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Dear Leslie,
Thanks for the questions.
You said:
- Are Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharistic or Eucharistic ministers, that give Holy Communion to the home bound, supposed to give themselves any remaining Holy Hosts?
No member of the Church except the celebrating priest may self-communicate; the purpose of having Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist is to assist the priest in distributing the Eucharist to the home bound and the sick, no one else. It's my understanding that any remaining consecrated hosts that Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharistic have, after a visit, should be returned to the tabernacle of the Church where they were retrieved.
You said:
- Are they allowed to open the tabernacle themselves to get a chalice of Holy Communion they will need to serve the home bound?
Yes, They are trained as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist to do this.
You said:
- What does Canon Law say regarding these matters?
This and related issues is brought up twice in Canon Law. See . . .
Though not directly related to your last question, my colleague Paul sent me the following interesting web page.
You also may find this document interesting. Article 8 in this document is titled:
The Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
- Instruction On Certain Questions Regarding The Collaboration Of The Non-Ordained Faithful In The Sacred Ministry Of The Priest [Vatican][EWTN]
It has some real eye openers, even for priests!
Hope this helps,
Mike
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