Eating Before Communion

[MissManda]

I found this old topic (No eating before communion - true or false?) while searching on my question but it didn’t quite answer it so I’m turning to you again.

It is my understanding that one doesn’t eat or drink anything at least 1 hour before communion, the exceptions being water and medication. (If I’m wrong in this understanding, please do correct me).

What is one to do if you have to take medication with food? I have to take a medication each morning with food, otherwise it will make me ill. Is there an exception for medications like this? Should I (when the time comes I can receive communion), and others like me, simply make sure to wake up earlier to get a small bite in with our medications?

(Sorry for what must be yet another silly question by MissManda!)

 

[Phemie]

I found this old topic (No eating before communion - true or false?) while searching on my question but it didn’t quite answer it so I’m turning to you again.

It is my understanding that one doesn’t eat or drink anything at least 1 hour before communion, the exceptions being water and medication. (If I’m wrong in this understanding, please do correct me).

What is one to do if you have to take medication with food? I have to take a medication each morning with food, otherwise it will make me ill. Is there an exception for medications like this? Should I (when the time comes I can receive communion), and others like me, simply make sure to wake up earlier to get a small bite in with our medications?

(Sorry for what must be yet another silly question by MissManda!)

If you must take your meds at a certain time and you must take them with food – as some medications require you to do – then it is OK to go to Communion if that’s what you have to do.

That said, it’s no food for one hour before Communion, not one hour before Mass. I would think that from the time you leave your house to the time you go up for Communion it’s at least an hour unless Mass is very quick and you live really close to the church.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

If one must take food with a medication or for a medical reason, e.g. diabetes, then it falls under the exception for medication.

 

[Memaw]

I found this old topic (No eating before communion - true or false?) while searching on my question but it didn’t quite answer it so I’m turning to you again.

It is my understanding that one doesn’t eat or drink anything at least 1 hour before communion, the exceptions being water and medication. (If I’m wrong in this understanding, please do correct me).

What is one to do if you have to take medication with food? I have to take a medication each morning with food, otherwise it will make me ill. Is there an exception for medications like this? Should I (when the time comes I can receive communion), and others like me, simply make sure to wake up earlier to get a small bite in with our medications?

(Sorry for what must be yet another silly question by MissManda!)

This is something I think you should talk to your priest about. If necessary, he could give you a dispensation from fasting. Personally I don’t think one hour fasting is asking to much of us, unless one is really sick or elderly. I am diabetic and have no problem fasting. When I have a Dr. appointment I have to fast from midnight on. I go to daily Mass and get up early enough to eat a light breakfast and take my meds in plenty of time to fast an hour. God Bless, Memaw

 

[MonikaBarbara]

I think that waking up earlier to get a bite in with your medications is the best option. In my opinion, nobody should eat within an hour of communion unless they would faint or something equally bad would occur.

 

[Memaw]

I think that waking up earlier to get a bite in with your medications is the best option. In my opinion, nobody should eat within an hour of communion unless they would faint or something equally bad would occur.

I never heard of anyone fainting because they didn’t eat for a couple hours. Getting up early enough to eat something is the answer!. God Bless, Memaw

 

[UnumCorpus]

I never heard of anyone fainting because they didn’t eat for a couple hours. Getting up early enough to eat something is the answer!. God Bless, Memaw

Actually yes, that can happen with type 1 diabetics. I have type 1 diabetes, and sometimes my blood glucose levels drop during Mass. Sometimes I may not have eaten enough for breakfast or I may have taken too much insulin. Mistakes and miscalculations like this can happen. Sometimes my blood glucose levels may drop due to other unforeseen reasons. I have to walk to church as I cannot drive in the country I’m currently living in, so that could affect things as well.

In cases like this, then one could definitely faint if they do not eat or drink something right away. I have seen it happen, even in cases where the diabetic in question had eaten only one hour before.

I always keep juice or glucose tablets with me. I try to avoid taking them within the one hour Communion fast, however sometimes I have no choice. In this case however, the glucose tablets/juice count as medication and thus do not count towards the fast.

 

[Memaw]

Actually yes, that can happen with type 1 diabetics. I have type 1 diabetes, and sometimes my blood glucose levels drop during Mass. Sometimes I may not have eaten enough for breakfast or I may have taken too much insulin. Mistakes and miscalculations like this can happen. Sometimes my blood glucose levels may drop due to other unforeseen reasons. I have to walk to church as I cannot drive in the country I’m currently living in, so that could affect things as well.

