Q:  Since the Missal speaks of “instituted acolytes” what defines an instituted acolyte and can we institute our sacristans? Is it a “male only” thing?

A:  Only men may be instituted as acolytes, and the bishop performs the ceremony of institution. It is typically done only for seminarians before their ordination. You may ask the bishop to institute men into the ministry of acolyte if you wish, but it may be pastorally imprudent.

Q:  Are there rubrics on purifying altar linens that have consecrated remnants on them? Is machine wash allowed?

A:  The only instruction is in Redemptionis Sacramentum 120: “Let Pastors take care that the linens for the sacred table, especially those which will receive the sacred species, are always kept clean and that they are washed in the traditional way. It is praiseworthy for this to be done by pouring the water from the first washing, done by hand, into the church’s sacrarium or into the ground in a suitable place. After this a second washing can be done in the usual way.”

Q:  Is it okay for a sacristan (lay person) to retrieve the hosts from the tabernacle at communion—or does it have to be an instituted acolyte, deacon or priest?  I only found rubrics about the priest  returning the unused hosts after communion to the tabernacle (GIRM no.163)—not before. I wonder if it is not in the rubrics because reserve hosts are not intended to ever be used in the Mass?

Is there a specific time that the reserve hosts should be retrieved?

Is it okay for the sacristan to be in the sanctuary during the communion procession and then distribute the reserved hosts to the different ministers? Or can only an ordained or instituted person be in the sanctuary?

A:   The Order of Mass and General Instruction on the Roman Missal never imagine that anyone is receiving communion from the tabernacle at mass. There are no rubrics governing the procedure, so parish ministers are left to making a judgment themselves.

Personally, I avoid giving communion from the tabernacle. We set out enough hosts for everyone at each mass. If I run short, I go to the tabernacle for more, but we usually get very close to the number needed. Maybe every month or 6 weeks we have too many hosts in the tabernacle, and then I’ll consecrate one 3” host at mass, break it into four, share 3 pieces with 3 communicants, and give everyone communion from the tabernacle. But we don’t go to the tabernacle at absolutely every mass, which is common practice.

When I need to do it, I wait until after the breaking of the bread and then bring the previously consecrated hosts to the altar.

In your situation, where the tabernacle is outside the sanctuary, it makes sense for a sacristan who is a communion minister to retrieve the ciboria. In a typical parish, altar servers may be in the sanctuary during the distribution of communion. Of course it would be fine for a sacristan to be there as well. As long as the sacristan is a communion minister, I see no problem with the sacristan distributing hosts to other ministers.

But I would challenge the parish to figure out if this is really essential at every mass.

Q:  When a deacon presides for a Sunday celebration in the absence of a priest, may he use the presider’s chair?

A: Yes.  If a layperson presides, he or she does not use the priest’s chair, according to Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest 24, but a deacon does use it according to SCAP 19.

Q:  When a baptism is taking place outside Mass, do the prayers of the faithful have to be used from the ritual book or can we solely use prayers composed by the family?
A:  The family may write their own prayers. The Rite of Baptism for Children says just before #216 that “Petitions may be added or omitted at will, taking into consideration the special circumstances of each family.”

Q:  When a baptism is taking place outside Mass, the Rite for Baptism with Children (no. 81) speaks of choices for Gospel readings—but then it also speaks to “other passages which meet the wishes or needs of the parents.” Is it mandatory that a Gospel passage be read? If the Gospel passage MUST be read, can a lay person (a person from the family) read the Gospel or does it need to be read by the priest?

A:  The RBC was one of the very first rituals out of the starting blocks following Vatican II, and the rubrics are not very tight. For example, that same paragraph actually permits people to sit through two gospel readings. It’s just odd. I think it does have in mind that a gospel will be proclaimed and that other readings may be added. Normally the proclamation of the gospel is done by a deacon, but the 1969 RBC is unclear. It says the gospel “is read” without specifying who does it. Given the unusual nature of the rubric, I think that having someone else read the gospel falls within what this rubric permits. But if the presider wants to proclaim it, I think that that is his prerogative.

Q:  What is the basis of the use of a “priest’s” chalice distinct from “communal chalices” used at Mass. It seems to counter the idea of communion itself. Are there norms that require this practice or that encourage the whole community to share from the same vessels?

A:  The rubrics that appear in the missal’s Order of Mass do not account for communion under both kinds. Those permissions and instructions are found elsewhere. So the Order of Mass continually gives instructions about “the chalice” as if there is only one. Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion under Both Kinds in the Dioceses of the United States says this at #36: “If one chalice is not sufficient for Holy Communion to be distributed under both kinds to the Priest concelebrants or Christ’s faithful, several chalices are placed on a corporal on the altar in an appropriate place, filled with wine. It is praiseworthy that the main chalice be larger than the other chalices prepared for distribution.” The larger size probably has more to do with visibility. A separate chalice for the priest is not required. The priest may drink from one of the chalices prepared for the people. In fact, the same citation implies that a single chalice for all is preferable.

Q:  May the priest mix the water with the wine in a large pitcher from which all the wine is poured—for the priest and for the assembled community? The Missal speaks of the water being poured into the chalice (not a pitcher or any other communal vessels).

A:  The USCCB clarified this on page 19 here: http://www.usccb.org/about/divine-worship/newsletter/upload/newsletter-2012-05-and-06.pdf. However, it did not address your specific practice. I generally add water to one chalice. However, your practice would probably not be considered an abuse through a broad interpretation of this clarification.

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