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Extraordinary Ministers Of The Holy Eucharist: Blessed To Offer The Body And Blood Of Christ
As Catholics, we are blessed with many ways in which laypeople may participate more fully in the Mass. Beginning at a young age, children may train to serve at the altar. Other parishioners enjoy helping with the Liturgy as sacristans, ushers, or lectors. Still, others choose to serve as Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist, offering the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ to their fellow parishioners at each Mass.
St. Leo’s parishioner Dusty Hast has served as an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist for over 20 years. He and his wife, Diana, serve as the coordinators of this ministry for our parish. Anyone who has attended a 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Leo’s is likely to have seen Dusty at the altar!
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“Over the years, I’ve gotten the comment from people asking if I am ever not serving as a Eucharistic Minister,” Dusty laughs. “Whenever someone is not there, I step up. My wife and I are both like that — when we make a commitment, we follow through until we’re not able to.”
Those who serve as Extraordinary Ministers find that this participation in the Mass strengthens their relationship with the Lord and helps them to connect with their faith community. In addition to the closeness Dusty has experienced with his fellow parishioners by serving in this role, it has also presented him with the opportunity to connect with family members in a truly special way.
“Years ago when my kids were younger, my wife and I and our older two all served as Eucharistic Ministers, and my youngest was an altar server for that Mass, so that was pretty cool,” he says. “Then, when my aunt passed away in Iowa, they were looking for Eucharistic Ministers and I volunteered. It was nice being able to give Communion to my cousins in their time of need — that was really satisfying.”
While stepping up to share the Body and Blood of Christ may at first seem an overwhelming or even intimidating experience, Dusty ensures that new Extraordinary Ministers learn the ropes and feel comfortable in the role.
“We do a training at the church,” he says. “We try to make the training fun but also stress the reverence of what we’re doing. You don’t need to be a very outgoing person to be a Eucharistic Minister — I was not very outgoing when I started. I remember the first Mass I did with the Blood, I realized I was locking my knees. I had to remind myself to relax, but after that, I was able to just focus on serving the people.”
Participating in the Mass as an Extraordinary Minister is a great way for even our busiest parishioners to get involved in parish life. Dusty has also found it to be a wonderful opportunity for our confirmed teenagers to stay active in their faith through their high school years.
Dusty enjoys being able to actively live out his faith and serve the Church as an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist and would encourage any parishioner to prayerfully consider serving our parish in this role.
“I had the opportunity to be a Eucharistic Minister and I’m able to do it, so I do,” he says. “It just goes back to serving the parish. It’s a needed activity. We can always use more Eucharistic Ministers.”
