Our Lord is not "the dishes"

U.S. extraordinary ministers may not purify Communion vessels, Pope Benedict says
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien Catholic News Service (http://www.catholicnews.com/)

10/24/2006 <------ IT'S ALMOST 2 YEARS LATER

WASHINGTON (CNS) – At the direction of Pope Benedict XVI, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion will no longer be permitted to assist in the purification of the sacred vessels at Masses in the United States.

In an Oct. 23 letter, Bishop William S. Skylstad, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, asked his fellow bishops to inform all pastors of the change, which was prompted by a letter from Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

In fact, The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, in No. 163, states the following about the purification of the sacred vessels: "When the distribution of Communion is finished, the priest himself immediately and completely consumes at the altar any consecrated wine that happens to remain; as for any consecrated hosts that are left, he either consumes them at the altar or carries them to the place designated for the reservation of the Eucharist. "Upon returning to the altar, the priest collects any fragments that may remain. Then, standing at the altar or at the credence table, he purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice then purifies the chalice, saying quietly, 'Quod ore sumpsimus' (Lord, may I receive), and dries the chalice with a purificator.

I love watching the Priest purify the vessels. It is usually a moment of great reverence and silence. In the silence, watching the Priest, we recieve a catechism. The precious blood IS OUR LORD! How could revering him be likened to doing the dishes? In the loving care the priest shows at the purification we know what he believes and Who he loves.