Am I Obligated...

[wworld]

…to tell someone “maybe you shouldn’t receive Communion” if they haven’t been to mass in a long time? I don’t want to be “that guy,” but at the same time I don’t want to give scandal through “silent approval”

 

[underacloud]

I’d say it’s between them and God.

Catholics should not reveice communion in the state of mortal sin, but only God is the judge of this. Not going to mass is considered a grave sin, but for each individual the sinfulness depends on their own knowledge of the faith and personal circumstances. People who attend mass only occasionally, typically (in my opinion) lack the neccessary knowledge of faith that might make the sin so serious that they should not receive the Eucharist.

The Eucharist provides real grace, the kind of grace that someone who is struggling with their faith will benefit from. I don’t think it’s your place to suggest that they not receive it.

 

[valentino]

I doubt very seriously the guy doesn’t know he’s not suppose to recieve communion.Im guessing but it sounds like he doesn’t agree the Church’s teaching.which of course doesnn’t make an difference.In that case its a sacriledge.

 

[ConstantineTG]

…to tell someone “maybe you shouldn’t receive Communion” if they haven’t been to mass in a long time? I don’t want to be “that guy,” but at the same time I don’t want to give scandal through “silent approval”

It depends how well you know the person. We should assume the best always, that this person perhaps went to confession before going to church.

 

[surfinpure]

I doubt very seriously the guy doesn’t know he’s not suppose to recieve communion.Im guessing but it sounds like he doesn’t agree the Church’s teaching.which of course doesnn’t make an difference.In that case its a sacriledge.

When I was only a nominal Catholic with very poor catechesis I had no idea that I was sinning by receiving Communion. I thought you only went to confession when you murdered or stole something or committed adultery. So I wouldn’t take for granted everyone knows they’d be committing sacrilege.

If you know the person well, approach them gently. You don’t have to ask anything, just say, “Hey, you probably already know this, but if you haven’t been to confession in over a year, you’re only supposed to receive a blessing when you go up in the Communion line.” And smile.

Shoot, I even tapped a teenager on the shoulder once and very politely asked if her friend (who clearly was not a practicing Catholic) knew that he could not receive Communion. She smiled and said it was taken care of.

Bottom line: I’d rather risk offending someone than knowingly allow Our Lord to be taken unworthily (which also, let’s not forget, does the person great spiritual harm). It’s really in the person’s best interest to give them a gentle reminder.

 

[markomalley]

…to tell someone “maybe you shouldn’t receive Communion” if they haven’t been to mass in a long time? I don’t want to be “that guy,” but at the same time I don’t want to give scandal through “silent approval”

The seven spiritual works of mercy:
1. Counsel the doubtful.
2. Instruct the ignorant.
3. Admonish sinners.
4. Comfort the afflicted.
5. Forgive offenses.
6. Bear wrongs patiently.
7. Pray for the living and the dead.

The least charitable thing you could do would be for you to allow this person to be involved in grave matter without attempting to advise him/her.

You can be nice about it: invite the person to go to confession with you sometime before you would be with him/her at Mass. You could be oblique about it and talk about all of these Easter/Christmas Catholics who show up to Mass once a year and you know most haven’t been to confession in forever and how worried you are for their souls. Or you could just come out and say it…in a nice way…that he/she really should go to confession before attempting to receive communion…particularly since it’s been so long.

But just letting the person walk straight into sin is not charitable. Not charitable at all.

 

[Beth_Cecilia]

I’d say it’s between them and God.

Catholics should not reveice communion in the state of mortal sin, but only God is the judge of this. Not going to mass is considered a grave sin, but for each individual the sinfulness depends on their own knowledge of the faith and personal circumstances. People who attend mass only occasionally, typically (in my opinion) lack the neccessary knowledge of faith that might make the sin so serious that they should not receive the Eucharist.

The Eucharist provides real grace, the kind of grace that someone who is struggling with their faith will benefit from. I don’t think it’s your place to suggest that they not receive it.

It is between them and God, so you must not judge them. You are right that they may not know that missing mass is a grave sin. It is, therefore, a good idea to tell them- in charity- that missing mass is sinful. People who do not know, are not culpable but that does not mean that they should remain ignorant.

There is grace in the sacrament, and we need it most when we struggle the most. There is also grace in the sacrament of confession, and healing.

I agree with one of the posters who said that it depends on how well you know the person. If you are close, you should bring it up. If you are not, how can you possibly know that they are missing mass unless they brought it up- in which case you have a clear opening to tell them that missing mass is a grave sin and they should confess. Wouldn’t you want your loved ones to alleviate your ignorance if you were doing something which was offensive to our Lord?

I do not think you have an obligation to tell them to abstain from the Eucharist. That is a separate question from whether or not you should advise them of their sin. Whether or not they should receive the Eucharist depends on whether or not they have an unconfessed mortal sin. You cannot know that. You can know whether or not a sin is grave, but you cannot know if they are culpable. Tell them that missing mass is a grave sin. Perhaps you can discuss the difference between grave sin and mortal sin. Perhaps you can tell them that we cannot receive if we have an unconfessed mortal sin. Do not presume to know their state.

 

[thequeen]

…to tell someone “maybe you shouldn’t receive Communion” if they haven’t been to mass in a long time? I don’t want to be “that guy,” but at the same time I don’t want to give scandal through “silent approval”

Please leave it between them and God you have no idea of whether they went to confession or not they could have talked to the priest when you were not aware of it.

 

[valentino]

thanks.I guess times have changed.Im 61.There was no one back then who didn’'t know you weren.t allowed to recieve under such circumstance.