New Extraordinary Ministers Commissioned
The Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, or EMHC, will again increase its ranks with the commissioning of new lay ministers last August 28, 2016. In a ceremony which is done yearly, befitting the honorable vocation and privilege of holding the body of Christ, three lay ministers were added to the present membership. The new ministers included Vicente Gerochi, Angel Ramos and Jay De Vega. The other candidate, Manolo Morales, was commissioned by Fr. Bong Tupino together with the Greeters and Collectors two weeks later, at the Sept. 11 9:00 a.m. mass.
Before the commissioning, they were given an orientation by EMHC Overall Coordinator Albert Cuadrante and Head of Membership and Recruitment Lito Pasquin. These new EMHCs were oriented on the rubrics or the established traditions and customs and the do’s and don’t’s of the correct service in the mass.
On the successful commissioning, our newly elected Overall Coordinator Albert Cuadrante commented, ‘First and foremost, I would like to thank Kuya Lito Pasquin as this year’s head of the membership and recruitment committee. He has been extremely patient and diligent in coordinating with all the candidates for the various document requirements and the end-to-end scheduling; from interviews to orientations to final commissioning. Our new EMHCs also express their gratitude to all the ‘kuyas’ who took care of them and accompanied them on the road to commissioning. They said it was so heartwarming to see the ‘kuyas’ as servant leaders, looking after the needs of the candidates all throughout the process.’
Albert added, ‘Overall, we are blessed to finally have four new EMHCs join us this year. While we did start out with eight potential candidates, ending up with four is more than enough since we only have two Kuyas retiring this year. In addition to the four new candidates, we will also have three EMHCs who will be returning to active duty this year, giving us a total of seven additional EMHCs joining us, which is almost equal to the original eight candidates we were hoping to add to our membership. God, indeed, works in mysterious ways.’
At present there are 86 EMHCs in active service at CTK, with four (4) new EMHCs, three (3) returning EMHCs and two (2) who will be retiring this year. It is very encouraging to see a growing number of younger men attracted to this ministry and calling. To-date, a huge 32%, or a third, of the EMHCs are below 50 years old, while 22% are between 51 to 60 years old.
In addition to the distribution of communion to the faithful during the weekend and daily masses, the other important duty of the Eucharistic ministry is the giving of communion to the sick and the elderly who are unable to go to church. Visiting the sick is also in answer to the call of the Pope to do corporal acts of mercy during this special Jubilee Year of Mercy. “I was sick and you looked after me, and you came to visit me . . . truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:36).
At the moment, there are twelve (12) EMHCs who are involved in giving communion to the sick or elderly who reside in White Plains, Corinthian Gardens, St. Ignatius Village, Ivory Court, Greenmeadows and Blue Ridge.
