If I have to be in a state of sanctifying grace to receive the Eucharist, and I still choose to receive it whilst in a state of mortal sin, does it mean that I have *not *been in communion with God?
Does my sin cancel out the act of communion? I’m thinking that perhaps the act of receiving Communion is in itself an act of atonement, if the receiver is genuinely penitent.
But what of the sinner who just goes up any-old-how and receives the host (as a matter of habit, perhaps) in a state of carelessness, or worse, fully intending to mock the institution of Communion? In these cases, it can hardly be regarded as a valid communion, any more than an insincere confession is held to be valid.
Any ideas or church teachings (surely there must be a teaching or ten on this topic).