fasting before Holy Communion

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kipbecky

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I was taught that we were expected to fast for one hour before Mass, one of my fellow catachists was taught to fast for one hour before receiving Holy Communion, reading the CCC and section 919 of Canon law left it still unclear. Our Pastor says Holy Communion as referred to in the two reference materials is the Holy Communion of the Mass. He further stated that the people at mass wouldn’t be able to predict when the Eucharist would be given, so it is reasonable to fast for at least an hour before the Mass. I would like to be able to present a factual answer.
 
We have always done it one hour before communion.

For a daily mass, communion time could be 15 to 25 minutes after mass starts, so accordingly we fast.

For a Sunday mass it is 35 to 60 minutes after mass starts…

We use this as our guide line.

I will be watching this thread to see if I have been doing it incorrectly.
 
My understanding also is that we are to fast for one hour before receiving Holy Communion. Depending on the Mass (weekday or Sunday) and the priest (long homilies, or short ones), this can be anything from putting down your last coffee 45 minutes before Mass begins, to spitting out your gum just before you rise to hear the Gospel. 😛

In my case, I try to be done eating and drinking about an hour or so before Mass begins, to give myself plenty of leeway.
 
kipbecky said:
I was taught that we were expected to fast for one hour before Mass, one of my fellow catachists was taught to fast for one hour before receiving Holy Communion, reading the CCC and section 919 of Canon law left it still unclear. Our Pastor says Holy Communion as referred to in the two reference materials is the Holy Communion of the Mass. He further stated that the people at mass wouldn’t be able to predict when the Eucharist would be given, so it is reasonable to fast for at least an hour before the Mass. I would like to be able to present a factual answer.
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What is unclear? It states very clearly at least one hour before receiving Communion. How could that be interpreted any other way?

Can. 919 §1 Whoever is to receive the blessed Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from all food and drink, with the sole exception of water and medicine.
 
My family debated this question for a long time before we came to the conclusion that even though it’s technically supposed to be an hour before receiving, we were focused on the wrong thing. We were so busy splitting hairs about when the last morsel of food could go into our mouths that we were forgetting about the whole purpose of the fasting time. So out of respect for Mass and the Eucharist, we’ve given up food/drink for an hour before Mass, made the effort to be more aware of WHY we’re fasting, and made good use of the extra time to prepare spiritually for church.
 
responding to thistle; the reason for the lack of clarity is as follows. In Canon 919 the term Eucharist is used as well as Holy Communion in the same sentence. The writers may have used different terms for a reason. The term Holy Communion can be used to refer to the entire Eucharistic celebration (Mass). Part of my goal is to make sure that I do not lead people by telling them what I think they should do, but by what the Church tells us to do. I do appreciate the dialog from all of the respondents.
 
reply to Marthagreys; thank you for reminding us to keep the right perspective. I am a new Catachist and as such I expect to have a lot of questions presented that I will not be sure of the answers. part of this dialog is resulting from me “practicing”. thank you for the kind response
 
kipbecky said:
responding to thistle; the reason for the lack of clarity is as follows. In Canon 919 the term Eucharist is used as well as Holy Communion in the same sentence. The writers may have used different terms for a reason. The term Holy Communion can be used to refer to the entire Eucharistic celebration (Mass). Part of my goal is to make sure that I do not lead people by telling them what I think they should do, but by what the Church tells us to do. I do appreciate the dialog from all of the respondents.
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That’s not correct. Holy Communion means the Blessed Eucharist.

Also from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Holy Communion. — By Communion is meant the actual reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Ascetic writers speak (a) of a purely sacramental reception; that is, when the Eucharist is received by a person capable indeed of the fruits but wanting in some disposition so that the effects are not produced; (b) of a spiritual reception, that is, by a desire accompanied with sentiments of charity; and (c) of a sacramental and spiritual reception, that is, by those who are in a state of grace and have the necessary dispositions. It is of this kind there is question here. For real reception of the Blessed Eucharist it is required that the sacred species be received into the stomach. For this alone is the eating referred to by our Lord (John, vi, 58). Under the moral aspect will be considered, in reference to Holy Communion: necessity; subject; dispositions. The liturgical aspect will embrace: minister of the sacrament; method of administration.
 
