions to pastors). Building on the recent National Eucharistic Renewal in Indianapolis, here’s the link which might be helpful today beyond the Archdiocese of Seattle: https://mycatholicschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Pastoral-Letter-Year-of-Eucharist-NW-Catholic.pdf
Sorry that I abbreviated beyond understanding. Bp. is an accepted abbreviation for Bishop. When a bishop (not then a Cardinal), Wuerl was appointed auxiliary bishop to help Seattle ecclesiocrats return to orthodox belief and practice. Later, as a cardinal, Wuerl was also an associate of McCarrick in Washington DC. Wuerl, as bishop of Pittsburgh Diocese, was also implicated in the Pa. Grand Jury report which detailed his payments to allegedly abusive priests to retire or be reassigned. In that sense, Wuerl is a colleague to McCarrick. No caricature was intended to either JPII or to Wuerl; what is intended and is stated is truth. JPII was concerned about Hunthausen’s leadership and sent Wuerl from Pittsburgh to Seattle as auxiliary in charge of liturgy, seminary, morals and perhaps one or two other areas. How is that seen as a caricature and unfair to JPII?????
I have extended family in the Pittsburgh Diocese. I have read the Pa. Grand Jury Report, and local Pgh. diocesan papers reported on Wuerl’s transfer from Pittsburgh to Seattle and why.
I’m glad to see that your parish experience in Seattle has been much more rosy than mine. I’ve not served, as you have, on the Archbishop’s pastoral council, so I’ve not been privy to internal archdiocesan reports and statements, but I did belong to Sartain’s Crozier Society and served on my NO parish pastoral council.
Not all is today completely rosy liturgically or morally throughout the archdiocese which has been contracting its parishes into parish families. As noted in my original post, three bishops following Hunthausen have been more orthodox. I have heard unofficial reports that the archdiocese’s financial picture is not rosy, but I don’t have facts about that.
Yes, a lot of water has gone under the bridge and a lot of water has washed onto the bridge. Some bridges have washed away. I taught faith formation for over five years in my NO parish and have kept in touch some students who have kept in touch with my child. VERY FEW of these millennials continue to practice the faith of their parents and their baptism. Instead, more than one proudly touts her membership in the LGBTQ group, another celebrates mass in her living room with close friends, and the majority are NONES. Only a few have gone on to practice their faith and/or to marry in the Church.
https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2018/10/abuse-scandal-isnt-the-only-chapter-in-donald-wuerls-story
Dr Staudt, leaving aside the issue of extra ministers, in this article you mentioned a claimed “Eucharistic miracle”. True or not, that will be hard to verify, given no video. Please do a youtube search for “Lourdes levitating Eucharist 1999” and you will see several videos of how a Blessed Host levitated. Given your interest in the Eucharist, please push a few buttons to have the people in Rome to look into it more. It was real.
Google, Eucharistic miracle in Buenos Aires, Argentina, then Cardinal Bergoglio sent the bleeding host to a forensic lab and the report stated: ” a piece of a human heart”
I visited the sick and took communion to patients at Stanford Hospital and the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital. At Stanford Hospital, there might be close to one hundred Catholics who would be seen by extra ministers each day. We had one priest. If we found someone in need of the last rites, or a Catholic who did not have their first communion or wanted to make a confession, or if they wanted just to see a priest, we told our Chaplin. This was a situation in which our Chaplin had not the time to visit all of the sick.
It was a great blessing to me taking on this responsibility, visiting the sick and giving communion to those asking for it. I have since spent several weeks in hospitals, was not visited and did not even get communion on Sundays.
Priests and Deacons would be preferred Eucharistic ministers, but there are situations where there are extra ministers or no one. And very few people seem to want to visit 15 or 20 patients whom are strangers with some very ill, perhaps facing death shortly, doing this over several hours a day once or twice a week and distributing communion to those so desiring and doing this week after week.
Excellent article. The chances of this changing are zilch considering the current Vatican leadership and the people empowered by them in the US hierarchy.
One reason this practice is so prevalent is that it is one of the few perks pastors can give to the “regulars” in their parish. Years ago a very well meaning fellow asked my wife and I to become one of these. When I said no, he assumed it was humility or some such motive. He was nice enough to assure me that we were “worthy”. I told him it we weren’t worthy and that we didn’t think the entire practice was appropriate. He may have been offended by my response but I would rather offend a nice, well meaning person than participate in a practice that offends our Lord.
Thanks for sharing. At one time I belonged to the Legion of Mary under the auspices of an NO parish. The pastor asked us to perform a Communion Service and distribute Holy Eucharist to local nursing home residents. My Legion group and I did that for about five years.
