A reader writes:
I am trying to find the answers about having a Eucharistic service without a priest. Our local parish provides Eucharistic Adoration but lay people bring out the host and set it up in the Monstrance. Then they knee and go through the songs and prayers as if it were a Benediction. Then, they sit and pray. 12+ hours later the same is repeated to put the Eucharist back into the tabernacle for evenings when the church closes.
The second situation is for a lay person to take the large Eucharist (with priest permission again) from Mass to another church for a lay Adoration for the day during a silent retreat. Again the entire Benediction prayers are said at the beginning and again at the end of the afternoon.
I am very uncomfortable with this process as it seems that the lay ministers are going beyond the role of Eucharistic Minister. Isn’t that supposed to be Extraordinary Minister?
It doesn’t sound to me like there is an intrinsic problem here based on what you’ve said. I’ll explain why, but first a clarification: The practices you are describing are better described as Eucharistic exposition rather than only adoration. Adoration is something that individuals can do even if the Eucharist is reposed in the Tabernacle. It is simply the act of adoring Christ in the Eucharist. When the Eucharist is exposed for the adoration of the faithful (what you are talking about), it is Eucharistic exposition, and it is Eucharistic benediction when the priest or deacon blesses the people by making the sign of the Cross over them with the Eucharist.
Also, the term “Eucharistic Minister” without qualification does not exist in the Church’s documents. Lay persons distributing or exposing the Eucharist are always acting in an extraordinary capacity, though they may or may not be formally installed as extraordinary ministers.
Terminology quibbles aside, here is what the rite of Eucharistic Worship Outside Mass says about who can perform Eucharistic exposition:
The ordinary minister for exposition of the Eucharist is a priest or deacon. At the end of the period of adoration, before the reposition, he blesses the congregation with the sacrament.
In the absence of a priest or deacon or if they are lawfully impeded, an acolyte, another extraordinary minister of Communion, or another person appointed by the local Ordinary may publicly expose and later repose the Eucharist for the adoration of the faithful.
Such ministers may open the Tabernacle and also, as required, place the ciborium on the altar or place the host in the monstrance. At the end of the period of adoration, they replace the blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle. It is not lawful, however, for them to give the blessing with the sacrament [no. 91].
I would assume that the people who are doing this in your parish, even if they are not extraordinary ministers, have been appointed to do this by one of the local ordinaries (each diocese usually has several) unless you have reason to think otherwise.
As the text indicates, such individuals are authorized to do everything provided in the rite of exposition aside from giving the blessing (benediction). Turning to the rite itself, one finds that in the section on adoration (preceding benediction), the rite provides:
During the exposition there should be prayers, songs, and readings to direct the attention of the faithful to the worship of Christ the Lord.
To encourage a prayerful spirit, there should be readings from Scripture with a homily or brief exhortations to develop a better understanding of the Eucharistic mystery. It is also desirable for the people to respond to the word of God by singing and to spend some periods of time in religious silence [no. 95].
It doesn’t sound to me that your parish is doing any activities during exposition that are prohibited, and by not having lay faithful perform benediction, they are thus in compliance with the law.
The only issue raised that goes beyond what is in the text of the rite is the transportation of a Host from one place to another for purposes of adoration. The relevant law on this point is found not in the rite of exposition but in the Code of Canon Law, which provides:
Canon 935
No one is permitted to keep the Eucharist on one’s person or to carry it around, unless pastoral necessity urges it and the prescripts of the diocesan bishop are observed.
If, therefore, the diocesan bishop has authorized the transportation of the Eucharist in the case you describe, it is permitted, the diocesan bishop being the arbiter of whether pastoral necessity urges its transportation in this case.
It seems to be a fairly common concern. Father McNamara had a similiar question at Zenit, http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=46954
“Q: Is a layperson allowed to remove Jesus from the tabernacle, place him in the monstrance and process him into the main church for adoration? (The tabernacle is in a remote chapel.) I think only our priest has the privilege to do this. Am I wrong? — P.M., Londonderry, New Hampshire
A: While solemn exposition (with the use of servers and incense) can only be carried out by a priest or deacon, a simple exposition, either by opening the tabernacle or placing the Host in a monstrance, can be done by an instituted acolyte or by an authorized extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.”
I disagree with part of Father McNamara’s answer. I understand the use of incense to be compulsory for exposition. “85. For exposition of the blessed sacrament in the monstrance, four to six candles are lighted, as at Mass, and incense is used.” (Holy Communion and the Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass). There is nothing to indicate that the incense is a honour reserved to the ordained minister.
Canon 943 has “In special circumstances the minister of exposition and deposition alone, but without the blessing, is an acolyte, an extraordinary minister of holy communion, or another person deputed by the local Ordinary, in accordance with the regulations of the diocesan Bishop.” Perhaps “exposition and deposition alone” creates confusion. Does this mean no prayers? no incense? no songs? But looking at the liturgical book makes it clear that all these are intended.