Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist Specific Directives of the Galveston-Houston Diocese Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are under the jurisdiction of the bishop. No one can begin this ministry without instruction, careful practical training by local priests or trained lay coordinators, the bishop s mandate, and a parish deputation ceremony at Mass. Candidates must be 18 years of age or a senior in high school, fully initiated in the Church, persons of genuine Eucharistic faith, living exemplary Catholic lives, and have sound psychological maturity. The local priest makes application for a mandate in writing to the bishop, stating the education the candidates have received, their readiness for this ministry, and the name of each candidate. The mandate is given to a specific person and for a specific place. The mandate terminates if the minister moves or at the discretion of the bishop and local priest. Any training for Eucharistic ministers must include catechesis on: o the ecclesial nature of the Eucharist as the common possession of the whole church o the Eucharist as the memorial of Christ s sacrifice, his death and resurrection, and as the sacred Banquet o the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic elements, whole and entire, in each element of bread and wine (the doctrine of concomitance) o the kinds of reverence due at all times to the sacrament, whether within the Eucharistic liturgy or outside the celebration o directives of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal Schedules are prepared quarterly and mailed or e-mailed to each EMHC. Refresher training for EMHCs is required annually. Coordinator Contact Information: Lynne Hanrahan 480-0709 (home) 713-751-7296 (work) lynnehn@earthlink.net Page 1 of 6
The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist As Catholics, we are CALLED TO BELIEVE (and not necessarily to understand) that Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained in Holy Communion. His presence is not momentary, nor simply signified, but wholly and permanently REAL under each of the consecrated species of bread and wine. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, Take and eat; this is my body. Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you, for this is the blood of my covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. (Mt. 26:26-28, Mk 14:22-24, Lk 22:17-20, 1 Cor 11:23-25) Recalling these words of Jesus, the Catholic Church professes that, in the celebration of the Eucharist, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the instrumentality of the Priest. Jesus said: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (Jn 6:51-55) The whole Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine the glorified Christ who rose from the dead after dying for our sins. This is what the Church means when she speaks of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The risen Christ is present to his Church in many ways, but most especially through the sacrament of his Body and Blood. Through Christ s death and resurrection, he conquered sin and death and reconciled us to God. The Eucharist is the memorial of this sacrifice. The Church gathers to remember and to re-present the sacrifice of Christ in which we share through the action of the priest and the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the celebration of the Eucharist, we a joined to Christ s sacrifice and receive it inexhaustible benefits. Jesus the eternal Son of God made his act of sacrifice in the presence of his Father, who lives in eternity. Jesus one perfect sacrifice is thus eternally present before the Father, who eternally accepts it. This means that in the Eucharist, Jesus does not sacrifice himself again and again. Rather, by the power of the Holy Spirit, his one eternal sacrifice is made present once again, re-presented, so we may share in it. In the Eucharistic celebration, we do not simply remember an event in history. Rather, through the mysterious action of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharistic celebration, the Lord s Pascal Mystery is made present and contemporaneous to his Church. The ordained priest standing at the altar represents Christ as the head of the Church. All the baptized, as members of Christ s Body, share in his priesthood, as both priest and victim. In the Eucharist, the sacrifice of Christ becomes the sacrifice of the members of his Body who, united to Christ, form one sacrificial offering. Page 2 of 6
