Communion at least once a year - question

[Monica4316]

Hello,

I’m just wondering about something. I read that one of the precepts of the Church (Latin rite) is to receive Communion at least once a year during Easter season. Is it the same in the Eastern rites, and also regarding the Eastern season?

thanks

 

[sllhouette]

You should receive communion as often as you can. If this precept needs to be applied to someone then there are much deeper issues in the persons life. Unless of course the person for some reason physically can’t in which case they should do their best to make sure that they overcome amazing odds to get to mass AT LEAST once a year.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

It is a disciplinary, not a divine, law in the Western Church. If the Eastern Churches have it, it would be in a form to fit their particular needs/problems. It was adopted in the West to counter some practices of avoiding Communion. I think one group was promoting the idea that fasting from Communion was a meritorious act of penance. **

 

[Alexander_Roman]

Traditionally in the Byzantine East one went to confession and Communion once in each of the four annual fasts (but twice during Lent or the Great Fast).

As said, it is good to go as often as possible - with the proper preparation and dispositions of course.

Who was it who wrote, “Why, O Christian, do you pray ‘give us this day our daily Bread’ when you only go to Communion once a year?”

Alex

 

[Monica4316]

Thanks for the replies

Of course, I agree that frequent Communion is best.

 

[Monica4316]

It is a disciplinary, not a divine, law in the Western Church. If the Eastern Churches have it, it would be in a form to fit their particular needs/problems. It was adopted in the West to counter some practices of avoiding Communion. I think one group was promoting the idea that fasting from Communion was a meritorious act of penance. **

maybe you’re refering to the heresy of Jansenism? I don’t know if they saw it as a penance, but they didn’t encourage frequent Communion. The Church does though

 

[Vico]

Hello,

I’m just wondering about something. I read that one of the precepts of the Church (Latin rite) is to receive Communion at least once a year during Easter season. Is it the same in the Eastern rites, and also regarding the Eastern season?

thanks

Eastern Canons

CCEO Canon 708
The local hierarchs and the pastors are to see that with every diligence the Christian faithful are instructed concerning the obligation of receiving the Divine Eucharist in danger of death and also at those times which are established by a most praiseworthy custom or by particular law of their own Church sui iuris, especially at Easter time, during which Christ handed down the eucharistic mystery.

CCEO Canon 881

1. The Christian faithful are bound by the obligation to participate on Sundays and feast days in the Divine Liturgy, or according to the prescriptions or legitimate customs of their own Church sui iuris, in the celebration of the divine praises.
2. In order for the Christian faithful to fulfill this obligation more easily, the available time runs from the evening of the vigil until the end of the Sunday or feast day.
3. The Christian faithful are strongly recommended to receive the Divine Eucharist on these days and indeed more frequently, even daily.
4. The Christian faithful should abstain from those labors or business matters which impede the worship to be rendered to God, the joy which is proper to the Lord’s day, or to the proper relaxation of mind and body.

 

[Nine_Two]

The former practice in the East was to go four times a year, in the last century the ancient practice of Communion as often as possible has been revived.

 

[Monica4316]

Thanks! I remember an Orthodox canon was mentioned somewhere, about how if a person doesn’t receive Communion for longer than 2 weeks, they’re excommunicated… is that true? Can any of the Orthodox comment on that?

Is it true for Eastern Catholics too?

If an Eastern Catholic doesn’t recieve Communion for several years, hypothetically speaking, or let’s say several months and didn’t receive on Easter, do they just go to Confession or are they somehow excommunicated?

 

[joanofarc2008]

This comes from the days when Eucharist was not always offered or available to everyone and Confession was not something that was attended regularly. In order to seek out Confession to receive worthily was not the simple process that it is today.

 

[Vico]

Hello,

I’m just wondering about something. I read that one of the precepts of the Church (Latin rite) is to receive Communion at least once a year during Easter season. Is it the same in the Eastern rites, and also regarding the Eastern season?

thanks

No. The eastern canons (CCEO) have this instead:
Canon 719

Anyone who is aware of serious sin is to receive the sacrament of penance as soon as possible; it is strongly recommended to all the Christian faithful that they receive this sacrament frequently especially during the times of fasts and penance observed in their own Church sui iuris.

 

[Vico]

In the two posts I made one is about reception of communion and the other is annual confession, both of which have a different sacramental discipline in the eastern Catholic churches from the Latin Catholic Church. People have regarded these together as easter duty, for example:
Easter Duty

       Definition: "The  			obligation to receive Holy Communion at least at Easter  			time......Annual confession is usually made at the same time" (Definition from  			A Catholic Dictionary, 1951)
		
		Note the Church also requires one must be in the state of grace (no  			mortal sin) when receiving Holy Communion. This is why the Sacrament  			of Confession is also utilized at the same time.

http://catholicessentials.net/easterduty.htm

 

[Aramis]

Thanks! I remember an Orthodox canon was mentioned somewhere, about how if a person doesn’t receive Communion for longer than 2 weeks, they’re excommunicated… is that true? Can any of the Orthodox comment on that?

