Although it has become common parlance to call lay people chosen to help with Communion as 'Eucharistic ministers', it would be more appropriate to call them 'ministers of Communion' as, strictly speaking, a Eucharistic minister is one who offers the Eucharist - the priest.

'Ministers of Communion' are called to service when it is not possible for an ordinary minister - a priest or a deacon - to be available. This makes it quite clear that 'minsters of Communion' are extra to the ordinary. This is why they are called 'extraordinary'.

As Fr Martin Jakubas, a member of the liturgy formation sub-committee of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales writes:

"Ministers of Communion are primarily commissioned to take Communion to the sick and secondarily to assist with the smooth distribution of Communion in Church. I wonder if we sometimes get this the wrong way round. One of the main reasons that people should be commissioned is so that those who are sick may receive Communion as frequently as possible."

Fr Jacubas, who is also a parish priest, goes on: "My one experience of being in hospital made this point stand out even more clearly than before. The one day when I particularly wanted to be part of the assembled church - Sunday - was the one day that I was never brought Communion. This has to be the same for people who are tied at their homes. As a parish priest, I am always overjoyed to see Communion going to people's homes on Sunday. This could never happen if it was left to the priest to do.

"One of the joys of commissioned ministers of communion is that the sick should be able to be part of it all. I would personally go further and humbly suggest that someone who has been a daily Mass-goer should have the right to Communion at home daily if they are no longer able to come to Church."

If 'daily service' is not practical in Malta surely 'more frequent' service is practical with the help of lay ministry of communion.