Eucharistic Ministers: How Many is too Many?

Today I had the pleasure of reading an article on the UK Telegraph about the over-use of Eucharistic Ministers in their Catholic Churches… The army of distracting lay people who mob the altar during the Agnus Dei prayer has bothered me for a long time. As a Catholic we recognize that the climax of the mass is the Transubstantiation when the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ. So the reception of Jesus is to be a holy and meaning full event… while in many churches there are so many Eucharistic ministers that parishioners find themselves seeking the shortest line rather than meditating on the mystery of Christ in the Eucharist.
The reverence due to the Eucharist is something that cannot be ignored, and well meaning grandmas and sweatshirt wearing teens who want to feel included, while not needed, is not doing anyone a favor. In my home parish we witness the communion rush; people are in such a hurry to take their Jesus and go. I firmly hold that Eucharistic ministers add to this lack of reverence. Anything worth having is worth waiting for. In our instant gratification world it is difficult to think of communion as a means of worship rather than the fast food drive thru. The over-use of Eucharistic minister’s is clear when it is obvious that given a few extra moments the priest or an additional minister could amply suffice.
Catholic Femina Speaks… So my own reaction to the army of Eucharistic ministers is to walk respectfully and reverently to the priest or deacon for communion. I am not worried about hurting anyone’s feelings; I am just trying to live out my faith fully. I understand that in the case of large crowds ministers are needed and I respect that, but I have been to daily mass with twelve people and had three of them rise to be Eucharistic ministers. This is an abuse, and I hope by my cordially passing up the convenient minister for the duly ordained priest I may due reverence to the Blessed Sacrament and make less need for the unnecessary ministers.

Swine Flu Edict For Connecticut Catholics

The threat of Swine Flu is bringing change to Catholic masses in the Norwich diocese, in Connecticut, effective Sunday. Bishop Michael Cote has ordered pastors to discontinue the sign of peace and drinking from the same cup. Also, communion will be taken only by hand instead of by mouth and there will be no hand-holding during prayers. This is the first time the diocese has implemented mandatory swine flu precautions. The diocese says the changes are temporary, but will continue as long as the threat of Swine Flu remains. NBC Local News

Catholic Femina Speaks: So hand holding during mass has stopped when pigs flu… I find this practice of holding hands very distracting, and people get so offended when you don’t hold hands with them, and unnecessary. “Stopping the sign of peace” in mass is not possible, but prohibiting shaking hands is fine. People do not need to shake hands to express the exchange of Christ’s peace; shaking hands is just an add-on for people to make them feel good and serves no real purpose in the mass. Prohibiting receiving from the cup does not hurt anyone, the fullness of the body of Christ is found under both species and there is no need to receive from the cup. Not receiving from the cup does not lessen the individual’s holiness. The reception of communion on the tongue is important; furthermore there are more germs on your hands than in your mouth. The priest is not supposed to touch the tongue during the distribution of communion on the tongue, but when distributing communion on the hand they do touch the hand. I know a lot of people who are very scared of the swine flu but changing the most reverent form of receiving the Eucharist is not a valid means for protection. I hope that the faithful will understand that even though this has passed there is still a need for reverence in Church. If you cannot receive Communion on the tongue, then you must make a conscience effort to receive reverently on the hand. You are receiving Jesus not eating popcorn and this must be reflected in your actions. The swine flu scare is creeping into everything. Wash your hands and use germ-x keep the scare out of church.

President Honors Abortion Advocates

President Barack Obama named the 2009 recipients of the coveted Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can bestow on citizens, and he is giving it to abortion advocates. 16 medals were given, according to the president, based on their contributions to “world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors" and "were chosen for their work as agents of change" and because they "have changed the world for the better."
Some of the recipients include:
Sen. Ted Kennedy, who has led the cause for abortion and has voted for the culture of death for decades

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who wanted unlimited abortions and authored the bill to undo the state’s right to ban partial-birth abortion

Nancy Goodman Brinker, the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, this group is known for supporting breast cancer research, but gives thousands of dollars to Planned Parenthood and Komen defies research that reveals abortion leads to breast cancer.

Billie Jean King, tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s; King joined Emily's List in March of 2007 a pro-abortion group and then worked under the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.

Reverend Joseph Loery, who joined other African-American minister to inform the world that " abortion is irrelevant to the Afro-American community" ignoring the fact that the African-American group are targeted more than any other ethnic group in the country.
See Documentary Maafa 21

Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Ireland has bans on abortion, but Robinson supports abortion as a human right.

Only one pro-life advocate made the list of medal winners; former congressman and NFL football player Jack Kemp who has been leader for the pro-life cause.
Read more: Lifenews

Catholic Femina Speaks: The President is reserved the right to honor the citizens of America, and Obama has sucessfully taken the honor out of the Medal of Freedom.

Data On Volunteering Reveals The Truth

In the United States 61.8 million Americans or 26.4 percent of the adult population contributed 8 billion hours of volunteer service worth $162 billion. 39.5% of the total volunteers are from faith-based organizations. The faithful community of America is fueling the care of poverty level citizens. 83% of people who attend church volunteer in a community service, and 91% help in some way or another. People of faith are the driving force that provides for the needy. I hope that these statistics will be considered as government contemplates socialized medicine.

Have You Hugged A Priest Today?

This year 2009-2010 is the year of Priests, Cardinal Claudio Hummes said that: “Each and every one of the world's 408,000 priests should feel loved, respected, valued and supported in his vocation to bring the Gospel to an increasingly secular -- but still open – world,” CNS. So many priests in our society have been blamed for crimes that they have never committed. We as lay people are obliged to help the pastor care for the church. This can be compared to doing chores at home. The house belongs to everyone, everyone is cared for there. The church is the people and the building is where the people are feed by God. It is not just the pastor’s responsibility to care for everything. Cardinal Hummes said “that showing support for priests includes sharing responsibility with them for parish life and for mission. Sometimes laypeople help their priests, but think that if things don't go well, it's the priest's responsibility -- it's his church. But, no, the church is all of ours.” A parishioner taking responsibility for a ministry: Religious education, Youth Ministry, RCIA, Altar Society, or even Nursery is a good way to give the church family support and take an active role in the parish community. Also taking an interest in the financial stability of your parish, it is not just the pastor’s job to balance the books, it is the people’s obligation to tithe and provide the means to support themselves, because they are the church. This year is a great opportunity for Catholics everywhere to take a step back and appreciate all the sacrifices that priests make in order to care for their souls. God has given priests the task of caring for the spiritual life of the faith community, but He never said that they are to do it alone. Rather Jesus called us all “The mystical body of Christ,” so helping each other should come naturally. Furthermore if we want to fully realize ourselves as members of the Church we must truly love one another as Jesus taught us and this year gives us the chance to do this in our own community. Answer Cardinal Hummes’ request, love the priests in your life as Christ told us to.