Pastor's Notes - 05/12/2019

      One of the important ministries which involves a commitment from the Parish community are Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers.  The reason I use the title Extraordinary is because that is how the Catholic Church looks at this ministry.  Priests and deacons are Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and now instituted acolytes are taking more of a role in the ministry of Holy Communion.  I know that we schedule the Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers, but a priest, deacon or instituted acolyte takes precedence over them.  On the other hand, our Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers play an important role, because without them, there would not be the distribution of both species of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ at Mass.

    I currently have a list of 93 Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers.  I will be emailing all on my list to make sure that they want to continue in this ministry.  I also encourage those who are still performing this ministry to start to assist with Holy Communion to our home bound after one of our Masses whether it is weekday or weekend.  I am also suggesting they watch the first session of "Presence: God Is With Us" on FORMED.org, which is a subscription that we have for all our parishioners.  It is 35 minutes long and well worth your time watching it.

     There is normally 26 Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers present at every weekend for the Masses.   If you do the math, some have to perform this ministry more than once a month.  Thus, there is a need for more Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers in our Parish.  This ministry has several requirements:  be Catholic and at least 18 years old; possess a love of the Eucharist and be living lives consistent with the teachings of the Church.   If you are interested, please talk to me or call the parish office.
 
Thanks for all you do to make the Risen Lord known in our community.