Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: October 01, 2017
Last weekend the lay ministers of Holy Communion here at the Cathedral gathered for a special meeting together. The bishop has asked that all of these lay Eucharistic ministers throughout the diocese go through a periodic updating, and we were happy to set this up.
Actually, the workshop was a little different this time around. Father Tom Ranzino, who is director of the diocesan Office of Worship (as well as being Vicar General and pastor of St. Jean Vianney Parish), got together with CatholicLife Television and put together a Training DVD to guide the ministers through this formation and “training.” They really did a good job. Father Tom has a wonderful, gentle way of presenting – even some complicated things were very carefully explained! And his sense of humor really shone out at times. My favorite part of his presentation was when he warned that “if everybody is holding their breath when you go up and down steps Eucharistic ministry is not for you!” (And yes, they were showing a shot of our own Cathedral sanctuary when he said this!!
Obviously I can’t go over every single thing he said, but a few items do stand out from his presentation. First of all, he pointed out that lay ministers are always substitutes for the clergy in this role: priests and deacons are the “ordinary” ministers of Holy Communion. While lay ministers can be called “extraordinary ministers,” this is not because they are special or better: the Latin word extraordinarius really means “secondary,” that is, “outside of the ordinary.”
Father Tom also went to great length to note that the liturgical law in our country and diocese mandate that standing is the proper posture when going to communion, after a slight bow of the head in reverence. No one who kneels is going to be denied the Eucharist, of course, but pastors are asked to remind people of what the bishops of the USA have set as a norm, since it’s presumed people want to be obedient! And he observed that Bishop Muench (like Bishops Ott and Hughes before him) has indicated that since Communion “under both kinds” is the preferred manner of receiving the Holy Eucharist, offering the Precious Blood of Christ under the form of wine is to be “standard practice” in our diocese along with the distribution of Christ’s Body in the Sacred Host. We receive the entire Christ – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – even under just one form, but it is a more full participation for us if we do what Jesus Himself commanded: “Take and eat … Take and drink.”
Naturally, our lay ministers of Holy Communion had lots of questions about what to do should something unexpected occur: if the Sacred Host is dropped, or the Precious Blood spilled, for instance. I think that we’re all pretty confident that we can handle this kind of thing. Some things are pretty predictable, too, and we’re okay with that too: for example, when children and others come forward in the communion procession – Catholic and non-Catholic alike – who cannot receive “The Body of Christ” for whatever reason – we offer a gesture of reverent hospitality and offer them “The Love of Christ.” Not exactly a blessing, since a Eucharistic blessing is something lay ministers can’t impart, but we do want to ensure that everyone knows they’re welcomed and beloved by God within our Church community. Please do your part in deepening that communion that exists, even imperfectly, within the Church!
Sincerely in the Lord,
Fr. Paul
