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Carrying Christ to the sick, suffering

Katie Scott | Catholic Herald

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Kemp shows off a photo of her goddaughter.

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Josephite Fr. Donald M. Fest, pastor of St. Joseph, removes the consecrated host from the tabernacle before giving it to Bill York, an extraordinary minister of holy Communion. Fr. Fest and York regularly bring the Eucharist to homebound parishioners.

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Bill York, head sacristan at St. Joseph Church in Alexandria, places the pyx — a small round receptacle carrying the Eucharist — into a leather pouch he will wear as he brings the Blessed Sacrament to the sick.

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York briefly flips through his “Communion of the Sick” prayer book before entering Rosemary Kemp’s home in Alexandria.

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Kemp, who has chronic back and leg problems, receives Communion from York during his visit to her home last week.

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Kemp, 87, prays after receiving the Eucharist.

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Fr. Fest places the Eucharist in the pyx.

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Gwendolyn Day Fuller, a longtime caregiver for her father, Ferdinand Day, shows York a program from Day’s funeral. Fuller said her father’s face would light up when extraordinary ministers of holy Communion came to his home.

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Bill York lightly touched the leather pouch hanging around
his neck before knocking on the door of a modest brick home
in Alexandria. Moments later he gave a bear hug to Rosemary
Kemp, 87. The living room was filled with family portraits,
religious art and a framed photo of nearby St. Joseph Church,
where both York and Kemp are longtime parishioners.

York was there to bring Kemp, who has chronic back and leg
problems, the sacred contents of the small pouch – a
consecrated host.

The heart of the Catholic faith is the Eucharist, and many
extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, like York, are
arms that extend outward, drawing the sick and suffering
toward that life-giving heart. Each week across the diocese,
men and women carry their precious cargo to quiet
neighborhoods and busy nursing homes, fulfilling a ministry
that is challenging, but that offers blessings to the bearers
of Christ and to the infirm.

“Each visit is falling in love with God through a greater
awareness of His love for us,” said Rosemary Locke, an
extraordinary minister of holy Communion from St. Agnes
Church in Arlington. “The intensity of the love God has for
these people and the graces they bring to us – it’s a gift.”

Difficult and beautiful

Locke has been an extraordinary minister of holy Communion
for about 10 years and takes the Blessed Sacrament to
residents of Cherrydale Health and Rehabilitation Center in
Arlington, which offers physical therapy and nursing care.
With her team of about eight St. Agnes parishioners, she
distributes the Eucharist weekly to as many as 55 residents.

Locke said challenges include creating a reverent atmosphere
to offer the sacrament and ministering to Catholics with
varying backgrounds.

“People come in with Catholicism that’s all over place,” said
Locke. “Some are cradle Catholics with great formation, some
have a limited understanding, and some have fallen away.”

It also can be difficult to track down Catholics scattered
throughout the facility; they may be in physical therapy,
watching TV or roaming the halls.

“You have to really be thinking on your feet,” Locke said.
“I’m constantly saying to the Holy Spirit, ‘I’m depending on
You to steer me and to give me the grace and words I need to
reach this individual, to create a sacred place … and
to nourish them so that they can continue to carry their
cross with joy or comfort or whatever they need at that
specific moment.'”

The ministry is not for everyone, said Roberta Goldblatt,
also a parishioner of St. Agnes, who has brought Communion to
the parish’s homebound for decades. “Some people find it
overwhelming to walk into homes and sometimes find a
tremendous amount of suffering,” she said.

Goldblatt sees herself as a bit like the donkey that carried
Mary and the unborn Jesus. “Leaving Mass with the pyx (a
small round receptacle used to carry the Eucharist), I feel
like the humble little burro,” she said.

While the majority of the homebound are elderly, there are
many reasons parishioners cannot receive the Eucharist at
Mass. Some are recovering from surgery or chemotherapy.
Others are pregnant mothers on bed rest.

Many return to full health, but being present to the dying is
part of the ministry. “Over the years I can recall each
person who has passed away,” said Goldblatt. “They are like
family and it’s difficult, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.”

“If you look at it with human eyes, you see sadness,” said
Locke. “But the beauty of our faith is the communion of
saints. You are joined with them in this communion, so you
are turning them over to God for all eternity. Of course
you’re going to miss them, but you cherish the privilege of
helping prepare them for that final call.”

Locke said some individuals who are physically unable to
consume the host may receive a “spiritual Communion,” which
is the desire to receive the body of Christ coupled with
being properly disposed, or free from mortal sin. Although
not a sacrament itself, “someone who makes a spiritual
Communion receives the effects/grace of the sacrament,” said
Father Paul F. deLadurantaye, diocesan secretary for
religious education and sacred liturgy.

Locke said she’s glimpsed the outward expression of that
grace. “The joy that comes over the face of those who receive
(a spiritual Communion) is just breathtaking.”

A lifeline

York – who is head sacristan at St. Joseph and makes
Communion visits with Josephite Father Donald M. Fest, pastor
– said there is much to learn from the dying.

“We talk all the time about how to live, but when you visit
and sit with these people, you learn how to die.”

You also bring your own life experience, as well as Christ,
with you through their front door, and it creates a powerful
bond, he said.

After his wife died of cancer four years ago, it helped him
relate to those who had lost, or were in the process of
losing, a spouse. “You’re sharing a journey,” he said.

York feels the ministry encompasses caregivers, who are often
family members, as well as the sick. “Ours is a ministry of
love, and they are in a ministry of love, … it is
something you share with them,” he said.

Gwendolyn Day Fuller was a longtime caregiver for her father,
Ferdinand Day, an influential figure in Alexandria and the
first African-American on the city’s school board. Baptized
at St. Joseph, he was a parishioner for nearly a century.
When he could no longer attend his beloved parish, he
received Communion at home.

The weekly visits meant a great deal to Day, who died early
this year, as well as to Fuller.

“His face lit up when he knew they were coming,” said Fuller.
“The reverence he had (for) the Eucharist – it was such a joy
and a pleasure to see.”

Kemp, sitting in her Alexandria home, prayerfully consumed
the Eucharist before sharing her own gratitude for the
extraordinary ministers of holy Communion.

Receiving the weekly visits and the body of Christ “means an
awful lot to me; it means my life,” she said.

Along with the sacrament, the extraordinary ministers of holy
Communion bring her the parish bulletin and the latest parish
news. “It helps me stay connected to the church family. It’s
a lifeline,” said Kemp.

And the members of the church family who take the Blessed
Sacrament to the suffering and sick receive abundant
blessings in return.

“When we enter people’s homes, we are entering a private,
sensitive, intimate place … that we must approach with
dignity and sincerity,” said York, as he drove away from
Kemp’s home. And if you’re open to it, he said, “you will
receive a lot more than you could ever imagine.”

More on the ministry

Appointing lay faithful as extraordinary ministers of holy
Communion was permitted following Vatican II, according to
Fr. Paul F. deLadurantaye, diocesan secretary for religious
education and sacred liturgy. Extraordinary ministers of holy
Communion are used to distribute the Eucharist to the sick
when the ministry cannot be performed solely by local
bishops, priests and deacons.

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