In cases like this, then one could definitely faint if they do not eat or drink something right away. I have seen it happen, even in cases where the diabetic in question had eaten only one hour before.

I always keep juice or glucose tablets with me. I try to avoid taking them within the one hour Communion fast, however sometimes I have no choice. In this case however, the glucose tablets/juice count as medication and thus do not count towards the fast.

Yes it counts as medication. You could talk to your priest about getting a dispensation from fasting.
Then if you want to do the best you can on your own that would be up to you, but you would be free of any obligation. Prayers for you !!. God Bless, Memaw

 

[UnumCorpus]

Yes it counts as medication. You could talk to your priest about getting a dispensation from fasting.
Then if you want to do the best you can on your own that would be up to you, but you would be free of any obligation. Prayers for you !!. God Bless, Memaw

I’ve never actually thought about getting a dispensation before. That sounds like a good idea.

Thank you for your prayers, Memaw.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

I never heard of anyone fainting because they didn’t eat for a couple hours. Getting up early enough to eat something is the answer!. God Bless, Memaw

I came pretty close when I had severe hyperthyroidism. I couldn’t make the communion fast without having sugar water to keep my blood sugar levels up. I asked my priest about the communion fast and was told it was permissible to drink sugar water and fruit juice, but not solid food.

 

[Elizium23]

I came pretty close when I had severe hyperthyroidism. I couldn’t make the communion fast without having sugar water to keep my blood sugar levels up. I asked my priest about the communion fast and was told it was permissible to drink sugar water and fruit juice, but not solid food.

It is permissible for you to drink sugar water and fruit juice, but these substances break the Communion fast for the rest of us.

 

[maryjk]

I never heard of anyone fainting because they didn’t eat for a couple hours. Getting up early enough to eat something is the answer!.

I’ve fainted or passed out at least twice, due to low blood sugar. Once I ended up at the hospital because the people that found me didn’t know what was wrong. The second time, my husband put sugar in my mouth.

Just because you have never heard of it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

 

[InThePew]

If you need to take you medication with food within the 1 hour fast period then so be it. The purpose of the fast is to help us to prepare spiritually for receiving the eucharist but an overly scrupulous approach (especially to the point where you make yourself ill) kind of defeats the purpose by doing more harm than good! The sabbath (or in this case, the mass) was made for man and not man for the sabbath. By all means however, feel free to ask your priest for a formal dispensation.

 

[O_Lumen]

I never heard of anyone fainting because they didn’t eat for a couple hours. Getting up early enough to eat something is the answer!. God Bless, Memaw

Quite agreed!

If it’s difficult getting up a little earlier, just offer it up to God in reparation for all of the thousands and thousands of souls who regularly commit sacrilege by receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin.

 

[Joannm]

I never heard of anyone fainting because they didn’t eat for a couple hours. Getting up early enough to eat something is the answer!. God Bless, Memaw

It happened to me several times as a child when the fast was 3 hours and there was no AC in the Church. The nuns used to make me sit on the aisle in case I fainted.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

It is permissible for you to drink sugar water and fruit juice, but these substances break the Communion fast for the rest of us.

Yes, I know. The point I was making is that some people do faint if they don’t eat very frequently. When your metabolism is through the roof, fruit juice and sugar water don’t keep your blood sugar levels up for very long. They work to spike it in an emergency until you can digest solid food. Whioe getting the run around from doctors befor being diagnosed, I had to keep a box of OJ and an apple in my purse for emergencies.

 

[Memaw]

Yes, I know. The point I was making is that some people do faint if they don’t eat very frequently. When your metabolism is through the roof, fruit juice and sugar water don’t keep your blood sugar levels up for very long. They work to spike it in an emergency until you can digest solid food. Whioe getting the run around from doctors befor being diagnosed, I had to keep a box of OJ and an apple in my purse for emergencies.

As long as we don’t have a health problem we are responsible to fast one hour before Holy Communion. If that means we need to get up a little earlier to eat in time for the fast, then that is what is expected of us. I remember when we used to have to fast from midnight on. Now that was a sacrifice compared to today. So we shouldn’t complain or make excuses for having to fast one hour. God Bless, Memaw