WHAT FR DWIGHT SAYS TO HIS EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION
Fr Dwight Longnecker is an excellent priest and commentator and one with whom I tend to agree, but I was really quite surprised at his latest blog post about EMHC (Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion). The piece basically says that EMHC were "a measure introduced as numbers at mass in large churches" (they're in every church, irrespective of numbers, in fact in I've been to Masses where the priest has sat down and left the EMHC to distribute communion) "and the reception of the precious blood became more commonplace." Of course, once the reception of the precious blood was introduced, EMHC became practically essential in most parishes, unless you had four priests! Fr Dwight states that along with the altar servers, EMHC help to establish an atmosphere of reverence at Mass[!!!!!] He argues that their body language, prayerful attitude and reverent treatment of the sacred vessels, the host and the precious blood helps to support the overall sense o...