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Tag: Communion

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Sacraments

Communion More Than Once A Day?

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The Church’s Code of Canon Law (updated in 1983) allows the faithful to receive communion twice in the same day, provided they attend the Mass at which they receive the…

The Church’s Code of Canon Law (updated in 1983) allows the faithful to receive communion twice in the same day, provided they attend the Mass at which they receive the Eucharist. Thus an individual may receive Communion at a daily Mass, and again at a wedding, funeral or other ritual (see Canon 917).

Insisting an individual attend the Mass at which she or he receives Communion stresses the communal aspect of the Eucharist. At Mass, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy” (No. 1326). We also unite ourselves with other members of Christ’s Body. The rule also discourages overzealous or superstitious souls from wandering from church to church and taking part in no more of the Mass than the Communion rite.

Deacons who assist at more than two Masses must excuse themselves from receiving Communion after the second, but the law does not apply to the dying, and states, “The Christian faithful who are in danger of death, arising from any cause, are to be nourished by holy Communion in the form of viaticum. Even if they have received Communion in the same day [they] are strongly urged to receive again” (Canon 921).

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Sacraments

What is Spiritual Communion?

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Years ago, I learned a “spiritual communion” prayer that St. Josemaría Escrivá learned as a child from his mother’s confessor. It goes like this: “I wish, my Lord, to receive…

Years ago, I learned a “spiritual communion” prayer that St. Josemaría Escrivá learned as a child from his mother’s confessor. It goes like this: “I wish, my Lord, to receive you, with the purity, humility and devotion with which your most Holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervor of the saints.” Millions around the world now pray that prayer.

A spiritual communion is a personal devotional that anyone can pray at any time to express their desire to receive holy Communion at that moment, but in which circumstances impede them from actually receiving holy Communion. The impeding circumstances might be a variety of things: the person could already be “maxed out” because they have already received holy Communion twice that day; or the person could be in prison and unable to attend Mass; or the person might be elderly and at home watching Mass on the television or listening to it on the radio; or the person might be hiking a mountain and wants to be more deeply united to Jesus Christ at that moment.

There is no such thing as an “official” spiritual communion. Everyone can make up their own, or use a prayer another person composed.

When you pray a spiritual communion, your soul receives grace to the degree that you have true hunger for the holy Eucharist.

Rev. Francis Hoffman, J.C.D., Executive Director of Relevant Radio.

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Sacraments

What are the current rules for determining the age of reason for first holy Communion?

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There is no hard-and-fast rule for determining the age of reason: it is a judgment call on the part of parents, pastors and teachers — the ones who know the…

There is no hard-and-fast rule for determining the age of reason: it is a judgment call on the part of parents, pastors and teachers — the ones who know the child the best. In general, throughout the United States, second grade is the time when children receive first Communion. Typically, the children in second grade are between the ages of 7 and 9.

First Communion and confirmation are not typically given at the same time in the Latin rite of the Church, but the three sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, Eucharist) are administered at the same time in the Eastern rite. For Latin-rite Catholics — about 99 percent of Catholics around the world — baptism is to be given within the first weeks of birth. First confession and first Communion follow around age 7, and confirmation may be administered at the age of reason or after. Across the United States, the typical age range for confirmation is 12 to 17, and there are good reasons advanced both for the younger and older ages.

The Code of Canon Law states: “The administration of the Most Holy Eucharist to children requires that they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand the mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion.

“The Most Holy Eucharist, however, can be administered to children in danger of death if they can distinguish the body of Christ from ordinary food and receive Communion reverently.

“It is primarily the duty of parents and those who take the place of parents, as well as the duty of pastors, to take care that children who have reached the use of reason are prepared properly and, after they have made sacramental confession, are refreshed with this divine food as soon as possible. It is for the pastor to exercise vigilance so that children who have not attained the use of reason or whom he judges are not sufficiently disposed do not approach holy Communion” (Canons 913-914).

Rev. Francis Hoffman, J.C.D., Executive Director of Relevant Radio. Follow him on his Facebook page “Father Rocky.”

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Sacraments

How long is a person supposed to fast before Communion?

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The Church asks us to fast for one hour before Communion, but there are no indications of how long to fast after Communion. Growing up, I was taught that the…

The Church asks us to fast for one hour before Communion, but there are no indications of how long to fast after Communion. Growing up, I was taught that the “species” of the holy Eucharist remains in us (in our stomach) for 10 to 15 minutes until digested; for that reason, pious common sense suggests not eating or drinking for 10 to 15 minutes after holy Communion. Here is what the Code of Canon Law states: “A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.

“A priest who celebrates the Most Holy Eucharist two or three times on the same day can take something before the second or third celebration even if there is less than one hour between them.

“The elderly, the infirm, and those who care for them can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have eaten something within the preceding hour” (Canon 919).

Rev. Francis Hoffman, J.C.D., Executive Director of Relevant Radio. Follow him on his Facebook page “Father Rocky.”

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Sacraments

Better To Receive From Chalice Too?

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It is “better” only in terms of the sign value, since Jesus offered the first Communion under both forms. Thus we most fully observe the manner of the first Communion…

It is “better” only in terms of the sign value, since Jesus offered the first Communion under both forms. Thus we most fully observe the manner of the first Communion by partaking in both forms: the Host and the chalice. Nevertheless, the full sacrament, the whole Christ, is received even if only the Host or the Precious Blood is consumed.

There may be good reasons one cannot or should not partake of the common chalice such as health, struggles with alcoholism and the like. Parishes, too, may have good reason to limit the offering of the chalice due to a lack of time, a lack of an adequate number of ministers, concerns for spillage, etc. Further, some with celiac disease often partake only from the chalice. In either case, and under either form, the whole Christ is received.

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Sacraments

Is It Possible for Catholics to Receive Communion at a Non-Catholic Church?

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The answer is no. The reason is this. The Church teaches that to partake of Communion in any Christian tradition is publicly to declare one is in full agreement with…

The answer is no. The reason is this. The Church teaches that to partake of Communion in any Christian tradition is publicly to declare one is in full agreement with what that tradition teaches or holds. Therefore, if you, a Catholic, were to share in the Communion of a non-Catholic tradition, your action would bespeak a falsehood.

For the same reason, the Church does not allow non-Catholics to receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord in the Eucharist. This prohibition has nothing to do with the spiritual state of non-Catholics. In fact the rule exists for the protection of the integrity of non-Catholics who happen to be present at a Eucharistic celebration. It prevents them from unwittingly, but still symbolically, making a public statement that is untrue.

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