We call them “Eucharistic Ministers.” Officially, their title is “Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.” Shakespeare famously asked, “What’s in a name?” In this case – a lot. The names being used reveal the difference between how something is conceived and how it is being lived.
The Church has established clear roles at Mass; each role supports and contributes to the celebration. The role of the priest is primary. He presides at Mass: leading the community in prayer, praying in the name of the community, and also praying and acting in the name and person of Christ (in persona Christi). At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and said “This is my body” and then gave it to his disciples. As the church reflected on this and on what happens at Mass, it seems most appropriate that the priest is the one who gives the Body and Blood of Christ to the faithful at Mass.
Thus, the church’s understanding is that others assist the priest in distributing the Body and Blood of Christ – and only when necessary. As the instruction in the Book of Blessings states:
It is, first of all, the office of the priest and deacon to minister holy communion to the faithful who ask to receive it. …
It is the office of acolyte who has been properly instituted to give communion as an extraordinary minister when the priest and deacon are absent or impeded by sickness, old age, or pastoral ministry or when the number of the faithful at the holy table is so great that the Mass or other service may be unreasonably protracted.
The local Ordinary [Diocesan Bishop] may give other extraordinary ministers the faculty to give communion whenever it seems necessary for the pastoral benefit of the faithful and a priest, deacon, or acolyte is not available. (#1871)
So, as the Church conceives it, “Eucharistic Ministers” are called on to assist the priest and deacon in distributing Communion in those extraordinary times when there are a great many people to receive Communion and other priests, deacons and acolytes are not available.
It is here that how the Church understands liturgical roles meets pastoral reality.
The pastoral reality is that when Communion is distributed under both forms (as the Bishops have decreed should be the norm in the United States), at least two ministers of the Eucharist – one for the Eucharistic Bread and one for the Precious Blood – are needed at every Mass, even a small weekday Mass. At weekend Masses, where the number of people attending is much larger, several ministers of the Eucharist are needed at every Mass.
There is no parish in the U.S. that has enough priests, deacons and instituted acolytes to distribute Communion at parish Masses. In reality, Eucharistic Ministers are needed at every Mass. What the Church considers extraordinary in terms the liturgical role has become the usual, the normal in parishes across the country at weekly Mass.
I believe that this contrast between the defined liturgical role and the lived experience of those who minister the Eucharist underlies much of the tension and frustration some Eucharistic ministers have been experiencing lately. I have heard comments such as “its all about the rules now;” “I don’t feel like it’s a ministry any more – it’s just a function;” “this makes me feel like I’m second class.” As real – and painful – as these feelings are, I believe there is something more going on here.
In the church, is not unusual for pastoral reality – what is happening “on the ground” – to be somewhat different than how church norms conceive and describe something. Why? Because the church is alive and dynamic, not frozen and static. It is important to remember that the present moment is just one point on a much longer journey. Historically, we are still in the period the Church needs to reflect on, understand and implement a Council (i.e. Vatican II).
Church practice continues to respond to conditions and needs as they are, not as people imagined they might be. Seen this way, the tension between the established liturgical role of an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and the experience of Eucharistic Ministers in parishes is really a sign of life – and hope. We are a pilgrim people, a “people on the way.” Thus do we progress.
Extraordinary(?!) Ministers of Holy Communion: Liturgical Roles and Pastoral Practice
We call them “Eucharistic Ministers.” Officially, their title is “Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.” Shakespeare famously asked, “What’s in a name?” In this case – a lot. The names being used reveal the difference between how something is conceived and how it is being lived.
The Church has established clear roles at Mass; each role supports and contributes to the celebration. The role of the priest is primary. He presides at Mass: leading the community in prayer, praying in the name of the community, and also praying and acting in the name and person of Christ (in persona Christi). At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and said “This is my body” and then gave it to his disciples. As the church reflected on this and on what happens at Mass, it seems most appropriate that the priest is the one who gives the Body and Blood of Christ to the faithful at Mass.
Thus, the church’s understanding is that others assist the priest in distributing the Body and Blood of Christ – and only when necessary. As the instruction in the Book of Blessings states:
It is, first of all, the office of the priest and deacon to minister holy communion to the faithful who ask to receive it. …
It is the office of acolyte who has been properly instituted to give communion as an extraordinary minister when the priest and deacon are absent or impeded by sickness, old age, or pastoral ministry or when the number of the faithful at the holy table is so great that the Mass or other service may be unreasonably protracted.
The local Ordinary [Diocesan Bishop] may give other extraordinary ministers the faculty to give communion whenever it seems necessary for the pastoral benefit of the faithful and a priest, deacon, or acolyte is not available. (#1871)
So, as the Church conceives it, “Eucharistic Ministers” are called on to assist the priest and deacon in distributing Communion in those extraordinary times when there are a great many people to receive Communion and other priests, deacons and acolytes are not available.
It is here that how the Church understands liturgical roles meets pastoral reality.
The pastoral reality is that when Communion is distributed under both forms (as the Bishops have decreed should be the norm in the United States), at least two ministers of the Eucharist – one for the Eucharistic Bread and one for the Precious Blood – are needed at every Mass, even a small weekday Mass. At weekend Masses, where the number of people attending is much larger, several ministers of the Eucharist are needed at every Mass.
There is no parish in the U.S. that has enough priests, deacons and instituted acolytes to distribute Communion at parish Masses. In reality, Eucharistic Ministers are needed at every Mass. What the Church considers extraordinary in terms the liturgical role has become the usual, the normal in parishes across the country at weekly Mass.
I believe that this contrast between the defined liturgical role and the lived experience of those who minister the Eucharist underlies much of the tension and frustration some Eucharistic ministers have been experiencing lately. I have heard comments such as “its all about the rules now;” “I don’t feel like it’s a ministry any more – it’s just a function;” “this makes me feel like I’m second class.” As real – and painful – as these feelings are, I believe there is something more going on here.
In the church, is not unusual for pastoral reality – what is happening “on the ground” – to be somewhat different than how church norms conceive and describe something. Why? Because the church is alive and dynamic, not frozen and static. It is important to remember that the present moment is just one point on a much longer journey. Historically, we are still in the period the Church needs to reflect on, understand and implement a Council (i.e. Vatican II).
Church practice continues to respond to conditions and needs as they are, not as people imagined they might be. Seen this way, the tension between the established liturgical role of an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and the experience of Eucharistic Ministers in parishes is really a sign of life – and hope. We are a pilgrim people, a “people on the way.” Thus do we progress.