Already Catholic RCIA abstain from Eucharist?

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katiesonlyson

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Hello,

I’m having difficulty understanding how I should be handling myself at Mass during the RCIA process. I was baptized Catholic at birth (45 years ago) and received First Communion (35 years ago). But I was not confirmed.

Coming back to the Church a little over a year ago, I was enrolled in RCIA classes at our Parish and have been attending classes consistently for over a year in hopes of becoming confirmed. Upon returning I also met with our Priest, and made a Confession of Reconciliation, after which he encouraged me to participate in Communion and receive the Eucharist at Mass.

Today at Mass we had the Rite of Sending, and went before the Preist and the congregation with our sponsors. When it came time for Communion, my sponsor told me that I must not receive the Eucharist, but instead to cross my heart for a Blessing. I should also mention that my sponsor is one of the RCIA leaders.

Is this correct? I’ve grown accustomed to preparing-for and participating in Communion at Sunday Mass each week. It was surprising to learn that suddenly I’m not supposed to. If this is the case, then was it just for this Mass where we celebrated the Rite of Sending? Or must I abstain from receiving Eucharist until some other part of RCIA?

This is certainly confusing. Thanks in advance for any help!
 
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As long as you are prepared for reception (no mortal sin, fast for an hour) of course you may receive the Eucharist.

This is why it is so crazy to shove people in RCIA prep who do not belong there. GRRRRRRRR.
 
My understanding is that as long as you’ve been confirmed, and are in a state of grace you can receive.
 
Does your sponsor know that you already were baptized and made your First communion?

If your priest told you that you can receive, then I would think you can. Perhaps your sponsor forgot.

I think you should explain what happened to your priest and see what he says you should do.
 
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In the Latin Rite, people begin receiving the Eucharist and Confession for many years before they are confirmed.
 
You don’t need to have been confirmed; she’s baptized and made her first Communion as a child. Confirmation prep should not have been conflated with RCIA.
 
Shoot, yeah I had a brain fart there. Forgot most don’t get confirmed until 8th grade but have first communion around 2nd.
 
If you have received the Sacraments of Baptism & First Communion; you may receive at Mass. It is good that you are attending RCIA for preparation of Confirmation. RCIA is not just for Candidates & Catechumens; it is for any Catholic seeking further knowledge of their faith. As well as furthering their spiritual growth & development. God bless.
 
katiesonlyson said:
Hello,

I’m having difficulty understanding how I should be handling myself at Mass during the RCIA process. I was baptized Catholic at birth (45 years ago) and received First Communion (35 years ago). But I was not confirmed.

Coming back to the Church a little over a year ago, I was enrolled in RCIA classes at our Parish and have been attending classes consistently for over a year in hopes of becoming confirmed. Upon returning I also met with our Priest, and made a Confession of Reconciliation, after which he encouraged me to participate in Communion and receive the Eucharist at Mass.

Today at Mass we had the Rite of Sending, and went before the Preist and the congregation with our sponsors. When it came time for Communion, my sponsor told me that I must not receive the Eucharist, but instead to cross my heart for a Blessing. I should also mention that my sponsor is one of the RCIA leaders.

Is this correct? I’ve grown accustomed to preparing-for and participating in Communion at Sunday Mass each week. It was surprising to learn that suddenly I’m not supposed to. If this is the case, then was it just for this Mass where we celebrated the Rite of Sending? Or must I abstain from receiving Eucharist until some other part of RCIA?

This is certainly confusing. Thanks in advance for any help!
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Oh dear.

I am sorry that happened.

You need to speak to the parish priest about this. They should not be sending you, as a Catholic making up the missed sacrament of Confirmation, to the Rite of Election, which I presume is what they intend given your participation in the Rite of Sending.

The Rite of Sending in the RCIA is predominantly for catechumens who are preparing for baptism. There is a provision to include those who are already baptised but that is for those who are seeking to come into full communion with the Church. Your situation, however, is simply remedying the missed sacrament…Confirmation. You are a Catholic who is already baptised, already admitted to the Eucharist.
Can. 912 Any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion.
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You are in no sense prohibited by law…you are Catholic.

It is really lamentable when parishes attempt to make a series of classes serve such a multitude of purposes for people who are in too disparate of circumstances. Such a thing too easily engenders confusing situations like this and does not make manifest the distinctions to be made among categories of persons in different circumstance.

You are in your own category as a baptised Catholic already admitted to Eucharist.
 
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Actually, the RCIA prep is not for Canidates (already baptized Christians) http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-te...e-of-christian-initiation-of-adults/index.cfm Although some preparation may be with Catechumens preparing for baptism, the preparation for Candidates is different since they have already been baptized and committed to Jesus Christ, and many have also been active members of other Christian communities. The Candidates may be received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil or at another Sunday during the year depending on pastoral circumstances and readiness of the Candidate.

Nor is it for Catholics who need to be Confirmed.

Now, many parishes lack the resources for separate preparation for these people, so they cram everyone in with the Catechumens, however this is not what the Church envisions.
 
I was in the same position- baptised, not confirmed. I wasn’t initially planning on entering RCIA (I read my way back into the Church, I could have taught my RCIA class), so I just went to confession and started going to Mass. But the Lord put it on my heart to go through RCIA so I did. Our classes were at the 930AM Mass, so I would go to the 800AM Mass (which I prefer anyway), where I would take Communion and then at the 930 I would just leave with the class. I still went to daily Masses and all that, as well as frequent confession.
 
