Did your priest ask the Easter-only Catholics to refrain from communion?

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Did your priest ask the Easter-only Catholics to refrain from communion?
 
Jenny_Z said:
No, but OH how I wish he would. 😦
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I’ve been attending Our Lady of Sorrows for several months. There were about twice as many people in attendance than usual. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces. I don’t know how many were visitors from out of town and how many were Easter-Only Catholics, but is it our place to judge?
 
George_C said:
I’ve been attending Our Lady of Sorrows for several months. There were about twice as many people in attendance than usual. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces. I don’t know how many were visitors from out of town and how many were Easter-Only Catholics, but is it our place to judge?
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Of course not… but I don’t think the priest mentioning that one shouldn’t receive Communion unless in a state of grace is uncalled for. It’s the truth, and people may need to be reminded of it.
 
thistle said:
How do you know these “Easter” Catholics didn’t go to Confession?
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I don’t, nor would even the priest, but the Easter Catholics would. Let me rephrase the original question for clarity:

Did your priest ask the Easter-only Catholics to refrain from communion if they have not been to confession?
 
Lepanto said:
Did your priest ask the Easter-only Catholics to refrain from communion?
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Our parish priest explains (to our “Protestant brothers and sisters”) the Catholic view of the Eurachrist (the real presence of Christ) and asks that they refrain from partaking, however he encourages them to approach with their arms crossed over their chests so that they can receive a blessing. He also reminds the congregation that anyone in a state of mortal sin should not partake either.

I love the gentle and kind way that he words this because it is non-offensive and encourages everyone to participate.

This is a great question.
 
Maybe a better way to word this would be for the priest to remind everybody that missing Mass without a very good reason is a mortal sin, and one cannot receive the Body and Blood of Christ unless all his mortal sins have been forgiven via the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
 
Yes, he did, by way of inviting them instead to receive a “blessing”. I have never witnessed this before. Even with this option there were many people I had never seen before who did receive communion, so who knows…with so many people coming and going, I should hope this meant that the confessional was very busy over the weekend!
 
Jenny_Z said:
Of course not… but I don’t think the priest mentioning that one shouldn’t receive Communion unless in a state of grace is uncalled for. It’s the truth, and people may need to be reminded of it.
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This is the way it’s handled in my neck of the woods. It is a blanket statement that applies to everyone so no one is singled out. In my experience, priests (around here at least) make an announcement similar to this on holidays like Christmas and Easter just before Mass. i.e. “I just want to remind everyone that only Catholics who are in a state of grace may present themselves for Holy Communion.” or some such statement like that.

I think it’s entirely appropriate especially on days where there are more visitors than usual.
 
dzheremi said:
Yes, he did, by way of inviting them instead to receive a “blessing”. I have never witnessed this before. Even with this option there were many people I had never seen before who did receive communion, so who knows…with so many people coming and going, I should hope this meant that the confessional was very busy over the weekend!
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I don’t know if other parishes do this but all of the parishes in our area (rural Wyoming, Big Horn Basin - about 6 or 7 spreadout towns) have reconciliation service where the priests from all over the Basin go to different churches each night for a week to offer reconciliation to a large number of people. I would assume that a lot of people who attend Easter masses only attend.
 
with so many people coming and going, I should hope this meant that the confessional was very busy over the weekend!
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I’m not exaggerating, I think our priests spent about nine hours total in Holy Week only hearing Confessions. The lines were soooooo long. 👍
 
Shouldn’t this be mentioned throughout the year? What I mean is that many of the Catholics that I speak with do not go to Mass every Sunday. Now whether you hit and miss or go once a year, wouldn’t that require the same advice from the pulpit? There is no clear cut answer on this and proper adult catechesis is severely lacking but I would think that Easter is not the time to separate those who attend every Sunday from those who don’t. If one person comes back to Mass every Sunday because he/she felt welcome then we did good. I know that at weddings and funerals caution is given since it is assumed that some non-Catholics may be in attendance. But on Easter it is assumed that most in attendance are Catholic and no one should feel like a visitor in their own home even if they went away for awhile. For every person who went to Mass today there were probably ten who didn’t.

