Holy Communion & Homebound Ministry

Friends, peace be with you.
At the last Liturgy Committee meeting, some members of the committee
prompted me to ponder a more reverent way of handling the Blessed
Sacrament in a pyx. In case you do not know, a pyx is the gold circular
container people use to bring the Blessed Sacrament to the sick. One is called a pyx (pronounced “pickses”). They are really meant for transportation not storage, meaning a commissioned Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion should get the Blessed Sacrament and take it directly from Mass or a tabernacle to a sick or homebound person. You should not bring a pyx with the Blessed Sacrament to your house and leave it overnight or run errands before you take the Blessed Sacrament to the person. Christ should be your priority.
With this in mind, it has been my practice for several years that people put the pyx on the altar with some kind of indication of how many hosts they need before Mass. That way they know the host they are taking was consecrated at that Mass. However, as the committee rightly pointed out,
that leaves space for neglecting the Blessed Sacrament for some time during distribution of Holy Communion and from the time of the dismissal until the point the person walks up to retrieve the pyx from the altar. It implies leaving the Blessed Sacrament alone is acceptable, which it really is
not. In other parishes, we’ve supplied a special carrier that hung around the neck so people wouldn’t stick their pyx in their pocket or purse next to wadded up kleenex, loose change, and half used cough drops.
Therefore, I’d ask that, if you use a pyx that needs less than five hosts, that you bring it in procession with you to receive Holy Communion and ask the distributor to put the number of hosts you need in the pyx. I’d ask the people distributing the Precious Body not to inquire who the person visiting or assume any bad intent as long as they have a pyx. If they do not, please ask them to talk to the priest after Mass to get a pyx. If you need more than five hosts, I’d ask that you wait until after Mass and retrieve the hosts you need from the tabernacle. I’m concerned that a distributor putting more than five hosts in a pyx could drop the hosts accidentally.
I know there are parishes which have a more formal send off of their Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion at the end of Mass but I personally feel like that is already built into the liturgy with the final blessing and sending forth. It sends us all forth in peace to spread Christ’s peace to all the world. Nonetheless, I do want those of you who bring communion to the sick and homebound to know how very appreciative I am of what you do. You are the face of Christ bringing the body of Christ to the lonely and lost! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all you do!