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6 February 201
Dear Rev Fr Surein,
RE: Resignation as Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion
Please accept this letter as resignation of my position as Extraordinary Minister
of Holy Communion, effective immediately. I trust that the large number of
Extraordinary Ministers appointed in our parish for the past two years provides
adequate cover for my position.
My decision to resign before my term ends in 18 months’ time was finalized after
long and careful consideration of all theological and practical factors, which I will
explain below. I would like to emphasise my relationship with the EM leaders and
fellow ministers have always been harmonious, and aside from 4 parishioners who
may still feel aggrieved at me for denying them Holy Communion for not saying
‘Amen’ on cue, I believe my friendship with the Holy Family Church family
members remain solid and intact.
My decision comes down to a deeper discovery of Sacred Tradition pertaining to
the Sacred Species. The desire to be obedient to the teachings of our Church
Fathers and the Successors of St Peter throughout the centuries led me to this
humble juncture in my spiritual journey. It is my conviction that Lay Persons like
myself are in no position whatsoever to handle and dispense the Holy Eucharist.
I will offer scripture, Tradition and the teachings of Church Fathers, in particular
St Thomas Aquinas, to support my argument.
About 12 months ago, I was curious to discover the preferred form prescribed
by the Church down the centuries to receive the Holy Eucharist. I was determined
to go back as long as possible, so I began my study on church documents. I was
amply satisfied, from the Catechism of the Council of Trent that the preferred
form was kneeling, on the tongue. Intriguingly, I also discovered from the
Catechism that the Church has Always Prohibited Lay Persons from
Touching the Sacred Species. The administration of the Holy Eucharist to the
faithful has always been reserved to the consecrated hands of priests (acting 'In
Persona Christi', 'In the Person of Christ'), whereas lay persons have always been
forbidden to touch the Blessed Sacrament.
The key passage is as follows: "To safeguard in every possible way the dignity of
so august a sacrament, not only is the power of its administration exclusively to
priests, but the Church has also prohibited bylaw any but consecrated persons,
unless some case of great necessity intervene, to dare handle or touch the sacred
vessels, the linen, or other instruments necessary to its completion. Priests
themselves and the rest of the faithful may hence understand how great should
be the piety and holiness of those who approach to consecrate, administer or
receive the Eucharist." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
According to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, this practice of preserving
the dignity of the Sacrament by limiting its handling exclusively to priests,
is traced all the way back to Apostolic times (emphasis my own):
"It must be taught, then, that to priests alone has been given power to
consecrate and administer to the faithful, the Holy Eucharist. That this has been
the unvarying practice of the Church, that the faithful should receive the
Sacrament from the priests, and that the officiating priests should communicate
themselves, has been explained by the holy Council of Trent, which has also
shown that this practice, as having proceeded from Apostolic tradition, is to be
religiously retained, particularly as Christ the Lord has left us an illustrious
example thereof, having consecrated His own most sacred body, and given it
to the Apostles with His own hands." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
So the Cathechim of Trent affirms that the power to consecrate and administer
the Holy Eucharist is reserved exclusively for a validly ordained priest (with the
exception of emergency, as shown above, which I will address in detail later),
and this practice is part of apostolic tradition, going all the way back to the
Lord’s Supper itself. As we agree, it was at the upper room when our Lord
instituted the Sacrament of Eucharist and the Priesthood – which explains why
only a priest can self-communicate, as per the apostles.
This practice has been echoed by many Holy Popes throughout Church history.
For example, "There is nothing which belongs more to the Church and there is
nothing Jesus Christ wanted more closely reserved for its shepherds than the
dispensation of the sacraments He instituted." (Pope Gregory XVI, Commissum
Divinitus, 1835). Very few bishops today pay the least heed to the admonition
of St. Pope John Paul II in his letter Dominicae cenae, 24 February 1980 “To
touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a
privilege of the ordained”.
The decrees of previous Councils in church history, was even more decisive in
its language:
> Council of Saragozza (380AD) had launched excommunication to those who
dared to treat the Most Holy Eucharist as if they were in a time of persecution,
a time in which even lay-people found themselves out of necessity, touching the
Sacred Species with their hands. (SAENZ DE AGUIRRE, Notitia Concilorum
Hispaniae, Salamanca, 1686, pg 495);
> Saint Eutichiano, Pope from 275 to 283 AD, so that laypeople would not touch
the Sacred Species with their hands, forbade them to take the Blessed
Sacrament to the sick: 'Nullus praesumat tradere communionem laico vel
femminae ad deferendum infirmo' (Let no one dare consign Holy Communion
to a lay man or woman for them to take to the sick) (P.L. V, coll.163-168); and
>The Council of Rouen (around 650), forbade the minister of the Eucharist to
place the Sacred Species in the hand of lay communicants. 'Whosoever will
have transgressed these nowms, disdain God Almighty and in doing so will have
dishonoured himself and should be removed from the altar'. (P.G., vol. X, coll.
