Noel,

I'm not aware of any such time. There was a time in the age of Tarcisius when such things happened.... but that's just the point.

Sure. They touched it with their mouths.

It may seem a silly matter to some. But it's a lack of holiness.

Are eucharistic ministers restricted from speaking to anyone while carrying the host to the sick, as priests were? (riding along silently, I always wondered what Father would do if puller over by the police.)

Were deacons back then permitted to touch the host?

Extraordinary ministers of Holy communion, when taking the Blessed Sacrament to others, are not supposed to engage in chat unnecessarily, but go directly to the person they are bringing the host to. They are not restricted from speaking in the sense of being unable to ask or answer a necessary question, or deal with a matter which cannot be put off, but they would be expected to avoid stopping for a general chat in the church yard about the weather and mrs so and so's rheumatism. Whether this is observed or not is another matter.

I completely agree. There seems, all too often, to be discontinuity between what we profess to believe; aka, the Real Presence, and what we actually believe.

Though I have not yet, I am considering taking the class for Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministry, but only for real emergencies; and to bring the Eucharist to the sick and dying if a priest is unavailable.

It all comes down to true belief in the reality of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic Host. Do you really believe it, really?

I try to pray this prayer: Lord I believe! Help my unbelief!

At the showing of the host, I also try to pray the prayer of Saint Thomas:
My Lord and My God! For Thee I live! For Thee I die! I am thine in life and death!

Think with what attention and care the Holy Father would be received here if he where to grace us with his presence, and he is but the vicar, and a man! Think in comparison, the way with which we attend, truly and humbly present in the Host, Jesus Christ, the Living God Himself! There are no excuses!

If we could fix one thing in our parishes, if we should focus on one thing, it should be this: the lack of comprehension and belief in the Real Presence. Think about it.

What is the Source and Summit of the Christian Life??? THE EUCHARIST. Understanding this is the key to understanding anything else at Mass. Why do we have such rampant misunderstanding and objection to true liturgy? Why do Catholic Masses look more and more like protestant worship services, complete with upbeat music and strange goings-on? THE EUCHARIST is what makes us essentially different from all other denominations.

So what happens when the faithful forget this core belief? They misunderstand the whole point. THE EUCHARIST is the key to unlocking the mystery of the liturgy in the Mass. Once you understand what is actually going on, you see why thus and so is part of the liturgy. How on earth are you going to reform parishes and begin true liturgy if the underlying problem is unbelief in the Real Presence! Of course the faithful will misunderstand what you are trying to do, and object profusly to your changing their emotional experience at Sunday Mass to something so mysterious and solemn!

I know I am preaching to the choir here, (forgive the pun) but we need to know what the problem is, and I think lack of belief in the Real Presence has a lot to do with it; possibly a whole lot more than we realized. But I am not at all proposing a halt to your wonderful work for sacred music and liturgy. I know that all people have, deep within, the yearning for the true, good, and beautiful, which must, on some level or another, reach the ears of the soul. I am simply pointing out a problem which could shed light on how to reach the faithful who may object in terms of good Liturgy.

God bless you all! Viva Christo Rey!
~CC