Eating within 1 hour before Communion

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Hello,

My 9 year old was very hungry before Mass today and I allowed him to eat a snack despite it being within one hour of receiving the Eucharist. I don’t always permit this but today I did. Was allowing this considered sinful by canon law? I did observe this fast for myself.

Thanks!
 
I don’t think strangers on the internet can answer that for you. You may get differing opinions but your own priest is the best authority on the matter.
 
Sbee0 said:
Hello,

My 9 year old was very hungry before Mass today and I allowed him to eat a snack despite it being within one hour of receiving the Eucharist. I don’t always permit this but today I did. Was allowing this considered sinful by canon law? I did observe this fast for myself.

Thanks!
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So he refrained from communion, correct?

It is fine to permit your child to eat if he is hungry. You need to instruct him in proper communion fast, so when you allow him to eat within one hour also instruct him to refrain from the Eucharist.

Talk to your pastor about your situation.
 
There’s no obligation to receive at every mass. We obliged to BE at every Sunday mass. In such a situation best simply not to receive.
 
A person can eat within one hour. They just refrain from Eucharist.
 
Canon Law requires a 1 hour fast. If the child was hungry, he could have eaten something in time to be done an hour before communion. Otherwise the thing to do is for the child to abstain from communion. As children, some of us had a 3 hour fast. I guarantee that we were hungry by the time we got to eat after Mass. Nine is not too young for a child to learn sacrifice either.
 
Sbee0 said:
Hello,

My 9 year old was very hungry before Mass today and I allowed him to eat a snack despite it being within one hour of receiving the Eucharist. I don’t always permit this but today I did. Was allowing this considered sinful by canon law? I did observe this fast for myself.

Thanks!
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So many things to consider in this post.

First, was your action considered sinful by canon law. Canon law does not determine sinfulness of a breech of canon law, it can only tell you what the rule is.

If he did receive within one hour of eating, and if it were a sin, the transgression would not be his, if he was unaware that such an act was sinful.

If it were a sin, it still has to be determined whether the sin was mortal or venial. If it was mortal, Reconciliation is the appropriate act. If it was venial, attendance at the mass and receiving the Eucharist absolved him (or/and you).

Mortal sin requires grave matter (which for the sake of argument lets agree this was), full knowledge (here’s where it gets tricky…he may not have had full knowledge, and I wonder if you had full knowledge if you even had to ask the question), and full consent (difficult call here in that again, if he was following your direction because he didn’t have full knowledge, he could neither have full consent…i.e., you can’t consent to what you don’t know). If any of the three are missing, there was no act of Mortal Sin.

Regardless, don’t torment yourself or him. Instead humble yourself, and praise God, and move forward…recalling today’s Psalm, which reads, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever!”

I’m not down playing the significance of venial sin; rather what I am hoping is you do not despair. Instead, recall the Lord’s capability for giving mercy. Despair is the antithesis of the theological virtue of Hope. Have hope, sister, do not despair.

PEACE AND ALL GOOD!
 
Neofight said:
If he did receive within one hour of eating, and if it were a sin, the transgression would not be his, if he was unaware that such an act was sinful.
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Also, was it certain that it was less than one full hour by a reliable watch? I might be able to find myself to the back of the line hoping a few minutes would tick off before receiving. But as you say, it can get tricky.
 
1ke said:
So he refrained from communion, correct?

It is fine to permit your child to eat if he is hungry. You need to instruct him in proper communion fast, so when you allow him to eat within one hour also instruct him to refrain from the Eucharist.

Talk to your pastor about your situation.
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I like Ike !, he’s right. Talk to your pastor. God Bless, Memaw
 
Sbee0 said:
Hello,

My 9 year old was very hungry before Mass today and I allowed him to eat a snack despite it being within one hour of receiving the Eucharist. I don’t always permit this but today I did. Was allowing this considered sinful by canon law? I did observe this fast for myself.

