Increasing Order & Reverence

Friends

    Peace be with you. 

    This December there will be a slight change to the number and use of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (from now on referred to as EMHCs). EMHCs are those people who have never been formally installed as an acolyte but who are commissioned for three years to distribute Holy Communion. So, this isn’t referring to me or one of the deacons or even our great seminarians, Jonathan and Jacob, who have both been installed as acolytes in the seminary. A normal altar server isn’t installed as an acolyte because, in the mind of the church, the formal installation is reserved for those men who are in formation for priesthood. 

    Recently, I was invited by some members of the liturgy committee to look into how the church envisions using EMHCs. I was pointed in the direction of three documents, One from the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments called On Facilitating Reception of Communion in Certain Circumstances (OFRCCC). Next there’s Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion under Both Kinds in the Dioceses (NDRHCBKD) of the United States of America from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Lastly, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at Mass (EMoHC) also by the United States Conference of Catholic bishops. 

    What would you say is the primary motivation for determining the number of people who should distribute Holy Communion? For most priests, I think it’s speed. We want distributing communion to be done quickly. This, however, is not the primary concern of the church. In OFRCCC, the primary concerns are to make reception of communion easier and to make sure the sick receive communion. In EMoHC, it says, “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.” NDRHCBKD says, “When recourse is had to Extraordinary Ministers 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.”

    Those two characteristics, orderly and reverent, pop up a lot and have prompted me to ask if we have missed the intent of having Extraordinary Ministers. I think “the need for speed” misses the point. Distributing Holy Communion deserves to take a lot of time. It is an important event, not something to be rushed. It’s like we take time to fix a really nice meal and then snarf it down so we can get back to the rest of our lives. I know the people of the Old Testament were told, at the Passover, they were to eat like people taking flight and the Last Supper is a Passover meal but we are a people of the New Testament and so we are called to mission by the Holy Spirit in our reception of Holy Communion. That is certainly worth taking our time to make sure we are committed to the mission. 

    Concretely, we will have two people distributing the Precious Body and two people distributing the Precious Blood. There will not be two other people standing in front of the first pew of church to distribute Holy Communion because that was done for expediency and, in my opinion, is neither orderly or reverent. Regardless of how hard we try, it means people have to look out for “traffic” right after they receive Holy Communion. There will still be one person whose job is to go to those who find it difficult to process, the elderly, the disabled, and the people in the fireplace room and choir loft. However, once they’ve done that, they will take any remaining communion to the altar and return to their pew. 

    I don’t believe this will actually slow things down very much but, if you believe communion should be as short as possible, I have a feeling this will frustrate you. There may be situations, like Christmas and Easter, where we will add people because of the size of the congregation but I ask that you take the time necessary to focus on who it is you are receiving and the mission he has for you.