A service of charity

Br. MichaelDavide Semeraro

I have noticed that my parish priest gets help from some worshippers who make themselves available as ‘extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist’ to take the Communion to sick people at home. I think this is a very beautiful and meaningful gesture. However, during Sunday Mass, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the priest alone to distribute the Eucharist to the faithful, even if it takes a few minutes longer? Isn’t it a risk of ‘diminishing’ the sense of the sacred?

G.L.

In the liturgy, the sense of the sacred serves the experience of mystery, which for us disciples of Christ and his gospel is not associated with distance and separation, but with participation and communion. During the celebration of the Eucharist, every member of the Holy People of God has his place and role by virtue of their baptism and the other sacraments. The priest who presides over the celebration of the Eucharist has a specific role, particularly in relation to the preaching and consecration of the bread and wine, which become the Body and Blood of Christ. This makes the celebrating community his true Body, bringing joy and life to the whole world. The fact that some lay people help to distribute communion does not diminish the sacredness of the gesture; rather, it makes the gesture more capable of expressing the holiness of the people of God who celebrate and participate in the holy mysteries. The idea that lay people should merely supply does not bring justice to our shared baptismal dignity, which has made us all kings, priests and prophets.