Communion - arms across

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Last Question today!! I promise!! So as of now, I am unsure if I committed a mortal sin. I won’t be able to go to confession on Saturday, but I will be attending mass on Sunday. My mother always encourages me to go up and receive communion right? So right now I am unsure of mortal sin. Like I did something wrong bc paranoia, long story. I am kinda too embarrassed to explain the situation so I was wondering if I could go up and do the little arm across chest thingy that kids do before they receive the First Communion. Idk, I just feel so weird about the fact of going to church and not receiving, so is it acceptable for a grown up to go and receive like that? Is anything going to happen if I do not receive? Hopefully, I am able to go through with this plan without my anxiety taking over lol.

Also, if there’s no available English speaking church in your area atm, would it be fine to just stop by the church before and after mass hours to say a prayer?
 
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Hi,
I think it would be best for you to do the arms across your chest thing if our can’t confess before Mass just to be safe and avoid committing sacrilege by taking communion in a state of mortal sin,
I’m currently awaiting firs communion in an RCIA kind of situation and this is what I do at all the masses I attend,
You could also just not go up for the blessing and pray in your pew but as you said your Mother would like you to go up,
Stay strong and God bless
 
Labaddy said:
Also, if there’s no available English speaking church in your area atm, would it be fine to just stop by the church before and after mass hours to say a prayer?
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You can attend Mass in any language. It doesn’t have to be in English.
 
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Labaddy said:
I am kinda too embarrassed to explain the situation so I was wondering if I could go up and do the little arm across chest thingy that kids do before they receive the First Communion. Idk, I just feel so weird about the fact of going to church and not receiving, so is it acceptable for a grown up to go and receive like that? Is anything going to happen if I do not receive? Hopefully, I am able to go through with this plan without my anxiety taking over lol.
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I used to do this when I was a younger and thought I might be in mortal sin. (Turns out a lot of the time I wasn’t. My parents taught me that breaking one of the ten commandments in any way was a mortal sin. That is incorrect)

My parents taught us wrong and then would never take us to confession even if we begged ans cried about going to hell, citing that you only have to go once a year while also not taking us even once a year.

So I started doing to gesture you mention instead of recieving communion so that my parents wouldn’t notice compared to me staying in the pew. It worked. They never noticed.

While many point out that there is no reason to recieve a blessing from a lay person (if your church uses them as EMHC’s) I was always grateful that I could leave the pew, cross my arms, and avoid fruitless conversations with my parents.
 
On Sundays your obligation is to to go to Mass. There is no obligation to receive Holy Communion.

If you know yourself to be in a state of mortal sin you must not receive Holy Communion. If you do you commit another mortal sin.
 
One cannot accidentally commit a mortal sin.

One has to commit a grave sin knowing it is sinful and intending the act.

If you are not properly disposed, that means if you are aware of an unconfessed intentional grave sin, then stay in your pew during communion. If your mother says something, politely say “I am not properly disposed to receive communion at this time”.

Call or email your priest to arrange for confession.
 
If I’m not properly disposed to receive I prefer to stay in the pew. Crossing arms to me feels like an invention you’d expect from a Protestant service.
 
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The priest performs a blessing upon the entire congregation at the end of Mass. Going up to the priest for a blessing is redundant and not necessary. One who cannot receive communion should remain in their pew and make an act of spiritual communion instead.

In my opinion this going up for a blessing during communion was invented to make those people who can’t receive feel included.
 
Scott84 said:
In my opinion this going up for a blessing during communion was invented to make those people who can’t receive feel included.
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Well even if it was, what’s wrong with that?

Does someone receiving a blessing in the Communion line reduce your experience at all?
Does it diminish the Real Presence?
Are those who come for a blessing being disrespectful?

On the other hand, does the practice reflect the invitation of Jesus to ‘Come to Me, all that are heavy-laden’?

I would suggest that if your honest answer to the first three points is ‘No’. and your honest answer to the fourth question is ‘Yes’ , then meditation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus is called for.
 
What’s wrong with that? The liturgy should not be changed because people’s feelings might get hurt. The liturgy is supposed to be God centered, not man centered.
 
This old discussion has happened a million times in this forum.
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Receiving a blessing instead of communion Traditional Catholicism
I have a question for the veterans: Back at the parish that I attended RCIA at in my hometown, when going up during communion, I was taught to cross my arms on my chest and place my hands on my shoulders to indicate that I should not receive communion but instead receive a blessing. (I have not been baptized yet.) Now I’m on the other side of the country and attending a new parish for the first time today. I assumed this was standard and now I’m not so sure. When I got to the front, the lad…
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A good article

 
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