It was just an ordinary Sunday morning on a clear sky. I had just come down the stairs of the apartment to which I visited a sick parishioner who couldn't make it to the nearby church because she was advised by the doctor for a strict bed rest. She was to be the recipient of my first Viaticum, or the administration of the Holy Communion to the sick. Going back to the church, I was walking alone with a sense of spiritual fulfillment that day with inexplicable sense of joy and lightness.
The three years of my service as a parish lay minister was mostly dedicated to administering Communion in the mass as well as assisting the priest in the altar during mass whenever there was no altar boy present. I have of course, long known of the fact that we are given the authority to deliver the Sacred Host to the sick who cannot make it to the church. The task requires knowledge of the ritual involved before giving the communion to the recipient inside the house. Many of my fellow ministers, being in the service for some time have become experts in the task.
Late last year, a brother-in-law who was also a minister in their parish in Manila happened to come for a vacation in Cebu. Incidentally, he gave me a guide book for the lay ministers' eucharistic duties. I read it, but never expected that someday I will be able to practice it in my duties. True enough, the day came for my call this year on that blissful Sunday. I was quick to accept it and even though I lack the necessary tool to transport the Eucharist, I was able to find a way for the purpose. Indeed, it was one soul blessed in the name of Jesus.
The three years of my service as a parish lay minister was mostly dedicated to administering Communion in the mass as well as assisting the priest in the altar during mass whenever there was no altar boy present. I have of course, long known of the fact that we are given the authority to deliver the Sacred Host to the sick who cannot make it to the church. The task requires knowledge of the ritual involved before giving the communion to the recipient inside the house. Many of my fellow ministers, being in the service for some time have become experts in the task.
Late last year, a brother-in-law who was also a minister in their parish in Manila happened to come for a vacation in Cebu. Incidentally, he gave me a guide book for the lay ministers' eucharistic duties. I read it, but never expected that someday I will be able to practice it in my duties. True enough, the day came for my call this year on that blissful Sunday. I was quick to accept it and even though I lack the necessary tool to transport the Eucharist, I was able to find a way for the purpose. Indeed, it was one soul blessed in the name of Jesus.
