By DON FIER
The Holy Eucharist, as we saw last week, is a sacrament three times over. As St. John Paul II pointed out in his first encyclical Redemptor Hominis, not only is it a Sacrifice-Sacrament and a Presence-Sacrament, but also a Communion-Sacrament.
In this third dimension, the Eucharist is rightly referred to as the Paschal Banquet “in as much as Christ sacramentally makes present his Passover and gives us his Body and Blood, offered as food and drink, uniting us to himself and to one another in his sacrifice” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 287).
We also saw last week that the altar at which the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered is the center and focal point of a church. The profundity of its intrinsic meaning lies in the fact that it represents two aspects of the Holy Eucharist: it is “the altar of sacrifice where Christ as the sacrificial victim offers himself for our sins and as the table of the Lord where Christ gives himself to us as food from heaven” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], Glossary).
We left off last week with a parting reference to the Church’s teaching regarding the absolute necessity of partaking of the Eucharistic Lord in Holy Communion only when in the state of grace.
St. Paul is explicit in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor. 11:27-29).
These words are especially relevant in modern times, for it seems that although most Mass attendees receive Communion, lines for Confession are meager at best.
The Catechism is clear in its teaching: “Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion” (CCC, n. 1385). In a later paragraph, it further highlights this teaching: “Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession” (CCC, n. 1457).
Similarly, the 1983 Code of Canon Law (CIC) accentuates this most solemn instruction: “A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to . . . receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess” (can. 916).
St. Peter Julian Eymard vigorously emphasized the importance of approaching the Sacrament of Sacraments with a clear conscience: “Otherwise, for you, the Bread of Life will be a bread of death” (Holy Communion, p. 11).
Referring to the previously cited admonition of St. Paul to the Corinthians, St. Eymard elaborates: “In their heart, they have crucified Jesus, their own Judge.” And again, by way of analogy, he states: “Nourishment taken into a sick stomach stifles instead of sustaining life” (ibid., p. 269).
The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament of the living. As such, explains Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, “it is meant to more closely unite those who are in a state of grace with Christ” (Basic Catholic Catechism Course [BCCC], p. 148).
Unworthy reception of Communion not only fails to wipe away mortal sin, but adds the grave sin of sacrilege. To better understand why it is sacrilegious to receive Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin, let us turn to St. Thomas Aquinas.
“Whoever receives this sacrament,” explains the Angelic Doctor, “expresses thereby that he is made one with Christ, and incorporated in His members; and this is done by living faith, which no one has who is in mortal sin. And therefore it is manifest that whoever receives this sacrament while in mortal sin, is guilty of lying to this sacrament, and consequently of sacrilege, because he profanes the sacrament: and therefore he sins mortally” (Summa Theologiae III, Q. 80, art. 4).
As suggested earlier, it is more necessary now than ever to emphasize the Church’s teaching on having a proper disposition before receiving Holy Communion. In the times in which we live, there seems to be an expectation that everyone at Mass should receive Communion. “In such a situation,” submits Fr. Hardon, “it becomes difficult for anyone to refrain from approaching to receive the Body of Christ” (BCCC, p. 151).
During his first pastoral visit to the United States, Pope St. John Paul II expressed this very concern to our bishops: “In the face of a widespread phenomenon of our time, namely that many of our people who are among the great numbers who receive Communion make little use of Confession, we must emphasize Christ’s basic call to conversion” (Address to Bishops, Chicago, October 5, 1979).
In the 2004 instruction Redemptoris Sacramentum (issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments), pastors of souls were instructed to take great care to provide diligent catechetical instruction regarding the need to confess mortal sins in the Sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion (cf. n. 80).
In addition to being free from mortal sin, there are other ways by which we are expected to “prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment” (CCC, n. 1385) as to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. First, we must have the right intention. In essence, this means that “we take care never to approach the Altar of the Lord primarily out of routine or the desire for human respect” (BCCC, p. 150).
Rather, our primary motive should be to please God, to unite ourselves more closely to Him, and to have the intention to make use of this divine sustenance to assist us in overcoming the moral weaknesses and defects that plague our day-to-day lives due to our fallen human nature.
The Church also obliges us to observe the eucharistic fast. As specified by the Code of Canon Law, “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” (CIC, canon 919 § 1). Until 1953, complete abstinence from food and drink was required from midnight until reception of Holy Communion.
In 1957, Pope Pius XII reduced the fast to three hours, and in 1964, Pope Paul VI further reduced the fast to one hour. Note the period of abstinence is specified as before Communion (not before the beginning of Mass); therefore, one hour is not very long. By way of exception, Church law also allows that “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” (CIC, canon 919 § 3).
A further requirement is that one “must be baptized and must believe that what the Church teaches is true. In addition, he must live in accordance with those teachings, always following and accepting the authority of the Pope and the Bishops in union with him” (BCCC, p. 151).
Furthermore, our Lord should be received with the greatest of reverence: “Bodily demeanor ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest” (CCC, n. 1387). The words of the centurion that we say as we prepare for Holy Communion, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed,” should be said with utmost fervor and devotion.
What about the frequency of receiving our Lord in Holy Communion? In The Catholic Catechism, Fr. Hardon provides an extensive account of the Church’s history in this regard (see pp. 472-479). To summarize, frequent reception was customary in apostolic times; there are numerous indications of daily reception in the early centuries during the “Age of Persecution.”
For various reasons, reception of Holy Communion was reduced to once or twice a year during the Middle Ages. It was in the year 1905 when Pope Pius X restored the practice of frequent and regular Communion.
Eternal Happiness
Frequent (even daily) reception of the Bread of Life is encouraged for all who are properly disposed. Indeed, frequent Communion “increases our union with Christ, nourishes the spiritual life of the soul, strengthens our practice of virtue, and give us a sure pledge of eternal happiness” (BCCC, p. 152).
The Church permits us to receive Holy Communion twice in the same day, provided the second reception occurs during the celebration of the Mass in which the receiving person participates (even a third time if received as viaticum).
“It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, if they have the required dispositions, receive communion when they participate in the Mass” (CCC, n. 1388). Why? As taught by Vatican II, it is the “more perfect form of participation in the Mass” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 55). At a minimum, “each of the faithful is obliged to receive Holy Communion at least once a year” (CIC, canon 920 § 1), normally during the Easter Season (cf. CIC, canon 920 § 2).
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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