Now, with the Legion defunct in that parish, I understand that no one visits the nursing home. If the family specifically contacts the priest, he will get to the nursing home resident as soon as he is able, usually within the week but sometimes longer.
Rarely, when I served in the Legion, a few nursing home residents actually refused Holy Eucharist from the Legion members who were predominantly female, and the males who were not deacons.
Have you ever seen parishioners during a NO Mass, cross into a different Holy Communion line in order to receive only from the hands of the priest? I do that if I cannot attend the TLM.
As Timothy mentioned, you will not find EM’s in the Byzantine Rite. Only the priest and deacon (if the parish is lucky enough to have one around) can dispense the Eucharist. Communion in the Byzantine Church is in the form of small cubes soaked in the Precious Blood, and is administered with a spoon.
As far as my opinion on EM’s, I believe that they should be limited to taking Holy Communion to only the sick and homebound. As a sacristan myself, I often help dispense the Host. I always wear the cassock and surplice, and rinse my hands off in the Sacrarium sink. In rare instances when there is only 1 priest, and literally hundreds of people in the congregation, properly dressed, properly trained people should help with dispensing the Eucharist, especially if said priest is older and more frail. As for the Precious Blood distribution, I believe that intinction is the way forward in Roman Rite liturgies, for two reasons.
#1: Exhibiting the universality of the Catholic Church. Many of the Eastern Catholic rites, including the Byzantines, offer communion by intinction. If the Roman Church did this more often, it could eliminate the need of EM’s of the Cup. I also believe it would help more people recognize the unique relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Roman Catholics by dispensing the Eucharist in a similar way. A minster could stand next to the priest holding a small Chalice/Cup. If the person receives on the tongue, the Priest can dip the Host into the Blood and give said person the Eucharist. If someone receives in the hand, NO INTINCTION, just the Host (which contains it all: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity) In either case, an altar server with a paten should be there as well.
#2: Less risk of spillage. There’s a big risk of spilling/dripping the blood on the floor when the Cup is being passed between the communicant and the minister, especially if one or both people have shaky hands.
Finally, bring back the communion rails or at least push together several matching kneelers.
I do want to point out though that in the Byzantine Church, there are no communion rails. People stand throughout most of the Divine Liturgy, stand when receiving the Eucharist, and continue to stand after returning to their seat. From what I’ve read, this signifies the Risen Christ (who had to have stood up after he rose from the dead😃). Maybe we should think twice next time we see someone receiving the Eucharist while standing, even if that particular church has a communion rail. God bless you all.
Didn’tThinkSo, I am curious about something pertaing to the Eastern Rite Catholic practice of Holy Communion by intinction. What is the practice when Communion is brought to the homebound or in hospital?
The other day I drove past a new ice cream store of a popular chain, and saw people lined up down the sidewalk waiting to order ice cream – some in line a half hour or more, waiting with anticipation for the cold, creamy yumminess.
I imagine how transformative that same attitude would be if the Catholic congregation could wait patiently, with anticipation to receive the Bread of Life.
The “walk-up” lines to “speed it up” to receive the Precious Body and Blood would no longer be necessary, if all who are in the state of grace to receive Holy Communion are happy to wait.
Communion rails could be re-instituted along with reverent use of the paten to prevent accidental abuse of The Eucharistic. Kneeling quietly and reverently to receive the Precious Host helps to eliminate distractions for that brief moment, rather than worrying about tripping as we are herded through the “drive through” lane.
The process of receiving Holy Communion during Mass should never have been reduced to a process of implementing “efficiency” but rather elevated to a process of instilling “efficacy”.
Amen.
Totally agreed with this article. When I attend daily Mass there are only about another 30-35 people there. Small enough of a number for the priest to handle Communion ALONE. Yet each and every day, an EM gets up and goes to the altar to “help”. Just not necessary.
And, in response to one comment here, just because you are in a hurry to go to work doesnt mean the rest of us should be hurried along in our worship( by using Em’s) . If that is your priority, find an earlier Mass.
I agree that too often, even on a Sunday, many Em’s are poorly or disrespectfully dressed. If dressed inappropriately they should decline to serve that Mass.
Its my opinion that NONE of this will change because the priests are too afraid of blow-back to address these matters. In our parish there is a brief training session for the ministries ( EM and lector) when one begins. After that, there has been NO follow up training or review in the 5 years I have been helping with this ministry. In my opinion there should at least be an annual review of procedures and rules if one is serving in a parish ministry.
