Eucharist sin (I think)

[hansard]

I’m now 46.
When I was about 12, I visited some cousins in the city. I went to the local Catholic church for Sunday mass, and took my Protestant cousin with me. He wanted to come.

So, Communion time came and I joined the procession. My cousin said, “Can I come?”

I said, “Okay. Just put your left hand over your right like this. When the priest says ‘The body of Christ’, say ‘amen’. Put it in your mouth, swallow it, come back and kneel down.”

My cousin carried out the procedure. He later joked about the taste of it and had a general dig at the “bloody Catholics”. I didn’t mind. I was just a kid and didn’t know the real seriousness of this. My mother was furious when I told her about it later.

So, okay, I suppose it was a sin to be complicit in such an abuse of the sacrament.
Is it worth confessing now, 34 years later? Knowing my local priest, I imagine he would dismiss it as immaterial.

The sins of childhood, especially sins of ignorance, surely cannot count as very iniquitous. There must be “bigger fish to fry.”

 

[Joan_M]

You were 12. Did you know that only Catholics in a state of grace are allowed to receive Communion? The only way you can commit a sin is to (a) know that it is a sin and (b) to do it anyway (venial). The only way to commit a mortal sin is (a), (b) and (c) to know that it is a sin of grave matter. You probably did not commit any sin.

At the same time, if it is bothering you, bring it up in confession.

 

[IrishAm]

I’m now 46.
I was just a kid and didn’t know the real seriousness of this. My mother was furious when I told her about it later.

Mortal sinfulness would require you to know the seriousness. Good for your mom, by the way; she taught you well and now you know . . .

 

[Hodegetria]

I’m 51 now and tried the same thing with my friend at about the same age-- and I’d been in Catholic grade school for a couple years. Luckily my dad grabbed my friend back and made her sit there instead of going up. My family STILL talks about the incident today… Just goes to show you how poorly catechised we were. Today I teach 2nd graders at CCD and I am making sure they know exactly what the Body of Christ is and how sacred it is.

Anyway, you didn’t know, so it wasn’t a mortal sin. That being said, I’d still confess it if it will help you feel better.