Thanks!
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A child is not committed to obey these regulations that adults do. At my Orthodox Church which has probably the strictest fasting rules for any Church (the Orthodox Church has a more disciplined fasting schedule than the Catholic Church) the children can have a little snack even during the Liturgy. Children are not required to obey to the letter of the law. They are not responsible as yet. As St. John Bosco said to his young saint St. Dominica in the movie put out by Ignatius Press when the young saint asked his mentor about fasting, St. John Bosco told him fasting is not suited for your young age. Jesus accepts them (the children) without this extra exercise of fasting.
 
chimo said:
A child is not committed to obey these regulations that adults do. At my Orthodox Church which has probably the strictest fasting rules for any Church (the Orthodox Church has a more disciplined fasting schedule than the Catholic Church) the children can have a little snack even during the Liturgy. Children are not required to obey to the letter of the law. They are not responsible as yet. As St. John Bosco said to his young saint St. Dominica in the movie put out by Ignatius Press when the young saint asked his mentor about fasting, St. John Bosco told him fasting is not suited for your young age. Jesus accepts them (the children) without this extra exercise of fasting.
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While children in the Latin Rite are not held to the rules of fasting for penitential days, they’ve always been held to the eucharistic fast. There is no reason a healthy child can’t maintain an 1 hour fast.
 
Phemie said:
While children in the Latin Rite are not held to the rules of fasting for penitential days, they’ve always been held to the eucharistic fast. There is no reason a healthy child can’t maintain an 1 hour fast.
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It is not necessary to obey to the letter every time. Even in the Orthodox Church there is this eucharistic fast that we are taught but you must allow children some leverage if it is not obeyed at certain times. If you want to teach the child about fasting that is Ok but the child deserves some exemption at certain times. That is all what I am saying. It is ok for the child to break the rule at certain times. We have a lot of children to receive the Lord Jesus even from their infancy but there is no requirement for children to avoid Holy Communion even if they had eaten a bit prior to their receiving the Lord Jesus. The requirement in the Catholic Church from the posts I have read seem to believe the child should be exempt from Holy Communion if they did not fast for 1 hour. I don’t know if that is more the posters beliefs or the mainline Catholic Church’s beliefs but it seems to me a heavy sentence to imposed on a child just because they did not follow the discipline which the Church offers. The Orthodox Church is way more stricter on fasting yet they do not seem to be bothered if a child misses fasting.
 
chimo said:
It is not necessary to obey to the letter every time. Even in the Orthodox Church there is this eucharistic fast that we are taught but you must allow children some leverage if it is not obeyed at certain times. If you want to teach the child about fasting that is Ok but the child deserves some exemption at certain times. That is all what I am saying. It is ok for the child to break the rule at certain times. We have a lot of children to receive the Lord Jesus even from their infancy but there is no requirement for children to avoid Holy Communion even if they had eaten a bit prior to their receiving the Lord Jesus. The requirement in the Catholic Church from the posts I have read seem to believe the child should be exempt from Holy Communion if they did not fast for 1 hour. I don’t know if that is more the posters beliefs or the mainline Catholic Church’s beliefs but it seems to me a heavy sentence to imposed on a child just because they did not follow the discipline which the Church offers. The Orthodox Church is way more stricter on fasting yet they do not seem to be bothered if a child misses fasting.
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The major difference is that your children receive Communion from infancy.

Our kids don’t receive until they are 6 or 7 or 8. At that age they are expected to maintain the fast, which is not taxing by any stretch of the imagination.

We were expected to maintain a 3 hour fast back when I first received in 1960 and no exception was made because we were kids. If we got up late we ate after Mass. If you were an early bird, like I was, you could get up and eat breakfast by 7:30 and go to the 10 o’clock Mass, relatively certain that Communion wouldn’t be before 10:30 and you’d be fine to receive. Of course on weekdays when Mass was at 8 a.m. you didn’t have that leisure, so you brought your breakfast with you and ate it at school after Mass.
 
Chimo-

With all due respect, why is it you believe as an Orthodox that you have some capacity to permit Latin Catholics to violate the laws of our Church? You have no such authority, and as 1ke and others have stated, the Church law is what it is. As a parent, I would not expect unreasonable things from my children, but I would not explicitly violate the law of the Church, either, nor teach them (or anyone) that it’s no big deal to do so.
 
