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St. Mary Star of the Sea Church – Pallottine Fathers

Dear Friend in Christ, at our meeting of Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist on April 30th I promised to reflect on questions and comments that emerged. I’m saddened by, and sorry for the fact that some of you experienced a certain amount of hurt and upset as a result of that meeting. I pray that peace can be restored to all of us and that we can continue to serve with the reverence and Love for Jesus in the Eucharist that is our custom. Fr. Seamus has already produced detailed guidelines which I think should basically stand with a few alterations. On some points I stand corrected and so have to reverse some of what I said at the meeting. Apologies if this is a cause of further confusion.

• Ministers on the rota for a particular Saturday evening/Sunday should come to the sacristy before Mass for a moment of prayer. We will know at that point if we have enough Ministers to cover that Mass.
• Please come to the altar at the introduction to the Our Father, as has been the practise to date.
• At the sign of peace wait for the Deacon or the Priest to bring the Peace from the altar before offering it to each other and to the servers. But there’s to be no stress if we don’t get this right. It’s a principle.
• We will use two chalices at each of the Saturday evening/Sunday Masses.
• The elderly and disabled who are not able to approach the altar should be given Communion first rather than last. This is easily achieved at the 6pm and 11.30am Masses. At the 10am Mass it may be necessary to continue the practise of a special Minister bringing Communion down to them but not out into the church porch.
• On the question of lay Ministers giving a blessing, the answer I gave at the meeting is the official answer of the Church, an answer which I am obliged to provide. However, people have come to expect a blessing. It is an expression of their faith and spiritual need. As Jesus welcomed the crowds when they approached Him, we will continue to give a simple blessing to those who are not receiving Holy Communion. If you are uncomfortable giving a blessing then, in order not to be under pressure, take one of the chalices instead of a ciborium.
• After Holy Communion we will proceed as normal. Ministers will purify the chalices and then please wait in the sanctuary for the period of silence until I begin “O Sacrament most holy…” If you wish, you may sit in the choir stall for this period.
• The Guidelines drawn up by Fr. Seamus are available on the parish website under the section Posts at https://stmarystarofthesea.net/2019/05/15/guidelines-for-special-ministers-of-holy-communion-fr-seamus-stapleton-sca/ If you would like a printed copy of those Guidelines let me know.
Thank you for your generous service, for the inspiring and loving ways in which you have spoken about the privilege that is ours to offer this service to Jesus and the Community of the parish. God bless you.

Fr. Eamonn Monson SAC

St Mary Star of the Sea

Dear Parishioner

Thank for the service you perform for our parish as an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister. Your generosity of spirit is greatly appreciated. I would also like to welcome and thank our new ministers who have volunteered their services. I would like to thank David Towsey who has completed our rotas but who unfortunately cannot continue to do so.

This is a very import service you give and one which I’m sure you agree needs to be carried out with due respect and reverence. Before we make our new rotas there are some issues that need to be addressed.

We need all ministers to be able to consume any precious blood which remains after the distribution of Holy Communion. It is unreasonable to expect one person to consume the precious blood on their own. We cannot reserve the distribution of the Body of Christ for any particular minister. We need all ministers to be able to perform their ministry in full.

Firstly, could all ministers follow the rota, it is very confusing if some ministers are sitting in the church and do not take their place on the Altar when it is their turn. Please come forward at the beginning of the Communion Rite (the invitation to say the Our Father), line up in front of the altar, make a sign of reverence and move to the left of the altar. Please wash your hands using the hand sanitizer. One Minister should go to the tabernacle, collecting the ciborium and placing it on the altar.

The priest will then distribute Holy Communion to the servers and Ministers. Ministers handed the chalice will then distribute the precious blood to the Minister (who distributes the Body of Christ) and servers on the altar.

The priest and one Minister proceed to the front of the altar to distribute the body of Christ. Ministers distributing the blood of Christ are asked to go to the left and right hand side of the altar. If the person approaching the minister does not indicate clearly whether they want to receive then offer a blessing. They should make their intentions clear and can still be given Holy Communion if that is what they wish.

If a chalice is emptied during communion then simply cover the chalice with the purificator, indicating to the communicants that the chalice is empty and stay in your position until the distribution of Holy Communion has ended.

If a host falls on the floor during the distribution of Holy Communion than it is the responsibility of the Minister to retrieve the Sacred Host and either consume the Sacred Host or hand it to the priest for consumption.

If an accident occurs with the chalice, any Precious Blood which has spilled should be mopped up immediately using the purificator, the servers can provide extra linen if needed. Rather than continue offering the Precious blood to the communicants the Minister may cover the chalice with a purificator indicating that they have finished distributing the Blood of Christ.

At the conclusion of Holy Communion We Will Follow a New Procedure. The priest and ministers will turn to face the altar. The Priest and Eucharistic Minister who have distributed the Body of Christ will go to the altar; the priest will transfer any remaining hosts to the ciborium, during this time the remaining Eucharistic Ministers will move to the front of the altar. The Eucharistic Minister will approach the tabernacle and having placed the ciborium in the tabernacle make a sign of reverence (the priest, servers and remaining Ministers will also make a sign of reverence at the same time) and then the tabernacle door will be closed and the Minister may return to his/her seat.
Do not go behind the high altar

The remaining Ministers will than move to the right of the altar and at a table will consume any remaining precious blood and leave the chalices on the table and cover them with the purificators. The chalices will be purified later by the Priest. If a particularly large amount of Precious Blood is left than please ask the priest and any adult servers to consume the precious blood. Minister may than return to the front of the altar and after making a sign of reverence return to their seats.

I realise that these new arrangements may not appeal to everyone and that some Ministers may no longer able to perform this service for the parish. I understand why some ministers may make this decision and thank you for all you have done. I look forward to renewing the commitment to ministry with those who wish to continue on the Feast of Corpus Christi 22nd June 2014.

These new arrangements will start from weekend of July 5th/6th, 2014. Thank you for your continued co-operation.

Rev Seamus Stapleton SCA
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