Eucharist

[Franjjuliana]

Is it a sin if we don’t follow the old rule of fasting one hour before receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist?

 

[RoryMcKenzie56]

I thought the current rule is one hour. If one deliberately violates the current discipline of the Church it would seem to be sinful to some degree.

But regarding old disciplinary law, no one is bound by the old rules under pain of sin. One can choose to fast and abstain according to what some might think of as the discipline of better times, but it would seem to be a personal choice and not a matter for confession.

 

[LilyM]

Indeed the current rule is one hour. It’s required by Canon Law (the formal law of the Church). Canon 919 to be precise.

I believe it is also one of the Precepts of the Church that one must abide by the rules of fasting (including the Eucharistic Fast before Communion) and abstinence that the Church has set for us.

It’s certainly traditionally been taught that the precepts of the church are binding on the pain of sin, meaning it is a sin if you deliberately fail to fulfil them. They include things like attending Mass on Sundays, adhering to the rules of marriage that the Church lays down and so on. There’s no reason to believe that this is no longer the case - there’s never been any contradictory teaching from the Magisterium.

 

[Writer]

Is it a sin if we don’t follow the old rule of fasting one hour before receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist?

Objectively speaking, it’s a sin. Subjectively, would depend on your intentions.

 

[KarenElissa]

Is it a sin if we don’t follow the old rule of fasting one hour before receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist?

Objectively speaking, it’s a sin. Subjectively, would depend on your intentions.

Umm, did you see the old up there? The old rules are not binding so there would be no sin. The current rule of one hour is binding and would be sinful, assuming the other factors for sin are met.

 

[Breviarylover]

Is it a sin if we don’t follow the old rule of fasting one hour before receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist?

Here is the current rule:

Canon 919

1. One who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion.
2. A priest who celebrates the Most Holy Eucharist two or three times on the same day may take something before the second or third celebration even if the period of one hour does not intervene.
3. Those who are advanced in age or who suffer from any infirmity, as well as those who take care of them, can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have taken something during the previous hour.

From the EWTN library:

1. Fasting for One Hour. By ancient tradition Christians abstain from profane food prior to receiving the sacred food of the Eucharist. Until the pontificate of Pope Pius XII the Eucharistic fast was from midnight. Pope Pius reduced it to three hours, and after Vatican II, Pope Paul VI reduced it to one hour. The current Code of Canon Law states,

Canon 919

1. One who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion.
2. A priest who celebrates the Most Holy Eucharist two or three times on the same day may take something before the second or third celebration even if the period of one hour does not intervene.
3. Those who are advanced in age or who suffer from any infirmity, as well as those who take care of them, can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have taken something during the previous hour.

The Eucharistic fast is before Holy Communion, not the Mass. It is a fast from food and drink, water is alright, as is medicine. The moral theology tradition teaches that to be food it must be a) edible, b) taken by mouth, and c) swallowed. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, candies, breath mints, lozanges and anything that is put into the mouth to be dissolved or chewed meets these conditions once the dissolved contents are swallowed. Chewing gum does not break the fast, but it is disrespectful of the Sacred Liturgy and once the juice is swallowed the fast is broken. The tradition also teaches that the fast is strict - one hour, that is, 60 minutes. Given that until recently the fast was from midnight, this seems very little to ask of Catholics.

1. Devotion and Attention. Given the infinite value of the Lord, it should be evident that we should receive Him with great devotion, attending to our reception of Him and not to other matters. St. Paul states,

1 Corinthians 11:28-29 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

While this certainly applies first and foremost to belief in the Real Presence, it also applies to the practical application of that belief, how we receive Holy Communion. If we had the opportunity to have an intimate meeting with the President or the Pope we would not have our minds, hearts and attention wandering all over the place. How much less ought they to be when receiving Holy Communion. If it is disrespectful to the President or the Pope to ignore them while they are talking to us, how much more serious is it to ignore God when He is giving Himself to us!

Our interior disposition cannot be separated from our exterior disposition. If we go to Communion chatting with our neighbor, or with our hands in our pockets, we are unlikely to have sufficient devotion to receive. A casual posture and behavior bespeaks a casual interior attitude toward something that is holy and deserves our full attention, body and soul. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us,

1387 To prepare for worthy reception of this sacrament, the faithful should observe the fast required in their Church. Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest.

If we do not satisfy the first two conditions (the state of grace and the fast) we may not go to Communion. If we do not satisfy this third one, we ought not go to Communion, unless we correct it by stirring up our fervor. We would receive Our Lord vainly, if we lacked devotion and attention to Him. We could even receive Him sacrilegiously, if we acted as if Holy Communion were NOT Him (1 Cor. 11:29). So, as a matter of morality Catholics must pay attention to their interior and exterior disposition when going to Communion.

 

[bpbasilphx]

\ Is it a sin if we don’t follow the old rule of fasting one hour before receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist?\

**Old rule? Old rule?

The REAL “old rule” was fasting from Midnight–or bed time–until after Communion. Orthodox still observe this.

This got changed in the 1950’s to three hours by Pius XII.

A mere one-hour fast is a MODERN innovation, dating only until the time of Paul VI.**

 

[Franjjuliana]

Thank you all for your responses…I feel duly chastised…deservedly so…Fran

 

[LilyM]

Thank you all for your responses…I feel duly chastised…deservedly so…Fran

No reason to feel chastised, just educated … unless your not knowing of the rule was deliberate.

 

[puzzleannie]

Is it a sin if we don’t follow the old rule of fasting one hour before receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist?

I don’t know if 40 years makes it an old rule, prior to the 60s it was 3 hours, and prior to that, in my early childhood, it was from midnight. Yes it is a sin to deliberately break the fast with the intent to defy the proscription because one is deliberately refusing to approach the Eucharist in the state the Church intends to be properly disposed. It is not a sin if one miscalculates the time, or eats without thinking say a cup of coffee or mint. You asked an honest question, one that others may wonder about too, and were answered, no reason to feel chastized, just trying to help.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

I don’t know if 40 years makes it an old rule, prior to the 60s it was 3 hours, and prior to that, in my early childhood, it was from midnight. Yes it is a sin to deliberately break the fast with the intent to defy the proscription because one is deliberately refusing to approach the Eucharist in the state the Church intends to be properly disposed. It is not a sin if one miscalculates the time, or eats without thinking say a cup of coffee or mint. You asked an honest question, one that others may wonder about too, and were answered, no reason to feel chastized, just trying to help.

If you eat without thinking but then remember before communion that it has been less than an hour, I think you shouldn’t receive. It’s better to be obedient. One time that this happened to me, I asked the priest after mass if he would give me communion. He looked at me like he thought I was stupid for not receiving during mass but he did give me the Eucharist so it was worth being embarrassed. It made me more careful from then on.

Of course, another person’s conscience might permit this. I tend to be pretty lenient with myself so I have to fight against that.

puzzleannie, when I made my first communion the fast was from midnight from food and water! We kids thought going to midnight mass was pretty cool since we got to eat and drink up to the time we left for mass.