One hour means one hour before receiving Communion…not before attending mass. Hey, when my mom was a kid, it was from midnite…and when I was a kid it was 3 hours.
 
kipbecky said:
responding to thistle; the reason for the lack of clarity is as follows. In Canon 919 the term Eucharist is used as well as Holy Communion in the same sentence. The writers may have used different terms for a reason. The term Holy Communion can be used to refer to the entire Eucharistic celebration (Mass). Part of my goal is to make sure that I do not lead people by telling them what I think they should do, but by what the Church tells us to do. I do appreciate the dialog from all of the respondents.
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You have to remember that we have the “Liturgy of the Word” and the “Liturgy of the Eucharist”. I would understand your point if you were to talk about a fast of 1 hour respect to the beginning of the “Liturgy of the Eucharist”.
 
You might want to check with the USCCB too. As I recall the minimum is 1 hour before communion but different places require more… for example in Japan I know it is more than 1 hour and they also will not eat for 1 hour after communion as well…
 
Thistle; I continue to hear the phrase “Poorly Catachised” to describe my generation. please pardon my errors and be aware that the reason I aked the question is exactly because I do not want to diseminate bad interpretation,or bad previous instruction.

To the other respondents, my grandmother had her own rules that superseded the churches when I was a kid too. Essentially it was nothing before a morning mass but water, and nothing after noon for an evening mass.

One of the people who was listening to the discussion that prompted my original posting said one hour before the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I left that out of the original post for simplification of the dialog.
thank you
 
BlestOne said:
You might want to check with the USCCB too. As I recall the minimum is 1 hour before communion but different places require more… for example in Japan I know it is more than 1 hour and they also will not eat for 1 hour after communion as well…
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Canon Law applies to entire Latin Church, not just here in the USA. The USCCB and the Japanese Bishops follow the same Canon Law. It may be a pious custom (small “t” tradition) in Japan.
 
BlestOne said:
You might want to check with the USCCB too. As I recall the minimum is 1 hour before communion but different places require more… for example in Japan I know it is more than 1 hour and they also will not eat for 1 hour after communion as well…
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Really? Im just curious how you learned that as fasting before the Eucharist isnt a common everyday discussion topic. 🙂
 
marthagreys said:
My family debated this question for a long time before we came to the conclusion that even though it’s technically supposed to be an hour before receiving, we were focused on the wrong thing. We were so busy splitting hairs about when the last morsel of food could go into our mouths that we were forgetting about the whole purpose of the fasting time. So out of respect for Mass and the Eucharist, we’ve given up food/drink for an hour before Mass, made the effort to be more aware of WHY we’re fasting, and made good use of the extra time to prepare spiritually for church.
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That’s a really superb decision, I think. It’s probably exactly what the Holy Spirit wanted.
 
It is, as some people noted, before the reception of Holy Communion. Originally, when the 3 hour Communion fast was introduced, there were two rules: for celebrating priests, it was before Mass, but for laypeople before Holy Communion. Pope Paul VI made the rule same for everyone (priests and laity, before Communion) and reduced it to 1 hour.
 
I’ve understood the part about one hour before receiving for a while. Lately, I’ve started thinking about eating after Mass. Should you wait an hour then also? Out of respect for the Eucharist? Or am I missing something?
 
Hey, when my mom was a kid, it was from midnite…

For the Orthodox it still is (barring medical reasons).
 
Ah, someone beat me to it. I was going to mention the Orthodox fasting tradition, too. It’s from midnight the night before, so there’s no worry about calculating digestion time or anything like that.
Personally, I find it very helpful, since it forces my attention as to why I’m fasting in the first place, i.e. preparing to meet our Lord in the Eucharist. It also helps remind me that Sunday is a day set apart especially for God, and I shouldn’t be doing my “normal” routine before a Divine Liturgy. I’m really “hungering and thirsting after righteousness” by the time I join the Communion line.
 
marthagreys said:
My family debated this question for a long time before we came to the conclusion that even though it’s technically supposed to be an hour before receiving, we were focused on the wrong thing. We were so busy splitting hairs about when the last morsel of food could go into our mouths that we were forgetting about the whole purpose of the fasting time. So out of respect for Mass and the Eucharist, we’ve given up food/drink for an hour before Mass, made the effort to be more aware of WHY we’re fasting, and made good use of the extra time to prepare spiritually for church.
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God Bless you and your family, you have the right attitude and are a great example to all of us. I’m thinking we should fast for an hour afterwards too so we can spend time thanking Our Lord for His awesome Gift.
 
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