Following on from Nathan\u2019s thread about priests popping up to distribute Communion when they had not been present for the Mass up to that point, there\u2019s another point concerning the \u201cdistributors\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the early days of what were then called \u201cspecial ministers\u201d or \u201cEucharistic ministers\u201d, it was common to see people switching from one Communion line to another in order to receive from the priest rather than from a lay person. The people who did this presumably either thought that lay people were unworthy to be distributing the sacred species, or that in some way having a priest give you Communion added value or lustre to the act, rather like those people who think that a rosary blessed by the Pope is of greater value than one blessed by your local parish priest. In extreme cases, some apparently thought that Holy Communion was not valid unless given by an ordained minister. You see the same kind of considerations arising when a bishop is present. Some people clearly think that receiving Communion from the bishop is more \u201cvaluable\u201d than receiving from someone else. Clericalism persists in lay people, too!<\/p>\n
It was clear back then, and is still clear today, that some people focus more on who is doing the distributing than on the elements they are receiving.<\/p>\n
In a typical large parish these days, if there is a deacon, he will be standing alongside the priest in the centre, distributing under the form of bread. In pre-Covid days, commisssioned lay ministers would typically be at either side, distributing Communion from the chalice. With the general return of the chalice still some time off, there are still some parishes with enough communicants to warrant having lay ministers at the sides distributing under the form of bread.<\/p>\n
The question is: what message does it give if the priest and deacon are always in the centre and lay ministers are always \u201crelegated\u201d to the side?<\/p>\n
Some will say that it’s important to distinguish the ordinary ministers from the extraordinary ones. However, in pre-Covid days it was easy to point to GIRM 284a which indicates that the ordinary minister of the chalice is a deacon, and use that as a justification for having deacons at the side, not in the centre. But perhaps there is a deeper question of principle here.<\/p>\n
One priest friend of mine got so exasperated with seeing people switching lines on their way to Communion in order to receive at his hands that he evolved the practice of never being in the same position twice. Sometimes he would be in the centre, distributing under the form of bread, sometimes on one side or the other side, distributing from the chalice (the parish had no deacon, and GIRM 284a also says that if there is no deacon then a priest is the next option for distribution from the chalice). On occasions he would even distribute from the side under the form of bread. No one could ever tell in advance where he would be at the time of distribution and plan their line accordingly. He coupled this with catechesis about the importance of focusing on what we receive, rather than on who we receive from. The effect of him ministering from the chalice at one side was that those who thought that Holy Communion was somehow \u201cholier\u201d when received from a priest were compelled to receive from a lay minister, unless they opted to receive under the form of wine only, from him.<\/p>\n
Anyone who has been to Mass in a parish where the priest is too infirm to be on his feet for long periods of time will have encountered instances where the priest celebrant receives Communion and then sits down, leaving others, whether ordained or not, to distribute Communion on his behalf. That kind of situation can change people\u2019s attitudes to the ministry of service.<\/p>\n
Indeed, I think there\u2019s something to be said for looking afresh at the whole ministry aspect of distributing Holy Communion. Is the status of the person distributing where we want to put the emphasis? Or is the distribution of Holy Communion an act of humble service to the People of God? How can we reflect what we believe in our positioning of ministers at this point in the rite?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Does the positioning of ministers reflect our theology?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":61510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3118],"tags":[2136,3591],"class_list":["post-61509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ars-celebrandi-new-ws","tag-extraordinary-ministers-of-holy-communion","tag-positioning-of-ministers"],"yoast_head":"\n