Cor_ad_Cor said:
Chimo-

With all due respect, why is it you believe as an Orthodox that you have some capacity to permit Latin Catholics to violate the laws of our Church? You have no such authority, and as 1ke and others have stated, the Church law is what it is. As a parent, I would not expect unreasonable things from my children, but I would not explicitly violate the law of the Church, either, nor teach them (or anyone) that it’s no big deal to do so.
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I do not believe that the child is violating. I have the deepest respect for the Catholic Church. There is no such authority that I am looking for but I think we are dealing with a issue here that is very simple to understand. We should not treat the children as if they are adults. Canon laws seem to be written mainly for adults. I believe in obeying the law of the Church. What is at issue here is how to implement the growth of the children into the life structure of the Church. Perhaps we need to deal with children with a lower latitude so that they may grow into it in time. I do not think one is violating the laws of the Church when you are a child since the child as yet needs to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ not based solely on Church law but more motivated on love and acceptance. This is how children are brought up in their homes and how they must find it in the Church. By the way I never stated that you should teach the child to violate anything. I said give some leeway so that the child even if he or she misses something will know they are still loved. I never said to violate it. i don’t know where you got that from. I am saying try to understand that some leeway is acceptable. I am sure the Lord would accept any child even if the child did not properly prepare themselves.
 
If your child did not receive Holy Communion because he broke the fast, then there is no sin. If he did, then there would be sin for both of you. As to whether any of you actually committed a sin is something only you & your son, and a confessor if necessary, can determine.
 
chimo said:
I do not believe that the child is violating.

I do not think one is violating the laws of the Church when you are a child
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The Latin Church law itself defines who ecclesial laws binds. It is those who have completed seven years (if they have use of reason). The child in question is nine.

From canon law:
*Can. 11 Merely ecclesiastical laws bind those who have been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it, possess the efficient use of reason, and, unless the law expressly provides otherwise, have completed seven years of age.
*

The penitential fasting and abstinence laws do explicitly state a higher age of 18 and 14, respectively:

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

The canons on the Eucharistic fast have no such express provisions for an age other than 7, and therefore children are indeed bound to hold the one hour fast, unless medicine or infirmity dictates otherwise:

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.

That’s not to say that a child cannot be dispensed from the fast if needed. But it is altogether a different thing to say the law doesn’t apply to them. It clearly does.
 
chimo said:
I do not believe that the child is violating. I have the deepest respect for the Catholic Church. There is no such authority that I am looking for but I think we are dealing with a issue here that is very simple to understand. We should not treat the children as if they are adults. Canon laws seem to be written mainly for adults. I believe in obeying the law of the Church. What is at issue here is how to implement the growth of the children into the life structure of the Church. Perhaps we need to deal with children with a lower latitude so that they may grow into it in time. I do not think one is violating the laws of the Church when you are a child since the child as yet needs to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ not based solely on Church law but more motivated on love and acceptance. This is how children are brought up in their homes and how they must find it in the Church. By the way I never stated that you should teach the child to violate anything. I said give some leeway so that the child even if he or she misses something will know they are still loved. I never said to violate it. i don’t know where you got that from. I am saying try to understand that some leeway is acceptable. I am sure the Lord would accept any child even if the child did not properly prepare themselves.
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I understand what you are saying and I agree with you in principle, but the one-hour fast is such a minimal requirement. It basically means that you shouldn’t eat on your way to church. It is a starting point for everyone and is a really good place for the children to start. It is completely possible for all but the very young to accomplish. Each person should be growing toward a better and more meaningful fast prior to the reception of Communion. A child of 7, and certainly 9, can begin the process of understanding this. In my family, the way we do this is to let the child choose. Sometime around 6 or 7, when they ask to eat something just before Church, we just remind them of the requirement to fast and ask them if they are hungry enough to forego Communion this time, or if maybe it can wait until after the liturgy. They almost always choose to wait. It begins to plant the idea that we have to have an awareness of the requirement, and also that it is ok to not receive Communion every time they go to Church. The adults in our family fast from midnight, so as they get older, we encourage them to increase the length of their fast.
 
Phemie said:
While children in the Latin Rite are not held to the rules of fasting for penitential days, they’ve always been held to the eucharistic fast. There is no reason a healthy child can’t maintain an 1 hour fast.
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An exception would be a child with a tendency to hypoglycemia.
 
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