We at St. Aloysius make an effort to stay connected with those parishioners who are not able to join us at Mass due to illness or physical/mental incapacities. Hospital or home visits, phone calls and our card ministry combine together to make sure our homebound members know they are not forgotten. Our Homebound ministers have the privilege of taking our Lord, present in the Eucharist to those homebound members of our church, letting them know they are loved and being prayed for.
How can you receive Communion at home?
The process usually works like this: A homebound person (or one of their family members) calls in to the parish office requesting that someone from the parish come to their home to minister the sacrament. The pastor will then ask someone to minister to that person. Visits are arranged on a mutually agreeable time betwen the homebound individual and the Homebound minister.
What does a Homebound Minister do?
The minister attends Mass at the parish, and then leaves for the home visit. After training, which is provided by the parish in conjunction with the Worship Office of the Archdiocese of Washington. You will receive a prayer book and a pyx, which is used to carry the Eucharist in. The person you are visiting will be expecting you. When arriving at the home, there is a prayer format to follow during which the Eucharist is given to the homebound person. All the details of ‘how and when’ are explained during training.
Who can become a Minister to the Homebound?
As with all our ministers of the Eucharist, you must have a deep faith and believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. You must be a practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church, and lastly, you must be willing to go out to the people, so transportation is necessary.