can divorced people take Communion?

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Hi everyone,

I’m Episcopalian, so I don’t know the answer to this question. A friend of mine is interested in possibly becoming Catholic. I told him about the RCIA. He is divorced…I thought I heard once that divorced people cannot take Communion in the Catholic Church. Is this correct or incorrect? Thank you very much.

Another question: I thought I once heard that one cannot take Communion more than once a day. Is that true? If so, why is that? Thanks again.
 
  1. If you are a divorced Catholic who has not remarried outside the church or is otherwise in a state of mortal sin, you can receive communion. The ‘divorce’ does not put you into mortal sin per se; marriage to another after the divorce (unless the original marriage is declared null) would put you into mortal sin. So if he is divorced and living celibately, and becomes Catholic, then he may receive. If he wants to consider marrying again, he needs to look into getting an annulment from the first marriage before marrying another.
  2. One can receive communion normatively twice per day; the second time must be in the context of reception at a Mass. IOW, you can go to a communion service in the morning and then to a Mass at night, and receive at both. Or to a Mass in the morning and a Mass at night. And of course one must be in a state of grace–and observe the one hour fast before communion. But if you were to go to a Mass in the morning, and then a communion service at night–no. However, if one is in danger of death, one may receive more than twice per day (Viaticum). The last is something that is outside the ‘norm’, of course.
 
I know what you meant, but…
or is otherwise in a state of mortal sin,
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I think you mean "not" in a state of mortal sin 🙂

Your ‘not’ from the not remarried portion of the response may continue but it does not read well…and we do not want any confusion…
 
Zarozinnia said:
Hi everyone,

I’m Episcopalian, so I don’t know the answer to this question. A friend of mine is interested in possibly becoming Catholic. I told him about the RCIA. He is divorced…I thought I heard once that divorced people cannot take Communion in the Catholic Church. Is this correct or incorrect? Thank you very much.
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My understanding is that a divorce person can take communion. The divorce is seen as a seperation. They cannot receive Eucharistic communion if they are remarried. To remarry you would have to prove that the first marriage was not valid.
Zarozinnia said:
Another question: I thought I once heard that one cannot take Communion more than once a day. Is that true? If so, why is that? Thanks again.
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A person can take communion more then once, but no more then twice I bleive.

I hope this helps
 
In the Catholic Church the only time a person may marry more than once is in the event of death or nullity of all previous marriages. Any other marriage situation would be considered adultery. (please correct me on this if i am wrong)

If a person is divorced but NOT re-married and chaste and not guilty of mortal sin/s then they may recieve the Eucharist.
 
In the Catholic Church the only time a person may marry more than once is in the event of death or nullity of all previous marriages. Any other marriage situation would be considered adultery. (please correct me on this if i am wrong)

If a person is divorced but NOT re-married and chaste and not guilty of mortal sin/s then they may recieve the Eucharist.
 
Divorce is no impediment to taking communion in the Catholic Church. If the person remarried, then there could be a problem, but this doesn’t not seem to be the case. This person might do well to talk to the local parish priest to go over these matters with him.
 
Zarozinnia said:
Another question: I thought I once heard that one cannot take Communion more than once a day. Is that true? If so, why is that? Thanks again.
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As has been pointed out by the other posters, the rule is that you can receive twice a day in the right circumstances, more than that if you are in danger of death (or, for example, if you’re a priest celebrating multiple masses in the same day or something).

This rule is purely a practical one. The Eucharist has been called the source and summit of our life and worship. We Catholics rightly have a huge devotion to, respect for, and love and worship of, Our Lord in the Eucharist (in which we believe He is really present).

There are people who, if they were allowed to receive more often, would literally spend their whole day attending Mass after Mass in order to do so, to the neglect of everything else they need to do in their lives.
 
Zarozinnia said:
Hi everyone,

I’m Episcopalian, so I don’t know the answer to this question. A friend of mine is interested in possibly becoming Catholic. I told him about the RCIA. He is divorced…I thought I heard once that divorced people cannot take Communion in the Catholic Church. Is this correct or incorrect? Thank you very much.

