Do you have to fast one hour before Communion or one hour before mass?

[Bouligny]

I have been fasting one hour before Communion.

 

[porthos11]

It is one hour before Communion, not before Mass.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

You’re correct.

There are a few of us who remember the 3 hour fast before communion and those like my mother who remember fasting from midnight (no wonder to this day she still prefers an early Mass!)

 

[tee_eff_em]

Can. 919 §1. A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least

one hour before holy communion

from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.
§2. A priest who celebrates the Most Holy Eucharist two or three times on the same day can take something before the second or third celebration even if there is less than one hour between them.
§3. The elderly, the infirm, and those who care for them can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have eaten something within the preceding hour.

tee

 

[Aramis]

As an important side note: The fast requirements for the Eastern Catholic Churches vary widely… from following vespers the night before to one hour before liturgy. Further, they are not spelled out in the CCEO (the canon law for the eastern churches) as it is a generalist document.

Canon 713

1. The Divine Eucharist is to be distributed in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, unless a just cause suggests otherwise.
2. Concerning the preparation for participation in the Divine Eucharist through fast, prayers and other works, the Christian faithful are to observe faithfully the norms of the Church sui iuris in which they are enrolled, not only within the territorial boundaries of the same Church, but, inasmuch as it is possible, everywhere.

For Catholics of the Eastern Churches, one is obligated to the fast of one’s own church, even if longer than the Roman Church’s 1 hour pre-communion, even at the Roman Liturgy.

 

[Kielbasi]

For Catholics of the Eastern Churches, one is obligated to the fast of one’s own church, even if longer than the Roman Church’s 1 hour pre-communion, even at the Roman Liturgy.

That goes both ways of course. Latin Rite Catholics are obliged to the fast requirements of their own rite- even if they are receiving the sacrament in an eastern Church.

 

[Aramis]

That goes both ways of course. Latin Rite Catholics are obliged to the fast requirements of their own rite- even if they are receiving the sacrament in an eastern Church.

In some Byzantine Rite churches, the fast is not going to be an issue… not having been to vespers and confession on Saturday might!

 

[JulianN]

I have been fasting one hour before Communion.

When I was a DRE preparing children for first Communion, they were always surprised there was a fast at all. But as I told them, this wasn’t much of a hardship – if you refrain from eating in the car on the way to Mass, you will pretty much cover it!

 

[MusicMan]

Fast an hour before Mass. That way, you’re not playing guessing games with when you had that last donut prior to leaving the house.