Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

Pre-Send Forth Recollection/Seminar

June 1, 2024

THE MINISTER OF HOLY COMMUNION

By virtue of his sacred ordination, the bishop or priest offers the sacrifice in the person of Christ, the Head of the Church. He receives gifts of bread and wine from the faithful, offers the sacrifice to God, and returns to them the very Body and Blood of Christ, as from the hands of Christ himself.

Thus, bishops and Priests are considered the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion. In addition the Deacon who assists the bishop or Priest in distributing Communion is an ordinary minister of Holy Communion.

In every celebration of the Eucharist there should be a sufficient number of ministers for Holy Communion so that it can be distributed in an orderly and reverently. Bishops, Priests, and Deacons distribute Holy Communion by virtue of their office as ordinary ministers of the Body and Blood of the Lord.

When the size of the congregation or the Incapacity of the bishop, Priest, or Deacon requires it, the celebrant may be assisted by other bishops, Priests, or Deacons. If such ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are not present, "the Priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, that is duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been deputed for this purpose. In case of necessity, the Priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion.

Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion should receive sufficient spiritual, theological, and practical preparation to fulfill their role with knowledge and reverence.

All ministers of Holy Communion should show the greatest reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist by their DEMEANOR, their ATTIRE, and the MANNER in which they HANDLE THE CINSECRATED. BREAD AND WINE.

HOLY COMMUNION:

• THE BODY AND BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS

- 1. On the night he died, Christ gathered his Apostles in the upper room to celebrate the Last Supper and to give us the inestimable gift of his Body and Blood. He did this In order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection.

Thus, in the Eucharistic Liturgy we are joined with Christ on the altar of the cross and at the table of the upper room in "the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and (in) the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood."

3. The Eucharist constitutes "the Church entire spiritual wealth, that is, Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread." It is the "Sacrament of Sacraments." Through it, "the of our redemption is accomplished." He who is the "living bread that came down from heaven (Jn 6:51) assures us, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true bread, and my blood is true drink" (Jn 6:54-55).

4. The eyes of faith enable the believer to recognize the Ineffable depths of the mystery that is the Holy Eucharist. The Church offers us a number of images from our tradition to refer to this most sacred reality: Eucharistic assembly (synaxes), action of thanksgiving, breaking of bread, memorial, holy sacrifice, Lord's Supper, holy and divine Liturgy, Holy Communion, and Holy Mass. The Eucharistic species of bread and wine derive from the work of human hands.

In the action of the Eucharist this bread and this wine are transformed and become our spiritual food and drink. It is Christ, the true vine, who gives life to the branches (Jn 15:1-6). As bread from heaven (Jn 6:41), bread of angels, the chalice of salvation, and the medicine of Immortality, the Eucharist is the promise of eternal life to all who eat and drink It (Jn 6:50-51).

The Eucharist is a sacred meal, "a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity" in which Christ calls us as his friends to share in the banquet of the kingdom of heaven (Jn15:15). This bread and chalice were given to his disciples throughout the ages. The bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. This spiritual food has been the daily bread and sustenance for his disciple throughout the ages.

The bread and wine of the Lord's Supper- his Body and Blood- as broken and poured out constitute the Irreplaceable food for the journey of the "pilgrim church on earth." The Eucharist perpetrates the sacrifice of Christ, offered once for all for us and for our salvation, making present the victory and triumph of Christ's death and resurrection. It is strength for those who Journey In hope through this life and who desire to dwell with God In the life to come.

Our final sharing in the Eucharist is viaticum, the food for the final journey of the believer to heaven itself. Through these many images, the Church helps us to see the Eucharist as union with Christ from whom she came, through whom she lives, and towards whom she directs her life.

• HOLY COMMUNION

. 6. While the heart of the celebration of the Eucharist is the Eucharistic Prayer, the consummation of the Mass is found in Holy Communion, whereby people purchased for the Father by his beloved Son eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ.

They are thereby joined together as members of Christ's mystical Body, sharing the one life of the spirit. In the great sacrament of the altar, they are joined to Christ Jesus and to one another.

As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encourage to receive Communion devoutely and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour.

A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the Intention of confessing as soon as possible (Canon 916). A frequent reception of the Sacramental Penance is encouraged for all.

• UNION WITH CHRIST

6. The Lord himself gave us the Eucharist at the Last Supper. The Eucharistic Sacrifice "is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion."

It is Christ himself who is received in Holy Communion, who said to his disciples, "Take and eat, this is my body." Giving thanks, he then took the chalice and said: "Take and drink, this is the cup of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me" (Mt 26: 26-27; 1 Cor 11:25).

7. Bread and wine are presented by the faithful and placed upon the altar by the Priest. These are simple gifts, but they were foreshadowed in the Old Testament and chosen by Christ himself for the Eucharistic sacrifice. When these bread and wine are offered by the Priest in the name of the Church to the Father in the great Eucharistic Prayer of thanksgiving, they are transformed by the Holy Spirit Into the Body and Blood of the only-begotten Son of the Father.

Finally, when the one bread is broken, the unity of the faithful is expressed and through Communion they "receive from one bread the Lord's Body and from the one chalice the Lord's Blood in the same way that the Apostles received them from the hands of Christ himself."

CHRIST HIMSELF IS PRESENT IN THE EUCHARISTIC SPECIES

8. 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.

10. The Church also teaches and believes that, "immediately after the consecration the true body of our Lord and his true blood exist along with his soul and divinity under the form of bread and wine.

•The body is present under the form of bread and the blood under the form of wine, by virtue of the words (of Christ).

The same body, however, is under the form of wine and the blood under the form of bread, and the soul under either form, by virtue of the natural link and concomitance by which the parts of Christ the Lord, who has now risen from the dead and will die nomore, are mutually united."

•HOLY COMMUNION AS AN ACT OF FAITH

12. Christ's presence in the Eucharist challenges human understanding, logic, and ultimately reason. His presence cannot be known by senses, but only through faith- a faith that is continually deepened through that communion which takes place between the Lord and his faithful in the very act of the celebration of the Eucharist.

14. The act of Communion, therefore, is also an act of faith. For when the minister says: "The Body of Christ" or "The Blood of Christ," the communicants's "Amen" is a profession in the presence of the saving Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity, who now givės life to the believer.

• THE FRUITS OF HOLY COMMUNION

•CCC # 1391- Holy communion augments our union with Christ.

The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus.

•CCC # 1393- Holy Communion separates us from sin. The Body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink "shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins." for this reason the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins.

•CCC # 1396- The unity of the Mystical Body: the Eucharist makes the Church. Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the faithful in one body- the Church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism.

•CCC #1397- The Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren.

•NATAPOS NA!!!