1099-1100)
The greatest theologians in the Church has also affirmed that the dispensing of
the Holy Eucharist is reserved exclusively for the priests whose hands are
consecrated for this purpose. "Laymen are officially incompetent to dispense
any sacrament: and that they can baptize in cases of necessity, is due to the
Divine dispensation, in order that no one may be deprived of spiritual
regeneration." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church). In other words,
St Thomas is teaching that the only Sacrament a laity like myself can dispense,
is Baptism, and only in the case of necessity. There is no such thing as a
minor office designed for the dispensing of the Eucharist. The great doctor
explains why: "The dispensing of Christ's body belongs to the priest for three
reasons. First, because...he consecrates as in the person of Christ. But as Christ
consecrated His body at the supper, so also He gave it to others to be partaken
of by them. Accordingly, as the consecration of Christ's body belongs to the
priest, so likewise does the dispensing belong to him. Secondly, because the
priest is the appointed intermediary between God and the people; hence as it
belongs to him to offer the people's gifts to God, so it belongs to him to deliver
consecrated gifts to the people. Thirdly, because out of reverence towards this
sacrament, nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and
the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this
sacrament. Hence it is not lawful for anyone else to touch it except from
necessity, for instance, if it were to fall upon the ground, or else in some other
case of urgency."
As can be seen, it is unlawful for a laity to touch the Eucharist or dispense it,
except in grave case of necessity. Traditionally, these grave circumstances
include to pick it up if it had fallen to ground, if facing persecution and there
were no priest or deacon around, and for all the hermits who live in the desert
(St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church, c. 369 A.D.). Even the post conciliar
document issued on 29 January 1973, Immensae caritatis, by the Sacred
Congregation for Divine Worship, also outlined clearly that the appointment and
usage of Extraordinary Ministers is to be limited to cases of genuine necessity.
When I look at Sacred Scripture, there are numerous passages that convinced
me that handling the Blessed Sacrament unworthily carries grave consequences.
‘whoever, therefore, eats the bread of drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine
yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat
and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against
themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have fallen
asleep’ (1Cor11:27-29). During the time of King David, when Uzzah touched
the ark of the covenant that was the exclusive privilege of the Levites, God’s
anger burned against him and was struck dead (cf. 2 Sam. 6:6-7). This reminds
me of Catechism of the Council of Trent: "It should never be forgotten that the
Sacraments, although they cannot lose the divine efficacy inherent in them,
bring eternal death and perdition to him who dares administer them unworthily."
In the New Testament, we read that the blessed Virgin, upon accepting the
mission to be the mother of our Lord, and carrying him in her womb for nine
months, is so rightly honored to the point when all generations shall call her
blessed; if the blessed Baptist trembled and did not dare to touch the holy head
of Jesus at Jordan; if the tomb in which He lay for some time is so venerated,
and the shroud that covered his crucified body is venerated as a relic, how holy,
just, and worthy must be the person who touches the Lord with his hands,
receives Him in his heart and mouth, and offers Him to others to be received.
The message from scripture and sacred Tradition is clear: the handling and
dispensing of the Holy Eucharist is a ministry best reserved for the consecrated
hands of priests, except in cases of grave necessity. I strongly suggest that most
parishes in the world, including ours, are experiencing such grave circumstances
and overwhelming demand for the Eucharist that Lay people need to be ushered
in to be placed in a position so contrary to Tradition. Clearly, one only has to
look at the fruits of this practice to see that its introduction has caused great
harm. As a direct result of this Lay ministry, which has no historical precedence
whatsoever, together with permitting the faithful to receive communion in the
hand, belief in the Real Presence has plummeted, the priestly roles are confused,
reverence and respect for the Holy Eucharist are down sharply, and selected
members of the faithful have been placed in the situation of potential sacrilege.
For those that argue that Mass would be unduly prolonged if there were no lay
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (hence remarkably qualifying it as
a grave necessity), they may be asked how much time they spend each week
watching television, browsing on facebook and swiping their handphones. One
might also remind them that the additional time can be very profitably spent in
thanksgiving for the great gift of the Holy Eucharist.
Objectively, I knew I had to walk away from the ministry, in obedience to truth
and the dictate of my conscience. However, I hung in there for a little longer,
because I told myself I was serving the people, especially the home bound.
“I need you all to bring Jesus to the home bound because I am too busy” the
priest would tell us during our formation session - we are indeed living in
strange times in which priests are engaged in activities which laymen could
undertake, while laymen undertake their work of taking Holy Communion to the
sick, is positively bizarre, a fitting epitomization of the ethos of Church today.
Over the years I administered the Blessed Sacrament to the sick, the bedridden
80 year old saint who kisses my hands every time I wave goodbye, the lady who
just survived brain surgery, the elderly woman in the old folks home, and yes,
my own grandmother as she was nearing her end. I listened to their stories, and
grieved when they would tell me the same story again next week due to their
fading memories. I would hold back my tears as their family members tell me
the Eucharist was all that was keeping their mother alive the week she passed
away. As much as I told myself that this arrangement is probably the best what
the church has to offer them, I knew that if I had been in their condition, I would
have wanted a priest, ordained in HOLY ORDERS, to give me the comfort of Our
Lord Jesus, being himself consecrated for that purpose, with the authority
invested in him by the Roman Catholic Church, Our Lord’s Mystical Body.
Yours in Christ,
Norman Chia
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