Another question: I thought I once heard that one cannot take Communion more than once a day. Is that true? If so, why is that? Thanks again.
Click to expand...
A divorced but not remarried person has full access to the Sacraments. A person can receive twice a day if the second time is within a Mass. Three times under certain special circumstances.
 
Tantum_ergo said:
The ‘divorce’ does not put you into mortal sin per se
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I’m not so sure… The Catechism sounds like Divorce does indeed put one into mortal sin unless it was forced upon them against their will…
Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law…

Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation…

Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society…

It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.
 
I may be wrong, but the person isn’t Catholic yet, and he has civil divorce and I ASSUMED his marriage wasn’t blessed in the church. How about this?
 
Timidity said:
I’m not so sure… The Catechism sounds like Divorce does indeed put one into mortal sin unless it was forced upon them against their will…
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It may be that the act of divorcing puts someone into a state of mortal sin. But even if that is the case, mortal sins can be confessed and forgiven without the parties having to remarry.

It has already been noted that the divorced person must be free from mortal sin.
 
SMHW said:
It may be that the act of divorcing puts someone into a state of mortal sin. But even if that is the case, mortal sins can be confessed and forgiven without the parties having to remarry.
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The Catechism (2383) also permits couples to separate or even divorce when there are serious and valid reasons for doing so. The civil divorce is just viewed as a legal way of accomplishing this, so as to iron out the conjugal property, custody and other legal issues. The Catechism explicitly states that this is not a moral offense.

Clearly, what the Catechism refers to is malicious divorce; i.e. for no good reason, and especially for the intention of “marrying” someone else.
 
porthos11 said:
The Catechism (2383) also permits couples to separate or even divorce when there are serious and valid reasons for doing so. The civil divorce is just viewed as a legal way of accomplishing this, so as to iron out the conjugal property, custody and other legal issues. The Catechism explicitly states that this is not a moral offense.

Clearly, what the Catechism refers to is malicious divorce; i.e. for no good reason, and especially for the intention of “marrying” someone else.
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Let say, if a husband divorced her wife because he wanted to get married again with other woman, the wife is still in the state of grace right? So she can receive communion?
 
vince2paul said:
Let say, if a husband divorced her wife because he wanted to get married again with other woman, the wife is still in the state of grace right? So she can receive communion?
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Yes, because she was the victim of an unjust divorce. The Catechism here is explicit in the wife’s innocence.
 
porthos11 said:
…Clearly, what the Catechism refers to is malicious divorce; i.e. for no good reason, and especially for the intention of “marrying” someone else.
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Exactly. But even in the case of a malicious divorce, the perpetrator can receive communion if he/she takes steps to repent (including living chastely) and receives absolution. Restoration of the marriage, while wonderful if possible, is not required and in some cases would probably not be prudent.
 
Timidity said:
I’m not so sure… The Catechism sounds like Divorce does indeed put one into mortal sin unless it was forced upon them against their will…
Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law…

Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation…

Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society…

It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.
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It’s not quite that cut-and-dried. Also from the catechism:

2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law. 177

If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense.
The argument could also be made that “one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage” could mean one spouse leaves (or won’t stop abusing drugs, etc) and the other spouse is forced to file civil divorce for their own (or the childrens’) protection.
 
CCC 1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ - “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” the Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God’s law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. **Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence. **
 
thistle said:
CCC 1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ - “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” the Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God’s law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence.
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Yes, in the case of remarriage without the prior bond being declared null. But we think the OP was asking about divorce without any subsequent remarriage.
 
Please forgive my breaking in here, but I just noticed the subject of your post, and would like to make a correction: Catholics dont “take” the body and blood of Christ. We “receive” it.

To 'take" it would be an aggresive action, and effectively put us (the creatures), in a nonsubmissive position. Aside from that it would be very rude.

God bless,

Anna
 
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