Can I receive communion?

[Nelka]

During Mass on Sunday people were going up for communion, my wife and I with our children were at the back bit of the church. I was about to go up to Communion and my wife was annoyed (firstly I thought wife our daughter who was trying to throw a tantrum although it tirned out to be something about me) and decided to pick up the bag and walk out with her. I left with her and our son although I would of rather stayed at least just for Communion.

Did I commit a sin in leaving?

Thanks.

 

[SonCatcher]

During Mass on Sunday people were going up for communion, my wife and I with our children were at the back bit of the church. I was about to go up to Communion and my wife was annoyed (firstly I thought wife our daughter who was trying to throw a tantrum although it tirned out to be something about me) and decided to pick up the bag and walk out with her. I left with her and our son although I would of rather stayed at least just for Communion.

Did I commit a sin in leaving?

Thanks.

You are not required to receive, just to assist at Mass (bare minimum is from the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist through when the priest takes Communion).

You should work out the family issues so there is no repeat, however. It is impolite (though not a sin) to leave before the priest does.

 

[padrepio_2012]

Let’s begin by seeing the requirements for something to be a mortal sin.

first, there are three requirements for a sin to be a mortal sin. 1. the matter itself must be grave. skipping sunday mass AND reception of the Blessed Sacrament is GRAVE. it doesn’t matter what anyone says, it is grave. if you choose to skip sunday mass or not receive the Blessed Sacrament, you are basically saying your daily life and concerns are more important than God. the only case in which not receiving communion would NOT be a mortal sin is if you already committed a mortal sin, knew you did, and therefore could not receive communion. if you receive communion in a state of mortal sin, this is another mortal sin and a far worse one, the sin of sacrilege. So this would be the only reason to not receive. hopefully though you would go to confession before sunday mass and would receive because the longer you wait to confess a sin, the more numb your conscience becomes to the gravity of it and the less you care.

1. You must know the sin itself is grave. if you didn’t then your freed of this because how could you be held culpable if you did not know? but usually you will know if you committed a mortal sin because God wrote the natural laws on our hearts so we know if it’s a grave sin. plus a feeling of guilt and extreme dread will most likely overcome you
2. you have full consent of will meaning you knew it was wrong but did it anyway. all three of these conditions must be met in order for it to be a mortal sin. if one of them is not met, then it is not a mortal sin but instead is a venial sin. you still should go to confession though if you realized you did commit a mortal sin because this is good. which brings me to my next point:

Was this for Sunday mass? if it was for sunday mass then yes there is sin here because 1. we are required to go to mass every sunday. i know the Church says the bare minimum is once a year but the Church also says we really need to go EVERY sunday. once a year is the bare minimum. every sunday is better. 2.if you know you must go to mass every sunday but you choose to skip mass anyway, it is a grave sin and 3. the whole point of going mass is to receive the Blessed Sacrament and if you did not receive communion, then you missed your sunday obligation to receive communion thus there is sin. also you walked out on Our Lord, which is like just randomly walking out of a guests house if they invited you over to dinner, so it is rude. i will not and cannot condemn you because that is for God only and i am obviously human so i sin as well. but from what i know, i think you need to go to confession. i would highly advise this. of course like i said if you did not know then you have not done anything major but you should still go. Receive Our Lord’s mercy and forgiveness and have peace of mind again. know He loves you very much and wants you to receive Him in communion. Hope this helped and i hope im not to harsh.

 

[SonCatcher]

Careful, padrepio_2012.

We are required to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation (nearly 60 times per year) but are only required to receive Communion once.

 

[thistle]

Let’s begin by seeing the requirements for something to be a mortal sin.

first, there are three requirements for a sin to be a mortal sin. 1. the matter itself must be grave. skipping sunday mass AND reception of the Blessed Sacrament is GRAVE. it doesn’t matter what anyone says, it is grave. if you choose to skip sunday mass or not receive the Blessed Sacrament, you are basically saying your daily life and concerns are more important than God. the only case in which not receiving communion would NOT be a mortal sin is if you already committed a mortal sin, knew you did, and therefore could not receive communion. if you receive communion in a state of mortal sin, this is another mortal sin and a far worse one, the sin of sacrilege. So this would be the only reason to not receive. hopefully though you would go to confession before sunday mass and would receive because the longer you wait to confess a sin, the more numb your conscience becomes to the gravity of it and the less you care.

1. You must know the sin itself is grave. if you didn’t then your freed of this because how could you be held culpable if you did not know? but usually you will know if you committed a mortal sin because God wrote the natural laws on our hearts so we know if it’s a grave sin. plus a feeling of guilt and extreme dread will most likely overcome you
2. you have full consent of will meaning you knew it was wrong but did it anyway. all three of these conditions must be met in order for it to be a mortal sin. if one of them is not met, then it is not a mortal sin but instead is a venial sin. you still should go to confession though if you realized you did commit a mortal sin because this is good. which brings me to my next point:

Was this for Sunday mass? if it was for sunday mass then yes there is sin here because 1. we are required to go to mass every sunday. i know the Church says the bare minimum is once a year but the Church also says we really need to go EVERY sunday. once a year is the bare minimum. every sunday is better. 2.if you know you must go to mass every sunday but you choose to skip mass anyway, it is a grave sin and 3. the whole point of going mass is to receive the Blessed Sacrament and if you did not receive communion, then you missed your sunday obligation to receive communion thus there is sin. also you walked out on Our Lord, which is like just randomly walking out of a guests house if they invited you over to dinner, so it is rude. i will not and cannot condemn you because that is for God only and i am obviously human so i sin as well. but from what i know, i think you need to go to confession. i would highly advise this. of course like i said if you did not know then you have not done anything major but you should still go. Receive Our Lord’s mercy and forgiveness and have peace of mind again. know He loves you very much and wants you to receive Him in communion. Hope this helped and i hope im not to harsh.

