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Introduction

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

I. The Eucharist-Source and Summit of Ecclesial Life:

1324 The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.” 1325 “The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God’s action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit.” 1326 Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all.” 1327 In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.”

With these words in mind, being both filled with and prompted by the Holy Spirit, I offer to you, the reader, a glimpse into the interaction that occurs in a Communion Call. I am using this term to mean the taking of the Body of Christ to someone not able to receive within the context of the sacrifice of a Mass. The following are experiences from my ministry as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey. As the number of priests continues to diminish, the needs of the homebound and hospitalized remain constant and in fact, are ever increasing. This creates a ministry vital to any religious organization, but even more so to Catholics who value closeness to the Eucharist as stated in the section of the Catechism above.

I have personally learned a great deal about Christ, His suffering and faith, through those I have been privileged to serve in this ministry. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to serve Him and His Bride--the Church--by serving others through this ministry. These are a few stories of my Communion Calls. I hope that your reflection upon my experiences can draw you into a deeper relationship with Christ, as it did for me and those that I had the privilege to serve. I hope that with real life examples of the human interaction in the Communion Call, we can also see the Divine interaction also contained therein.