What does the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist mean? The Holy Spirit s gift of faith enables Catholics to believe the awesome truth that in the Eucharist the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained. (CCC 1374). The term Concomitance means that Christ is fully and completely present in both the Eucharistic Bread and Consecrated Wine. To receive Jesus in the species of the bread or the species of the wine is to receive the whole Christ since He is sacramentally present in each species and we receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. The transformed bread and wine that are the Body and Blood of Christ are not merely symbols because they truly are the Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord Himself said: This is my body, not a foreshadowing of my body, but my body, and not a foreshadowing of my blood, but my blood. It is important to recognize that the Body and Blood of Christ come to us in the Eucharist in a sacramental form. In other words, Christ is present under the appearances of bread and wine, not in his own proper form. God uses the symbolism inherent in the eating of bread and the drinking of wine at the natural level to illuminate the meaning of what is being accomplished in the Eucharist through Jesus Christ. The term Transubstantiation expresses that at the consecration of the Mass, the reality (the substance) of the bread and wine change into the reality of Jesus His risen, glorified body and blood. The Lord is present whole and entire in each species from the moment of consecration for as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. (CCC 1377). Once the substance has really changed, the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. The power of the consecration and his life-giving grace is perpetual in it. The Church teaches that Christ remains present under the appearances of bread and wine as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain. Christ is the substance of the Bread and Wine after the Consecration The substance changes, the indicators stay the same The texture, color, & taste remain that of bread and wine The Priest consecrates the bread and wine by invoking the blessing of the Holy Spirit. The Priest does so with the words of Jesus himself: This is my Body which has been given up for you This is the cup of my Blood The consecrated bread and wine become the SUBSTANCE of Christ The teaching of St. Cyril of Jerusalem assists the Church even today in understanding this great mystery: We have been instructed in these matters and filled with an unshakeable faith that what seems to be bread is not bread, though it tastes like it, but the Body of Christ, and that what seems to be wine is not wine, though it tastes like it, but the Blood of Christ. The act of Communion is an act of faith. When the minister says The Body of Christ or The Blood of Christ, the communicant s Amen is a profession in the presence of the saving Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, who now gives life to the believer. Page 3 of 6
Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist Specific Directives of the Galveston-Houston Diocese EMHC should be appropriately dressed when distributing Communion during the liturgy. The pastoral letter on the Sunday Eucharist offers this guidance Coats for men, dresses for women. Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist do not communicate to themselves when they assist the priest at Mass. EMHCs can minister to each other after receiving from the celebrant, but members of the congregation cannot minister one to another. EMHC are not to assist at the altar with distribution of the hosts, nor fractionation of the precious blood. Communicants (EMHC or general faithful) should show a sign of reverence with a slight bow of the head before reception of each species. After receiving communion from the celebrant, the ministers are handed a chalice or ciborium by the priest or deacon. Do not take a bowl or cup from the altar yourself. Holy Communion is distributed to the faithful with the words The BODY of CHRIST or The BLOOD of CHRIST. No other words are to be used. o o o Adding the words This is narrows the administration focus to Christ present only in the consecrated elements, thus diminishing the symbolic presence of Christ in the minister, recipient, Communion procession and act of consumption. Referring to The Body and Blood of Jesus emphasizes the historical Jesus at the expense of the Christ of faith. It is not appropriate to address recipients by name. This fragments the common unity of the assembly if some recipients are addressed personally, thus implying that they are more important than others. Ministers of the Precious Blood should wipe the cup rim inside and out and rotate it ¼ turn between recipients. Leave your purificator folded so there is a thicker layer of fabric. Move fingers to a different area of the purificator as it becomes soiled, using both sides and refold if necessary. Cover the cup with your purificator and leave your station and return to the Credence Table if no Precious Blood remains in your cup. All sacred vessels must be properly purified before being cleaned. New Norms require that first purification be completed at the Credence Table and then vessel is covered with purificator. EMHCs return to seats, and then after Mass is dismissed, full purification of vessels must be done in the working sacristy. Page 4 of 6
