Eucharistic Ministers 
Special Ministers of the Eucharist

Qualifications:
A suitable candidate for Eucharistic Ministry is a practicing Catholic in good standing (eg. one whose marital status is canonically valid). This person should have a devotion to the Eucharist, and possess the time, health, and willingness to serve in this capacity. The candidate must be of good reputation, and his or her appointment should not cause wonderment among the people. The candidate should be 18 years of age and a resident of the parish. There are some exceptions concerning residency.

Time commitment:
A person in this ministry of service should have a flexible schedule that allows them to serve at whatever Sunday Liturgy or Holy Day of obligation they are needed, though sometimes inconvenient. Assignments are made on a rotating basis. A minister is assigned a mass about every 3rd. week.

Duties:
All who gather at the Lord’s Table do so as brothers and sisters in Christ. At this family meal the minister is servant at the Eucharist Banquet. That we may eat and drink together, ministers gather to reverently bring the Body and Blood of Christ to their brothers and sisters.

Training:
The candidates are required to attend the diocesan training program in order to receive their mandates. The training program involves presentations on the theology of the Eucharist, Eucharist Spirituality, the liturgical norms which govern the distribution of the sacrament, and a practice session.

Contact:
Email Denise O'Connor at [email protected]

Eucharistic Minister’s Prayer
Lord, I come before you today, recognizing that within me, I carry both Martha and Mary.
I struggle with the desire to just sit at your feet and listen, but I am anxious about many things.
I carry the needs of family and friends, home and work.
I want to serve you and your people well, to perform my task with reverence and also skill.
Calm the Martha within me Lord.
Give me the strength to surrender all my worries and concerns to your care.
(Pause here to take the opportunity to bring to mind some of those worries and concerns you need to surrender.)
Invite the Mary within me Lord, to see your face in those who approach me this day.
Help me to recognize your hands reaching out to me.
To see you drink from the cup I offer; so that even as I stand with cup or plate, it is really at your feet that I sit.
And most of all, help me to look upon each person who comes to me with such reverence and love that they will know they have been embraced and nourished by you.
Thank you for the gift of being invited to sit at your feet.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve.
Thank you for taking the Martha and Mary within me and binding them into one who can serve and still choose the better part.
For it is you, O Lord, who has done great things for me, and holy is your name.
Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.

This prayer is based on the story of Martha and Mary, as told in the
Gospel of Luke, 10:38-42