Coffee before Mass

[Rejoice_Always]

I looked it up, you’re right! From Wikipedia:

• The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the fifteenth century, in the Sufi monasteries of the Yemen in southern Arabia.[1] From Mocha, coffee spread to Egypt and North Africa,[2] and by the 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia and Turkey. From the Muslim world, coffee drinking spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, and coffee plants were transported by the Dutch to the East Indies and to the Americas.[3]*

And here is the legend about the spread of coffee due to the influence of Pope Clement VIII …

Coffee aficionados often claim that the spread of its popularity is due to Pope Clement VIII’s influence. Being pressured by his advisers to declare coffee the “bitter invention of Satan” because of its popularity among Muslims and it being a sort of antithesis or substitute for wine (which was used in the Eucharist), upon tasting it he instead declared that, “This devil’s drink is so delicious…we should cheat the devil by baptizing it.” The year often cited is 1600. It is not clear whether this is a true story, but it may have been found amusing at the time.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VIII#Coffee

 

[PaladinSword]

Here’s my Sunday morning routine:

a) Get out of bed, shower and dressed
b) Coffee
c) Get children ready…yell at everyone that we’re going to be late…physically push people out the door…wife is usually last out
d) Madly pack the four children into the car…tell everyone yet again that they need to be ready earlier next week…drive to mass…unpack car, head into mass…hopefully before it has started.
e) Resolve to do better…but next week, more or less repeat a) through d) again.

Important note…step b) is crucial in facilitating steps c) and d).

this is totally my family too, but I now longer live with my parents. Now I am early! Whenever I stay with my parents though I know I’m going to have trouble finding a seat. lol

 

[Robert_Sock]

Coffee before Mass can be an excellent way to prepare for Mass through the employment of increased spiritual awareness.

The only downside is having to get up to pee half way through Mass.

 

[PaladinSword]

Coffee before Mass can be an excellent way to prepare for Mass through the employment of increased spiritual awareness.

The only downside is having to get up to pee half way through Mass.

wow

 

[smak_84]

Is it a sin to receive Holy Communion while under the influence of caffeine? Let us presume that the coffee was finished more than an hour before the Communion Rite.

I have a sense that receiving Holy Communion while under the influence of alcohol is sinful, but what about caffeine?

The restriction to fast before receiving Holy Communion comes from Canon Law (it is not something Christ personally required), so you are bound to do only what Canon Law requires. Don’t become over-scrupulous - scrupulosity is a spiritual disease all its own.

Canon Law says this:

“Canon 919: 1. One who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion.”

It says nothing about being under the influence of caffeine, it doesn’t even say anything about being under the influence of alcohol (this would fall more under the question of drunkenness and when drinking too much alcohol moves into becoming grave matter for mortal sin).

So if there is some influence of either, your fine. You’re not violating Canon Law, and therefore it is not sinful.

HOWEVER, it does not say coffee is allowed, either. It says “water and medicine.” Coffee is not medicine, or we would have dosage directions for adults and children on the side of the coffee can

If you are within 5 min or so of the hour, some Canon lawyers may argue that a judgement call may be made saying that you basically fulfilled the requirement (based on the type of law system Canon Law is), but I would lean towards thinking that it won’t kill me if I abstain from the Eucharist just once, because I couldn’t get my day planned well enough (and who cares if people see you not going to Communion?).

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

Ha! This is so funny. I actually do not even enjoy coffee, but I use it medicinally.

Another priest told me it is OK to drink black coffee, but not OK if I add cream and sugar.

I don’t understand the logic behind this, but then I don’t understand the logic behind most Church teachings.

 

[smak_84]

Another priest told me it is OK to drink black coffee, but not OK if I add cream and sugar.

I don’t understand the logic behind this, but then I don’t understand the logic behind most Church teachings.

Most priests are not Canon Lawyers, and sometimes have bad ideas about what they think Canon Law says (which they probably got from being confused themselves). I think the priest was using the rationale that cream and sugar add nutritional value to the coffee (i.e. calories), and therefore now count as “food.” I’ve heard this interpretation before. I don’t know where it comes from, but it doesn’t seem to square with the Canon.

Canon law’s authority stems from the Papacy’s office and the power of the keys (the ancient, near-east symbol of authority - see Isaiah 22:22):

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” - Matthew 16:19

 

[patg]

Coffee before Mass can be an excellent way to prepare for Mass through the employment of increased spiritual awareness.

The only downside is having to get up to pee half way through Mass.

I think it should be required before mass - many of the sermons I’ve heard have been so boring that it’s the only way to stay awake during them.

 

[robertericleech]

Haha, required for the parishioner or the priest? Or maybe both. Having a clock where the celebrant can see it is a good idea too.

We have an elderly weekend assistant priest in our parish…God bless him, but some of his homilies are just…rambling and very hard to follow. Once I had a wicked temptation to yell out ‘THE END!’

 

[andrewstx]

IMHO one can drink black coffee right up the point of communion, that came straight from the lips of my novice master.

Black coffee has no nutrients at all.

OTHO if you add sugar and milk you break your fast.

 

[Spirithound]

The restriction to fast before receiving Holy Communion comes from Canon Law (it is not something Christ personally required), so you are bound to do only what Canon Law requires.

Canon Law says this:

“Canon 919: 1. One who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion.”

It says nothing about being under the influence of caffeine, it doesn’t even say anything about being under the influence of alcohol (this would fall more under the question of drunkenness and when drinking too much alcohol moves into becoming grave matter for mortal sin).

So if there is some influence of either, your fine. You’re not violating Canon Law, and therefore it is not sinful.

That’s a good way of putting it, to differentiate between canon law and the moral law. Thanks for your contribution