Excess consecrated species MUST NEVER be poured into the sacrarium (we do not have one anyway!) NOR a sink. The small particles that break from the Hosts are to be treated with reverence. They should be consumed when purifying the vessels. Consume all particles and water used to purify the sacred vessels. Carefully check the ciborium for ANY particles of host BEFORE you rinse and wash it. When there are elements of the sacred species to be consumed, this should not be done by the ministers while they are walking back to the altar or the credence table. Carry the sacred species reverently to the credence table and consume the consecrated species there (or in the working sacristy) in a respectful manner. If you have to dispose of a host, dissolve it completely in water and pour on the soil outside, not down the sink. St. Michael s does not currently have a sacrarium. Wash all sacred vessels with soap and water and dry after purification. Return the clean, dry chalices to the credence table. If additional masses follow, fill the necessary number of ciboriums with unconsecrated hosts and place them on the credence table. If no additional masses follow, leave the clean, dry ciboria in the working sacristy. All reserved consecrated hosts are kept in covered ciboria in the tabernacle following the last mass of the day. Be sure to return your cross to the end of the pew or to the cabinet in the working sacristy. When you serve as an EMHC at Mass, please initial next to your name on the copy of the schedule which is kept in the working sacristy. If you have substituted for a scheduled EMHC, please note your name on the list for that Mass. More Logistics Information for all Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) Please arrive at your scheduled Mass 10 15 minutes early. This allows the group of EMHCs to assemble for prayer and reflection prior to the entrance procession at the start of Mass. Silver crosses are worn by the EMHC serving at the Mass. These are located on the end of the Pews near the Tabernacle or in the cabinet in the working sacristy. Please remember to return your cross before leaving at the end of Mass. Page 5 of 6
The first EMHC to arrive for Mass should check to ensure that the appropriate number of ciboria have been properly prepared with unconsecrated hosts and have been placed on the credence table. Please note how full the Mass appears to be and add (or remove) unconsecrated hosts if necessary. Normally, the ciboria should be 2/3 rd full (about 200 hosts per ciborium). If there a lots of folks, add more but do not overfill so none are spilled. If Mass is very light, only fill ½ full. Use your best judgment. We do not want to have a large amount of consecrated hosts reserved in the tabernacle, but we also do not want to run out for any Mass. Easy to say, hard to do do your best! New Norms require that we purify the sacred vessels immediately AFTER MASS, and not during Mass. Please confirm BEFORE MASS which EMHCs (at least two) will remain after the people are dismissed. These EMHCs must return to the working sacristy and complete the purification of the sacred vessels and prepare the ciboria for the next Mass. Prayer before Mass The Eucharistic Ministers pray together in front of the tabernacle approximately 5 minutes prior to the beginning of Mass. The prayer cards are kept to the left side of the tabernacle. PLEASE arrange for a substitute if you cannot attend your schedule Mass. As we all know, it is very hard to focus on preparing to serve if you are scrambling right before Mass to make sure you have enough EMHCs identified. Please pay attention to your attire when serving. Our attire should reflect the fact that we are ministering The Body and Blood of Christ. All ministers of Holy Communion should show the greatest reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist by the demeanor, their attire, and the manner in which they handle the consecrated bread or wine. The pastoral letter on the Sunday Eucharist offers this guidance: Coats for men, dresses for women. If you are at Mass and are available to participate as an EMHC, please consider sitting on the side of the Church near the Tabernacle. It always helps when other EMHCs observe that there are not enough ministers at a given Mass, and they let the scheduled team know they are there and can serve! The EM schedule now includes routine scheduling of 2 alternates for each Mass. The scheduled alternates are asked to attend the specific Mass, sit near the tabernacle, and be ready to serve if any scheduled team members have not arrived in time for prayer before Mass. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) states ministers should do all and only those parts of the Mass that belong to them. A lector should not also take on the role of server and/or extraordinary minister of the Eucharist. If you are an EMHC, please do not take on other roles during the same service. Call me if you no longer want to be included on the regular EMHC schedule. We know that the call to any Ministry can and will change from time to time and we want to make sure we only schedule folks who want to serve. Thank you for your dedicated service to this important ministry. You are such a blessing! Lynne Hanrahan LynneHN@earthlink.net 480-0709 (home) 713-751-7296 (work) Page 6 of 6