I have a question. Our parish has 4 priests, although now one is on a sabbatical and one is retired and only does the Spanish mass and subs once in a while in the English masses. We also have a permanent deacon.
Normally there are 4 priests available. We have 1 mass on Saturday evening and 5 English masses and 1 Spanish mass on Sunday. All of the English masses have 6-8 extraordinary ministers of communion.
So my question is, have all of these lay people just sort of appeared, or was there a need for them? (Our parish is huge and all masses are heavily attended.) I know our monsignor is sort of reluctant to tell people no, but it seems to me that the priests could serve communion even if they weren’t celebrating mass. But maybe I am just being over-picky.
You’re absolutely right. There is no reason in a parish with four priests to have so many EMHCs. Often, this is done to “speed up” the Mass, by shortening the time it takes to distribute Holy Communion. But any extra time needed could be spent in silent prayer, so it is not really necessary to do this.
What is the average attendance at the English masses? That's the guideline. The worst abuse of this that I ever witnessed was, not surprisingly, right here in the Albany Diocese. I happened to catch a Sunday morning (pre-recorded) televised mass. There was a priest, a deacon and perhaps 8 or 10 attendees (including the guitarist). At communion time, the priest and deacon sat down and 2 EMHCs distributed communion. How utterly pathetic!!! 5 more years before the bishop reaches mandatory retirement age. May Benedict XVI live to be 100!
Our "extraordinary form" Mass has a regular attendance of about 200 people. The priest is the only one distributing Communion, at the altar rail. I don't think it takes an unduly long time. I see no reason for "extraordinary ministers" at a Novus Ordo Mass.
In the same vein, I see no need for lay people reading the Epistle, either, while the priest sits on his throne on the other side of the altar.
In my view, none of these things "empower the laity." On the contrary, they denigrate the laity by saying we're nothing unless we're doing priestly things. The job of the priest is to bring Christ into the world. The job of the laity is to take Christ into the world. Putting us around the altar misses the point.