Does the sponsor know your deal? Like, does he know you are in the Church already? Can you ask him about it?
 
Wow! Thank you all for the explanations. I’ve got no problem attending RCIA with the other Candidates and Catechumens. In fact I enjoy any chance to connect with people discussing The Lord and His Church. Having been raised Catholic, I feel like the others value my perspective too. Since I’ve attended for over a year it will be quite an adjustment when it is done.

Yes, since my sponsor is one of the RCIA team, he has known me for quite a while now and is fully aware of my situation. But perhaps he is misinformed about the laws/guidelines surrounding Communion. Hard to say. That said, the Parish is somewhat small (less than 600 households in our church). So it is an issue of resources, and I guess there’s just no way to give people special treatment. And that’s okay too.

But the gist of the matter is around participation in Confession and Eucharist. So I’m going to take the advice posted above and discuss with our Priest and most of all, PRAY. Just don’t want to be seen as a troublemaker nor give the impression that I harbor any disdain for the process or Church officials.

Your advice is solid gold, all of it. Really helps quiet my worries! Thank you and may God Bless you all.
 
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katiesonlyson said:
When it came time for Communion, my sponsor told me that I must not receive the Eucharist, but instead to cross my heart for a Blessing. I should also mention that my sponsor is one of the RCIA leaders.
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Your sponsor is incorrect. Your sponsor is also not your pastor, who has already helped you resume the sacramental life.

It is possible your sponsor is confused about the fact that you are a Catholic.

You should receive the Eucharist and frequent the sacrament of Reconciliation.
 
tawny said:
If you have received the Sacraments of Baptism & First Communion; you may receive at Mass. It is good that you are attending RCIA for preparation of Confirmation. RCIA is not just for Candidates & Catechumens; it is for any Catholic seeking further knowledge of their faith. As well as furthering their spiritual growth & development. God bless.
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I agree with the first part of your statement here but would have to disagree with the second.

Although the actual practice may vary from parish to parish, I would say that RCIA definitely is intended just for catechumens and candidates (and perhaps for uncatechized Catholics) and is not intended for catechized Catholics seeking a better understanding of Catholicism or spiritual growth OR preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation.

I suggest two things contribute to a misunderstanding here. First, limited resources sometimes cause parishes to use RCIA to accomplished things beyond its intended purpose. Second, I’ve noticed that the reception of candidates into the Church, usually at the Easter Vigil, is often referred to as their “confirmation”, likely because they do receive the sacrament of Confirmation at this time as part of the rite, and so RCIA is seen as a preparation for the Sacrament for anyone needing it.
 
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katiesonlyson said:
Upon returning I also met with our Priest, and made a Confession of Reconciliation, after which he encouraged me to participate in Communion and receive the Eucharist at Mass.
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I wanted to isolate that sentence because that says it all.

Given that your priest told you that you can go to Communion (and he’s certainly 100% right in that!) that alone should be enough to show that your sponsor is simply wrong—perhaps misinformed, but still wrong.

I can see how this is a difficult situation in so far as you’re not following the advice of your sponsor, but when the sponsor is so obviously wrong, that changes things.

I strongly suggest talking to your pastor about this. First, there’s no doubt that he will tell you the same thing he told you earlier, and also because he needs to know that someone told you this. He needs to be aware of that fact, because others in a similar situation (maybe not even this same year) might be given the same misinformation.

This issue is really too important to go overlooked. If the people running RCIA are telling Catholics who have already received First Communion that they cannot continue to receive Communion, that’s a very serious problem and needs to be corrected immediately. Your pastor might not know if you don’t inform him.
 
RCIA is mostly definitely for those who have received the Sacraments of Baptism & Eucharist, but have never received Comfirmation. It is also a tool for those Catholics who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist & Confirmation for a seeking a better understanding of there Catholic faith. I have instructed many from my Parish seeking such; as the process also helps them teach & follow up with their children who may be in CCD.
 
RCIA is mostly definitely for those who have received the Sacraments of Baptism & Eucharist, but have never received Comfirmation. It is also a tool for those Catholics who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist & Confirmation for a seeking a better understanding of there Catholic faith. I have instructed many from my Parish seeking such; as the process also helps them teach & follow up with their children who may be in CCD. Also, my Parish has RCIA instructors with Masters Degrees in Theology & are very well prepared to serve the religious educational needs of the Parishioners. Our Candidates & Catechumens are “crammed” together into instruction.
 
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tawny said:
RCIA is mostly definitely for those who have received the Sacraments of Baptism & Eucharist, but have never received Comfirmation. It is also a tool for those Catholics who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist & Confirmation for a seeking a better understanding of there Catholic faith. I have instructed many from my Parish seeking such; as the process also helps them teach & follow up with their children who may be in CCD.
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tawny said:
RCIA is mostly definitely for those who have received the Sacraments of Baptism & Eucharist, but have never received Comfirmation. It is also a tool for those Catholics who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist & Confirmation for a seeking a better understanding of there Catholic faith. I have instructed many from my Parish seeking such; as the process also helps them teach & follow up with their children who may be in CCD.
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An important distinction needs to be made here. The various forms of RCIA are all for people who will be receiving one or more sacraments.

RCIA is not “for” Catholics who are not seeking any of the Sacraments. Instead, such people are treated as welcomed visitors (and sometimes contributors). The do not literally (strictly speaking) participate in RCIA as such.
 
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