I am adamant when it comes to the proper reception of the Eucharist. I advocate regular reconciliation and the need to be in the state of grace in order to receive the Eucharist. I totally agree that the congregation should be made aware of their disposition but I do not agree that today should be any different than the rest of the year…teachccd
 
George_C said:
is it our place to judge?
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No, it’s not our place to judge, which is why the priest should make the discipline (and theology) of the Church concerning Communion clear to all those present, so that they can judge for themselves. Rather than have the priest attempt to determine ON HIS OWN who can and cannot receive, the priest tells the whole assembly (in charity) that if they have committed a mortal sin (like purposefully missing Mass) and have not confessed it, they are not to present themselves for Holy Communion.

Judgment avoided.
 
japhy said:
No, it’s not our place to judge, which is why the priest should make the discipline (and theology) of the Church concerning Communion clear to all those present, so that they can judge for themselves. Rather than have the priest attempt to determine ON HIS OWN who can and cannot receive, the priest tells the whole assembly (in charity) that if they have committed a mortal sin (like purposefully missing Mass) and have not confessed it, they are not to present themselves for Holy Communion.

Judgment avoided.
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My contention is that Easter should not be the time to make anyone not feel welcomed. If regular warnings were given during the year for those who miss Mass, or those couples who contracept or cohabitate or the various many serious sins that we all commit, then it would be a serious and valid attempt at making sure that all were aware of the requirements to receive the Eucharist. I could not agree more that this does need to be said since I see so many going to Communion every Sunday and the lines for Reconciliation not so long every Saturday.

We are all Catholic by our baptism. Some of us sin by the various grave situations outside of missing Mass and some sin by missing Mass. Those of us who attend Mass every Sunday are not more righteous than those who don’t. We need to look at ourselves today and reflect on what we need to do to change so that we may be better disposed to receive the Eucharist next time. I frequent the sacraments regularly and I know that I have a lifetime way to go to understand how much my sins offend God. We are all “Easter-only” Catholics when it comes to our unworthiness to receive the Eucharist.

So, yes, I totally agree that the congregation needs to be informed and better catechized but I don’t think that Easter should be the time singled out for such an announcement…God Bless…teachccd
 
teachccd said:
My contention is that Easter should not be the time to make anyone not feel welcomed. If regular warnings were given during the year for those who miss Mass, or those couples who contracept or cohabitate or the various many serious sins that we all commit, then it would be a serious and valid attempt at making sure that all were aware of the requirements to receive the Eucharist. I could not agree more that this does need to be said since I see so many going to Communion every Sunday and the lines for Reconciliation not so long every Saturday.
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But if there is no warning on Easter itself than the Easter/Christmas-only Catholics will never hear it.

Also, a little off topic, but is cohabitation a mortal sin if no sex is involved?
 
IrishYanksFan said:
Also, a little off topic, but is cohabitation a mortal sin if no sex is involved?
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Yes, because it is creating the occasion for sin. It’s been in every Examination of Conscience I’ve ever read. I’m sure someone else can expand further.
 
I absolutely agree with the notion that the reminder not to receive if you are not reconciled to the Church should be made explicit at EVERY MASS. I myself have gone to Mass more times than I care to admit knowing full well that I could not receive…and each time I didn’t receive! I figure I can at least account for myself, but I really would think it a good thing for all if this were to become a reality of our every day Catholic lives rather than just a reminder for those who are maybe less than observant Mass-goers for whatever reason.
 
IrishYanksFan said:
But if there is no warning on Easter itself than the Easter/Christmas-only Catholics will never hear it.

Also, a little off topic, but is cohabitation a mortal sin if no sex is involved?
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Just like those who never hear it all year? I agree…👍

Cohabitation can create scandal and bad example therefore it should be avoided even if there is no sex involved. This should be taken up with a priest for specifics…teachccd 🙂
 
I think there are times to pick your battles. Encouraging constant attendance on Easter is important; I think the priest ought to deliver that. Unfortunately, if someone is an “Easter-only Catholic”, they are likely to take such a statement the wrong way.

If you jerk too hard on the reel, you lose the fish; the priest on Easter has to walk a very fine line between trying to pull in all the Easter only Catholics and not coming down so hard that they stop coming even on Easter.
 
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