Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Thank you for your continued service to Christ and His Church as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. As most of you know by now, in general we will need fewer extraordinary ministers at each Mass.
The service to the people of God that extra-ordinary minister provides will be more evenly split, perhaps even more heavily weighted on service to the sick and homebound. I can appreciate the fact that there is a dimension of disappointment for some extra-ordinary ministers who will be performing this service less frequently, perhaps much less frequently during the Eucharistic Liturgy. I encourage you to seek another venue to supplement your service to God and the people of God. You may feel called to visit the sick, imprisoned, or homebound.
Typically we may need one extra-ordinary at the Saturday vigil and the 8:00 a.m.; between one and four at the 10:30 a.m.; and again perhaps one at the 6:00 p.m. Below are a few reminders concerning your important ministry to our parish family.
I am not planning a training session in person for 2015 as we had one last year. Below you will find a few reminders concerning your ministry. Peace and Blessing to you.
Fr. Mike
BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS
The Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion assist at Mass through the distribution of Holy Communion. "Extraordinary" is a term meant to distinguish this minister from the "Ordinary" ministers of Holy Communion. Ordinary ministers are bishop, priests and deacons. According to the General Instructions of the Roman Missal (these are “instructions” for how to celebrate Mass), extraordinary ministers should only be used at Mass when a truly large number of communicants are present such that Mass would be unduly prolonged without them. Therefore, extraordinary ministers will only be used when there are not enough priests and deacons to distribute Holy Communion.
Extraordinary ministers may also take Holy Communion to the sick, the dying, those imprisoned, and others unable to celebrate the Eucharist with the parish community. This ministry is to be carried only with the specific permission of their own pastor.
Preparation and Spiritual Development as an Extraordinary Minister
· Being a minister of Holy Communion is a gift, responsibility and privilege.
· Faith in the real and substantial presence of Christ in every crumb and drop of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist is an absolute prerequisite to being an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.
· The extraordinary ministers must be in a state of Grace – not conscious of serious sin. An example of serious or grave sin is intentionally missing Mass on Sunday or a Holy day without serious reasons (cf. 1 Cor 11-27).
o Frequent participation in the Sacrament of Penance (confession) is encouraged. Once a year is the absolute minimum and that presumes the absence of grave sin.
· Frequent participation in Eucharistic adoration and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is encouraged.
· Please read and pray over John’s Gospel chapter 6 vv. 22-71 and the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1322-1419.
Scheduling:
· If you cannot be present when you are scheduled, please arrange for a substitute.
· If you have a cold or other illness/medical issue but can still go to Mass, it is best to arrange for a substitute. Again, it is important that you be present or arrange for a substitute each time you are scheduled.
Attire/Dress:
· You should dress neatly and modestly. Men: Slacks and dress shirt. Women: Near the knee or knee length dress or skirt, or slacks and blouse, and shoulders and cleavage should be covered.
· Never be flashy, sexy, distracting or too casual as an extraordinary minister.
· Please no blue jeans, t-shirts, shorts, short skirts, lingerie, spaghetti straps/tank tops/cleavage-revealing tops, etc.
Both Ministers of the Cup and Host:
· If any person does not seem to know what she or he is doing in receiving communion (e.g. no response or wrong response, does not hold hands properly) simply ask if they are Catholic. If they are not, say a short prayer for them - “May God bless you.” Inform them kindly that communion is for those in full communion with the Catholic Church and invite them to speak to the priest after Mass if they do not seem to get it.
o If it seems there is a real misunderstanding or you are not sure, you may give them communion but ask them to speak to the priest after Mass.
o Note: If someone is not going to receive Holy Communion, do not trace on or over him/her or make a sign of the cross or any kind of gesture. During the Mass this kind of blessing/gesture is proper only to the priest or deacon.
· Again, while you are instructed not to give non-Catholics Holy Communion as they are not in “communion” with the Catholic Church, never be confrontational.
· If a child or person with arms folded comes forward, again, simply say a short prayer for them – “God bless you”.
· After you finish distributing Holy Communion return remaining hosts to the altar. Remaining Precious Blood is to be placed on the altar. Note: The Precious Blood is never placed in the Tabernacle.
Distributing the Host:
· Receive ciborium from the priest or deacon.
· As each communicant approaches look at him/her, and while holding one Host slightly above the rest and say the words "The Body of Christ." Under no circumstance will these words be changed. Please wait for the response "Amen (I believe)" before giving the person Holy Communion. A person may receive in their hand or on their tongue, whichever they wish. Do not change the above dialogue “The Body of Christ”/“Amen” except in the event you need to ask if they can receive.
o If they do not say “Amen”, but are known to you, or they are confident and hold their hands properly, say it for them. If not ask them if they are Catholic (see above).
· Please be mindful not to let pieces or small particles of the Host fall on the floor. (In the future I would like to have the altar servers present with a paten).
· When you have finished distributing Holy Communion there may be small particles of the Hosts on you fingers. There is a covered cup (the ablution cup) next to the tabernacle - go to it and dip your fingers into the ablution cup and dry them on the purificator.
· Return to your pew.
Distributing the Chalice:
· Receive the chalice from the priest or deacon. The chalice may not be very full but still walk carefully from the sanctuary to the Communion station and be mindful to cover the chalice with the purificator to prevent spilling any Precious Blood.
· Be mindful never to let the purificator dip into the Precious Blood.
· As each communicant approaches you, look at him/her, elevate the cup slightly and say "The Blood of Christ." Under no circumstances will these words be changed. Please wait for the response "Amen" before giving the person Holy Communion.
· After the person receives from the cup, wipe the place from which they drank with the purificator.
· Never allow people to dip the Host in the Precious Blood.
· If you run out of Precious Blood simply cover the chalice with the purificator and return it to the altar. Note: Do not crumple and push the purificator into the chalice, but rather place it neatly over the rim.
· Return to your pew.
Special Circumstances:
· If a consecrated Host is dropped, simply bend over (taking care not to spill other Hosts), pick it up, and either place it back in the ciborium (it is still safe to consume) or give it to the priest to consume. Please strive to ensure no fragment of a Host is on the floor. If there are fragments, please pick them up and consume them or place them in the ciborium. Please tell the priest after Mass. If Precious Blood is spilled, cover the spot with your purificator and leave it there for the rest of Mass so that no one steps on the spot. Get another purificator and finish distributing Holy Communion. As soon as practical tell the priest about the spilled Precious Blood. Immediately after Mass assist in clean up if you are able. The water used to clean up will be poured down the sacrarium (special drain to the ground). The purificators used should be rinsed and the water put down the sacrarium.
· What if someone walks away with a Host? Stop them and tell them they must consume the Host – call the priest/usher if necessary.
· What if someone wants a Host in a pyx? – If they are personally known to you as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in this parish, you may put a Host in a pyx. If not, tell them to speak to the priest after Mass. Note: Extraordinary ministers ideally should give the pyx to a sacristan, priest, or deacon before Mass and ask for (x) number of Hosts, then gets it after Mass from near the tabernacle.
Home/Nursing Home/Hospital/Prison visits
One should have training for this ministry. The most critical point is that when bringing Holy Communion to the sick, an extraordinary minister obtains the Eucharist from an ordinary minister of Holy Communion, or with Father’s permission gets it directly from the tabernacle. With the Host(s) in a pyx, please proceed directly to the sick person(s) home, hospital, prison, etc (do not go home, to the gas station, grocery, office, etc.).
After Communion the pyx should be empty – bring left over Host back to the church. The pyx should be properly purified (all evidence of the Eucharist consumed).
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