As an extraordinary minister I fully agree with what is put across in the article by Dr Staudt and with much of what is said in response. I no longer fully exercise the duties I once did. I only take the Eucharist to sick and infirm individuals. I served for a number of years but certainly felt the difficulties some parishioners understandably had in having lay persons doing what only the priest normally should do. Some arishioners were particularly disturbed on receipt of the Host. During my time as a fully active extraordinary minister I conducted just one Eucharist Service but that I could not do this more than once due to my feeling that these services are not only inappropriate but follow too closely the Mass itself. If done at all surely a prayer based preparation for the Eucharist should be followed rather than what happens with even the Gospel being included. As an eighty year old I have never fully come to terms with the changes that followed V2 and was gratified when Pope Benedict enabled the Tridentine Mass to be once more celebrated. That Pope Francis seems intent in totally excluding this along with him embracing questionable social fractions.
Extraordinarily Ministers are certainly not the answer to what now happens within the church. As mentioned in one response to the article, perhaps altar rails and much of what happened before V2 might help.
Deacon Edward, I think it’s similar to the Roman practice; ie, putting the Host in a pyx and taking it directly to the person(s). I believe Pyxs and/or artophorions (small, engraved metal boxes, also known as a Presanctified Box) are used in the Byzantine Church. A small amount of unconsecrated wine is possibly brought along, to soften the Body, since the Eucharist in the Byzantine Rite is in the form of leavened cubes of bread, and is more likely to harden after sitting in the tabernacle for awhile. Any reserved Eucharist MIGHT be intincted with a small amount of the Precious Blood, and then placed in the tabernacle for future use during the Liturgy.
I’m not sure if a lay person can take Communion to the sick in the Eastern Churches, it may be reserved to the priest or deacon only. I’m also not sure if the priest would use a spoon when taking it to the sick or not, but I’m guessing he would though.
You might look up the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. This Liturgy is only used on Lenten weekday evenings. There is no consecration, but there are old testament readings, occasionally a Gospel, many prostrations, and lots of incense! Communion is given towards the end. The Body of Christ, consecrated and intincted with Blood at last Sunday’s Liturgy, is intincted in unconsecrated wine, with some people believing that the unconsecrated wine might become consecrated Blood after the consecrated Body is mixed with the wine. I think I just wrote a tongue twister, but it’s really cool!
Didn’tThinkSo: thanks for the very comprehensive reply.
Dr. Staudt quotes Father Joseph Crowley, misrepresenting the mind of the Church by applying the term Eucharistic minister to laity: “One of our eucharistic ministers was running out of hosts, and suddenly there were more hosts in the ciborium. God just duplicated himself in the ciborium” (05 March 2023) nearly 19 years exactly after Cardinal Arinze instructed us not to employ that language. Please stop abusing the liturgy by abusing liturgical language. Please also stop advocating for EMHC. It’s telling that the alleged miracle is reported with abusive language—God brings good out of evil.
Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum
1. The Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion
[154.] As has already been recalled, “the only minister who can confect the Sacrament of the Eucharist in persona Christi is a validly ordained Priest”. [254] Hence the name “minister of the Eucharist” belongs properly to the Priest alone. Moreover, also by reason of their sacred Ordination, the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are the Bishop, the Priest and the Deacon, [255] to whom it belongs therefore to administer Holy Communion to the lay members of Christ’s faithful during the celebration of Mass. In this way their ministerial office in the Church is fully and accurately brought to light, and the sign value of the Sacrament is made complete.
[155.] In addition to the ordinary ministers there is the formally instituted acolyte, who by virtue of his institution is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion even outside the celebration of Mass. If, moreover, reasons of real necessity prompt it, another lay member of Christ’s faithful may also be delegated by the diocesan Bishop, in accordance with the norm of law, [256] for one occasion or for a specified time, and an appropriate formula of blessing may be used for the occasion. This act of appointment, however, does not necessarily take a liturgical form, nor, if it does take a liturgical form, should it resemble sacred Ordination in any way. Finally, in special cases of an unforeseen nature, permission can be given for a single occasion by the Priest who presides at the celebration of the Eucharist. [257]
[156.] This function is to be understood strictly according to the name by which it is known, that is to say, that of extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and not “special minister of Holy Communion” nor “extraordinary minister of the Eucharist” nor “special minister of the Eucharist”, by which names the meaning of this function is unnecessarily and improperly broadened.
[157.] If there is usually present a sufficient number of sacred ministers for the distribution of Holy Communion, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may not be appointed. Indeed, in such circumstances, those who may have already been appointed to this ministry should not exercise it. The practice of those Priests is reprobated who, even though present at the celebration, abstain from distributing Communion and hand this function over to laypersons. [258]
[158.] Indeed, the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may administer Communion only when the Priest and Deacon are lacking, when the Priest is prevented by weakness or advanced age or some other genuine reason, or when the number of faithful coming to Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged. [259] This, however, is to be understood in such a way that a brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason.