Sorry but you are wrong. While it may be disrespectful if you leave Mass early for no good reason it is not a sin.
Secondly, we must fulfill our Sunday obligation which means attending Mass every Sunday (or Saturday evening).
We are obliged to receive Communion at least once a year during the Easter period but we are strongly encouraged to receive it frequently. It is not a requirement to receive Communion every time we are at Mass.

 

[padrepio_2012]

I apologize- i just now caught the part you said about your wife going out of church because she was angry, i didnt understand this at first if this was the case then you are fine because you obviously have to go with your wife especially if she was mad ect. no sin.

but to John and thistle i have to ask, (not trying to fight, just trying to understand) why would one go to mass and not receive? that just sounds strange.

and i was always taught that you are to go to mass every sunday to fulfill your sunday obligation and if you knew you were supposed to go every sunday but you did not go anyway, for selfish reasons, this is a mortal sin. obviously it isn’t if you walk out in the middle of mass, that’s disrespectful yes, but if you did not go on sunday for selfish reasons, this is a mortal sin. and this is because one must receive communion every sunday. my mom always told me to not skip communion because this didn’t fulfill your sunday obligation thus you sinned. and like i said before, why would one not receive? unless you have something come up like nelka did? thank you for your help.

 

[padrepio_2012]

i am also aware that we are required to receive communion only once, but we have our sunday obligation, in which you should have to receive too yes? idk like i said, all my young life i have always been told you have to receive communion every sunday or saturday unless you’re in a state of mortal sin or an issue arises. perhaps it is because i attend a very traditional church where the latin mass is still said? maybe it’s outdated. idk.

 

[Dorothy]

No one is forced to receive the Eucharist every Sunday.

It is between the person and the Lord why they are not receiving, and is none of our business.

They may be in a state of mortal sin and will correct that as soon as possible.

They may be in a state of turmoil about something and could not concentrate on their prayer.

They may have forgotten and grabbed a snack in the car on the way to Mass.

 

[thistle]

I apologize- i just now caught the part you said about your wife going out of church because she was angry, i didnt understand this at first if this was the case then you are fine because you obviously have to go with your wife especially if she was mad ect. no sin.

but to John and thistle i have to ask, (not trying to fight, just trying to understand) why would one go to mass and not receive? that just sounds strange.

and i was always taught that you are to go to mass every sunday to fulfill your sunday obligation and if you knew you were supposed to go every sunday but you did not go anyway, for selfish reasons, this is a mortal sin. obviously it isn’t if you walk out in the middle of mass, that’s disrespectful yes, but if you did not go on sunday for selfish reasons, this is a mortal sin. **and this is because one must receive communion every sunday. **my mom always told me to not skip communion because this didn’t fulfill your sunday obligation thus you sinned. and like i said before, why would one not receive? unless you have something come up like nelka did? thank you for your help.

That is wrong. Nobody MUST receive Communion every Sunday. Fulfilling your Sunday obligation means attending Mass every Sunday (or Saturday evening). It does not mean receiving Communion every Sunday (or Saturday evening).
Fulfilling your Sunday obligation and receiving Communion are separate issues.

Missing Mass on Sundays (or Saturday evenings) without a good reason is a sin of grave matter.
Not receiving Communion is NOT a sin of any kind.

 

[SonCatcher]

but to John and thistle i have to ask, (not trying to fight, just trying to understand) why would one go to mass and not receive? that just sounds strange.

Dorothy already answered this.

and i was always taught that you are to go to mass every sunday to fulfill your sunday obligation and if you knew you were supposed to go every sunday but you did not go anyway, for selfish reasons, this is a mortal sin. obviously it isn’t if you walk out in the middle of mass, that’s disrespectful yes, but if you did not go on sunday for selfish reasons, this is a mortal sin. and this is because one must receive communion every sunday. my mom always told me to not skip communion because this didn’t fulfill your sunday obligation thus you sinned. and like i said before, why would one not receive? unless you have something come up like nelka did? thank you for your help.

Your mother is mistaken, unfortunately. Several decades back, it was actually rather uncommon when laypeople would receive. More recently, the laity are encouraged to receive frequently because of the strength the Christian receives to live the spiritual life. The Mass is consummated, however, when the priest receives. It is not necessary for laity.

 

[padrepio_2012]

Well, thank you very much for revealing this new info to me! i never knew this. i did some talking to other people and they all say the same thing as you. very interesting. i apologize if i sounded harsh or whatever, sometimes i can get carried away in matters concerning the Faith thank you again and God bless!

 

[SonCatcher]

Well, thank you very much for revealing this new info to me! i never knew this. i did some talking to other people and they all say the same thing as you. very interesting. i apologize if i sounded harsh or whatever, sometimes i can get carried away in matters concerning the Faith thank you again and God bless!

It’s especially trying when someone dares to contradict your mother.

Rest assured, I do respect her for trying her best. There have been various challenges in passing on correct catechesis over the millennia, as evidenced by various changes in canon law to help keep the teaching accurate.

On the Eucharist alone, we have had periods when:
leavened bread was required (unleavened was forbidden)
unleavened bread was required (leavened was forbidden)
reception of both species was required for all
reception of only a single specie was required for the laity (only a priest could receive under both kinds)

I am unsure of whether frequency of reception was ever strictly regulated but there have been varying times when frequent reception was uncommon and when it is common.