The Case of the Extraordinary Clergy – Catholic World Report

After writing about the mission and call to holiness, I was asked to answer the question: “How did extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion become such ordinary ministers? Did the Second Vatican Council call the laity to participate actively in liturgical roles?”

Many people oppose the use of extraordinary ministers because they have seen them disrespect the Eucharist. For example, when I was a 15-year-old altar boy in my parish in Pennsylvania, a minister came up to me and said, “We've run out of wine. Should I get it from the refrigerator?”

The increasing use of extraordinary clergy is associated with problems: there are lay clergy who are completely unprepared to exercise this ministry and sometimes do not even have a clear faith in the presence of the Lord. They often do not dress appropriately for their role and their function is overused.

On the other hand, Father Joseph Crowley reported that on March 5, 2023, at St. Thomas Church in Thomason, Connecticut, “one of our Eucharistic ministers ran out of hosts and suddenly there were more hosts in the ciborium. God just doubled up in the ciborium.” The details were investigated by the archdiocese and forwarded to Rome for consideration as a possible miracle.

The alleged miracle reminds us that God wants us to come to Him because He gives Himself to us so generously and vulnerably in the Eucharist. But we must also do our part to approach Him with dignity and reverence.

First of all, we should remember that priests and deacons are the ordinary ministers of Communion and that extraordinary ministers are used only in cases of real emergency. Pope John Paul II reminded us of this in his response to the lack of reverence in receiving Communion:

But we must not forget the primary office of priests, who by their ordination have been consecrated to represent Christ the Priest: for this reason their hands, as well as their words and their will, have become direct instruments of Christ. In this way, as ministers of the Holy Eucharist, they have primary responsibility for the sacred species, for it is a comprehensive responsibility: they offer the bread and wine, they consecrate them and then distribute the sacred species to those in the assembly who wish to receive them. … How eloquent, then, if not according to ancient custom, is the rite of anointing the hands in our Latin ordination, as if a special grace and power of the Holy Spirit were required for these hands! To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with one's own hands is a privilege of the consecrated, which indicates an active participation in the ministry of the Eucharist. (Dominica Cenae11)

Those who are called to assist ordinary clergy should approach this difficult task only with adequate preparation. The bishops of the United States give the following instructions:

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion should be sufficiently spiritually, theologically, and practically prepared to carry out their role with knowledge and reverence. In all matters they should follow the direction of the diocesan bishop. … When extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are relied upon, especially in the distribution of Holy Communion under both species, their number should not be increased beyond what is necessary for the orderly and reverent distribution of the Body and Blood of the Lord.

In general, we all need to overcome our indifferent attitude towards the Eucharist and begin to act as if we were receiving the greatest gift imaginable.

The Bible provides examples of the overwhelming mystery and power of God's presence. The Ark contained only relics of the Exodus, but the illicit touch of these led to the death of Uzza (2 Sam 6). Saint Paul warns us in the same way when he speaks of the Eucharist, which infinitely surpasses the Ark: “Whoever eats and drinks without discerning the body brings judgment on himself by eating and drinking. For this reason many of you are weak and sick, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged” (1 Cor 11:29-31).

If we saw the Eucharist for what it is, we might be dazzled by its glory, like Paul himself who met the Lord on the road to Damascus. We would certainly prepare more seriously to enter into His presence or participate in the liturgy in any way!

Likewise, when we enter church, we should leave our desire for efficiency and entertainment at the door. We are not at Mass for ourselves, but for God, to give Him honor and show Him our love. We should be willing to slow down and adjust our expectations to focus more on God than on ourselves. Mass does not have to be over in less than an hour. We do not need to feel outwardly involved as long as we receive the Word and unite ourselves with Jesus' sacrifice to the Father, as this is the essence of participation. We should never expect to receive the Lord on our terms, but rather submit to His expectations. Communion is a gift that requires humility and preparation (especially through confession) and should be received consciously in love.

Finally, we should not confuse the mission of the laity with an imitation of the liturgical ministry of the priest. The liturgy is directed toward the mission, and the mission of the laity takes place in the world. The task of serving as an extraordinary priest is an exception rather than a model for the lay mission. The Eucharist transforms us internally and makes Christ live in us forever.

Our mission is therefore to bring his presence into the world so that it too can be transformed by him. The Second Vatican Council's decree on the laity states:

[The laity] exercise the apostolate … [by] Penetration and perfection of the temporal order by the spirit of the Gospel. … Since the laity, according to their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven with the fervour of the Spirit of Christ. (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 2)

The special mission of the laity is not to lead in the liturgy, but to lead in the world with the grace that God gives us through the liturgy.