That’s the “Lesser Excommunication” which is normally resolved by confession, performing the assigned penance, and then being admitted back to communion following a second confession (and informing the priest of the status of your penance completion).

Most orthodox parishes around here actually are more restrictive - if you haven’t confessed Saturday (or Sunday morning), you are not communed Sunday.

If you’re not attending regularly, many orthodox priests up here (Alaska) will withhold absolution. Then again, most of them have a village parish where they literally know EVERY parishioner on-sight, by name. They can and will ask why you’re not there.

Is it true for Eastern Catholics too?

If an Eastern Catholic doesn’t recieve Communion for several years, hypothetically speaking, or let’s say several months and didn’t receive on Easter, do they just go to Confession or are they somehow excommunicated?

One is barred from the sacraments (excepting confession) by missing confession at least once per year, or more often, if required by one’s church sui iuris. The withholding of absolution for non-reserved sins is forbidden, but one can be absolved and have the penance be non-admission to communion. (I’ve gotten that one.)

There is no requirement to commune in the ECCs, but it is expected that one will choose to do so following absolution and penance.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

T…
Most orthodox parishes around here actually are more restrictive - if you haven’t confessed Saturday (or Sunday morning), you are not communed Sunday.

If you’re not attending regularly, many orthodox priests up here (Alaska) will withhold absolution. Then again, most of them have a village parish where they literally know EVERY parishioner on-sight, by name. They can and will ask why you’re not there.

…

I find that an interesting difference from the Western Church seal of the confessional. As I understand the Western rule, a priest is barred from using any information he receives, including the identity of the penitent, in the confession. *

I usually go face-to-face and often note to the priest that my hearing is poor. Once, a priest carefully specified: “Before we start your confession can you hear my homilies clearly.” After we discussed that he specified: “Now we will start your confession.” It was only later that I realized that he felt that necessary if he was to use the information I gave him re his homilies.

In the West one is free to go to any priest for confession, and is often anonymous [behind the screen]. The priest offering Communion would have no way of knowing whether one had been to confession recently.*

 

[PatrickC]

Thanks! I remember an Orthodox canon was mentioned somewhere, about how if a person doesn’t receive Communion for longer than 2 weeks, they’re excommunicated… is that true? Can any of the Orthodox comment on that?

Is it true for Eastern Catholics too?

If an Eastern Catholic doesn’t recieve Communion for several years, hypothetically speaking, or let’s say several months and didn’t receive on Easter, do they just go to Confession or are they somehow excommunicated?

Its complete nonsense, in my opinion. The Canon States that anyone who is absent from the Divine Liturgy for three consecutive Sundays is excommunicated. The bit about neglecting communion three weeks in a row comes from the belief or assumption that everyone attending liturgy in those days received communion every time. That has never been proven to my satisfaction. If a priest wants to enforce that canon then he may, but it’s hardly binding or generally recognized. Its one of those things that a few people on the Internet picked up on and gets repeated as if it is law by every other Internet theologian.

 

[PatrickC]

I find that an interesting difference from the Western Church seal of the confessional. As I understand the Western rule, a priest is barred from using any information he receives, including the identity of the penitent, in the confession. *

I usually go face-to-face and often note to the priest that my hearing is poor. Once, a priest carefully specified: “Before we start your confession can you hear my homilies clearly.” After we discussed that he specified: “Now we will start your confession.” It was only later that I realized that he felt that necessary if he was to use the information I gave him re his homilies.

In the West one is free to go to any priest for confession, and is often anonymous [behind the screen]. The priest offering Communion would have no way of knowing whether one had been to confession recently.*

In the East you’re also free to go to any priest for confession. It becomes an issue if you do not make it known to your parish priest that you’ve confessed elsewhere. He should know you and know if you’ve been to confession recently, and may deny you communion if he deems fit, assuming that you simply haven’t been to confession in too long a time. I suppose the difference is mainly the your parish priest, the one who regularly comments you, needs to know that you’ve been to confession with him or otherwise to his satisfaction. The priest has a date to protect the sacraments, but more importantly the people from unworthy reception.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

In the East you’re also free to go to any priest for confession. It becomes an issue if you do not make it known to your parish priest that you’ve confessed elsewhere. He should know you and know if you’ve been to confession recently, and may deny you communion if he deems fit, assuming that you simply haven’t been to confession in too long a time. I suppose the difference is mainly the your parish priest, the one who regularly comments you, needs to know that you’ve been to confession with him or otherwise to his satisfaction. The priest has a date to protect the sacraments, but more importantly the people from unworthy reception.

Thanks - Joe K.