Can my Dad Recieve the Eucharist?

[murphdog261]

My dad was baptized and confirmed Catholic - became a lukewarm Catholic for a while - had a heart attack and turned his life around - went into a evangelical church for about three years (although he sometimes went to Mass with me earlier on Sunday - and now he has started to come to Mass more frequently with me over his evangelical church. He says that the evangelical church is not his permanent home, and he is re-looking at the Catholic Church.

He also believes in the Real Presence, and he tells me that he missed the Eucharist so much when he went to the evangelical church, and that he doesn’t listen to what that church has to say about Christ’s body and blood.

Now I’m not sure if he has been participating in the communion at the other church (if that makes a difference), but he has been taking the Body of Christ at the Catholic Mass.

My question is can my Dad partake in the Eucharist? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t follow the 1 hour fast rule consciously, and he doesn’t routinely go to Mass weekly, so there might be a mortal sin issue.

If he cannot, I would still find it extremely disheartening (and difficult) to tell my own father (who believes in Real Presence) that he can no longer do this. I’m guessing he would have to stop eating the bread at the other church, go to confession for any mortal sins, and observe the 1 hour rule.

If this is the case, can anyone confirm my questions?

Thank you and God Bless

Murph

 

[rlg94086]

Well, this isn’t the right forum for this, but I will give my understanding.

He would definitely be required to confess before receiving, and I am pretty sure he would need to stop participating in the non-Catholic services. Until he is firmly recommitted himself to the Catholic Church, he should probably refrain from the receiving.

The best thing to do is ask him “hey Dad, did you go to confession before you started receiving the Eucharist again?” If he says no, I would tell him that you are sure that he was supposed to and should see a priest. At that point, count on the priest to give him proper guidance in the confessional.

Pax,
Robert

My dad was baptized and confirmed Catholic - became a lukewarm Catholic for a while - had a heart attack and turned his life around - went into a evangelical church for about three years (although he sometimes went to Mass with me earlier on Sunday - and now he has started to come to Mass more frequently with me over his evangelical church. He says that the evangelical church is not his permanent home, and he is re-looking at the Catholic Church.

He also believes in the Real Presence, and he tells me that he missed the Eucharist so much when he went to the evangelical church, and that he doesn’t listen to what that church has to say about Christ’s body and blood.

Now I’m not sure if he has been participating in the communion at the other church (if that makes a difference), but he has been taking the Body of Christ at the Catholic Mass.

My question is can my Dad partake in the Eucharist? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t follow the 1 hour fast rule consciously, and he doesn’t routinely go to Mass weekly, so there might be a mortal sin issue.

If he cannot, I would still find it extremely disheartening (and difficult) to tell my own father (who believes in Real Presence) that he can no longer do this. I’m guessing he would have to stop eating the bread at the other church, go to confession for any mortal sins, and observe the 1 hour rule.

If this is the case, can anyone confirm my questions?

Thank you and God Bless

Murph

 

[Dauphin]

My dad was baptized and confirmed Catholic - became a lukewarm Catholic for a while - had a heart attack and turned his life around - went into a evangelical church for about three years (although he sometimes went to Mass with me earlier on Sunday - and now he has started to come to Mass more frequently with me over his evangelical church. He says that the evangelical church is not his permanent home, and he is re-looking at the Catholic Church.

He also believes in the Real Presence, and he tells me that he missed the Eucharist so much when he went to the evangelical church, and that he doesn’t listen to what that church has to say about Christ’s body and blood.

Now I’m not sure if he has been participating in the communion at the other church (if that makes a difference), but he has been taking the Body of Christ at the Catholic Mass.

My question is can my Dad partake in the Eucharist? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t follow the 1 hour fast rule consciously, and he doesn’t routinely go to Mass weekly, so there might be a mortal sin issue.

If he cannot, I would still find it extremely disheartening (and difficult) to tell my own father (who believes in Real Presence) that he can no longer do this. I’m guessing he would have to stop eating the bread at the other church, go to confession for any mortal sins, and observe the 1 hour rule.

If this is the case, can anyone confirm my questions?

Thank you and God Bless

Murph

Your father must go to Confession and observe (at the bare minimum) a one-hour fast before he is again allowed to receive the Eucharist. He must also refrain from receiving communion at any protestant church.

The Eucharist is not our entitlement. It is a miraculous gift from God. We should treat it as such.

 

[puzzleannie]

My question is can my Dad partake in the Eucharist? I’m pretty sure he doesn’t follow the 1 hour fast rule consciously, and he doesn’t routinely go to Mass weekly, so there might be a mortal sin issue.

he has to chose. if he desires to return to the Catholic Sacraments he has to return to all of them, including confession, and obey the disciplines associated with them. As Paul says, anyone who receives the Body and Blood of the Lord unworthily condemns himself. While he is in this process of choosing, your part is not to criticize, but to answer questions truthfully, support and affirm the good actions he does take, and to make it easy for him to return to confession and Mass (by invitation and modelling).

 

[Excelency]

For what my two cents is worth. It seems that other “churches” offer the communion but it is not the same as the HCC. They do it in more of a ceremonial way and there is no transubstantiation nor is it claimed. They are following their Bible, which tells them to do this.

They have no Holy Eucharist nor do they have any preparation for it. There Communion is more of a wannabe but Christ tells them to do this in memory of him so they do. The Communion has no where near the importance to them as it does to us Catholics.