[159.] It is never allowed for the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion to delegate anyone else to administer the Eucharist, as for example a parent or spouse or child of the sick person who is the communicant.
[160.] Let the diocesan Bishop give renewed consideration to the practice in recent years regarding this matter, and if circumstances call for it, let him correct it or define it more precisely. Where such extraordinary ministers are appointed in a widespread manner out of true necessity, the diocesan Bishop should issue special norms by which he determines the manner in which this function is to be carried out in accordance with the law, bearing in mind the tradition of the Church.
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The author of this CWR article here abuses language and thereby perpetuates a liturgical abuse by employing the term Eucharistic minister to lay persons. The 25 March 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum #170 instructs: “In order that a remedy may be applied to such abuses, ‘there is a pressing need for the biblical and liturgical formation of the people of God, both pastors and faithful’,[279] so that the Church’s faith and discipline concerning the sacred Liturgy may be accurately presented and understood. Where abuses persist, however, proceedings should be undertaken for safeguarding the spiritual patrimony and rights of the Church in accordance with the law, employing all legitimate means.”
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html
“When the need of the Church warrants it”
In addition to ceasing the use of EMHC, we should also cease using Extraordinary Ministers of the Word, ie non-instituted lectors. This is another abuse to see it so commonly used, though certainly it is legal (cf Canon 230 §2&3 and Canon 231 of the CIC). And while we are at it, we should consider: why do some many Catholic schools employ non-Catholic lectors at school Masses. Honestly, only a confirmed Catholic should proclaim the Word in the Liturgy except for the grave exceptions granted by the local ordinary, as the Vatican instructs in its appeal for ecumenism.
https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-word/the-lector-at-mass
http://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/documenti/testo-in-inglese.html
Can. 230 §1. Lay men who possess the age and qualifications established by decree of the conference of bishops can be admitted on a stable basis through the prescribed liturgical rite to the ministries of lector and acolyte.
Nevertheless, the conferral of these ministries does not grant them the right to obtain support or remuneration from the Church.
§2. Lay persons can fulfill the function of lector in liturgical actions by temporary designation. All lay persons can also perform the functions of commentator or cantor, or other functions, according to the norm of law.
83. When the need of the Church warrants it and ministers are lacking, lay persons, even if they are not lectors or acolytes, can also supply certain of their duties, namely, to exercise the ministry of the word, to preside offer liturgical prayers, to confer baptism, and to distribute Holy Communion, according to the prescripts of the law.
Can. 231 §1. Lay persons who permanently or temporarily devote themselves to special service of the Church are obliged to acquire the appropriate formation required to fulfill their function properly and to carry out this function conscientiously, eagerly, and diligently.
§2. Without prejudice to the prescript of = can. 230, §1 and with the prescripts of civil law having been observed, lay persons have the right to decent remuneration appropriate to their condition so that they are able to provide decently for their own needs and those of their family. They also have a right for their social provision, social security, and health benefits to be duly provided.
The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity’s 25 March 1993 Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism teaches us that the typical Catholic school violates the norms of ecumenism by liturgical abuse when it invites non-Catholic students and faculty to read during Mass.
Sharing in Sacramental Life, especially the Eucharist
a) Sharing in Sacramental Life with members of the various Eastern Churches
122-128. …
b) Sharing Sacramental Life with Christians of Other Churches and Ecclesial Communities
129-132. …
133. The reading of Scripture during a Eucharistic celebration in the Catholic Church is to be done by members of that Church. On exceptional occasions and for a just cause, the Bishop of the diocese may permit a member of another Church or ecclesial Community to take on the task of reader.
134. In the Catholic Eucharistic Liturgy, the homily which forms part of the liturgy itself is reserved to the priest or deacon, since it is the presentation of the mysteries of faith and the norms of Christian living in accordance with Catholic teaching and tradition.138
135. For the reading of Scripture and preaching during other than Eucharistic celebrations, the norms given above (n. 118) are to be applied.
118. In liturgical celebrations taking place in other Churches and ecclesial Communities, Catholics are encouraged to take part in the psalms, responses, hymns and common actions of the Church in which they are guests. If invited by their hosts, they may read a lesson or preach.
http://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/documenti/testo-in-inglese.html
the trajectory of the spirit of the council appears lay centered. It is almost by design that the council could foresee this. How many clergy have left the church in the last 55 years but laymen’s participation is more ‘needed’ than ever… and now it is possible with the synod on Synodality and its significant increase in the participation of laymen what will that future church look like? Zero priests and all laity running the show? The devil in the details?