January 2021

     In my 20’s and 30’s life was very hectic.  My wife Debbie and I both worked, we had two beautiful daughters who were very active in school and extra-curricular activities, and we were constantly running here and there and everywhere it seemed.  My job in international shipping was very demanding, with many long hours in the workday and at times a heavy travel schedule.  Activity in the Church was limited primarily to fulfilling the “obligation” of attending Sunday Mass (most weekends) and the occasional few quiet moments I was able to steal in the day for prayer.  

     As time marched on, I felt unfulfilled in the very limited role I had with the Church and was beginning to get less and less out of just merely attending Mass.  Work had become even more demanding as I tried to climb the proverbial corporate ladder and there just was not time to fit in Bible studies, prayer groups and other Church activities outside of the weekend Mass.  I decided to focus more intently on the celebration of the Mass itself and to truly concentrate on the different parts of the Mass in order to be real participant instead of a mere observer. This led to my feeling much more fulfilled spiritually, but I felt I was still not doing enough to have an active role in the Mass.  

     I began to observe more intently the many roles lay people had in the Mass such as ushers, greeters, lectors and Eucharistic Ministers.  I was an altar server in my youth for several years and some of those were in the “old days,” when only the priest and the servers were allowed to enter the sanctuary.  As a server I had been able to observe many parts of the celebration of the Mass up close and had always been mesmerized by the consecration during the Eucharistic Prayer, when the bread and wine were transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ.  To me that was always the most profound and holy part of the Mass that allowed us then to receive Christ ourselves.  

     As I considered how I could begin to take a more active role in the Mass, those memories of the Eucharist began to make me focus more and more on the role of the Eucharistic Ministers.  I wanted to explore becoming a Eucharistic Minister, but I did not feel I was worthy of filling that role.  Ever so slowly, however, the Holy Spirit pushed me toward considering the role of Eucharistic Minister and then in the weekly bulletin of our Church there was an announcement that there would be an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist training in our own parish.  Permission from the pastor was the first step and I awkwardly approached him to seek his authorization.  Surprisingly, he recognized me (remember I was only an attendee at weekend Masses) and more surprisingly he gave me his approval.

     The training workshop lasted about 2 hours.  The deacon who conducted it spent about half of the time reviewing procedures and methods for distributing the Eucharist under both species and how to reverently dress and the proper cleaning of the Eucharistic vessels, etc.  The rest of the session, however, was dedicated to the role of the Extraordinary Minister in the Church and the importance of that role.  The thing that struck me the most and has stuck with me in the 25 plus years I have served as a Eucharistic Minister is when he said (and I am paraphrasing from many years ago) “Jesus gives us his Body and Blood as spiritual nourishment to unite us fully to Himself and to his Church.  To be able to serve your fellow Catholics and parishioners the Eucharist is a privilege and is not something that should be taken lightly”. To this day I have never forgotten that it is truly a privilege to be able to serve the Body and Blood of Christ to my fellow Catholics and parishioners.  

     Receiving Jesus Christ in the Eucharist should be a joyful occasion and I try to reverently and enthusiastically present the Eucharist as I serve in that role.  It is not a matter of worthiness because truly no one is worthy of handling the Body and Blood of Christ; it is a matter of privilege and servitude to be the conduit that delivers Jesus Christ to the faithful. As the Archdiocese of New Orleans celebrates the Year of the Eucharist, I ask that all pay particular attention to the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass when during the Consecration the bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and concentrate on the true meaning of that part of the Mass.  It is really a privilege for us all that we are able to continue what Jesus started at the Last Supper with his Apostles over 2,000 years ago and to partake in the Eucharist.