Holy Eucharist

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ed0268

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Hi

I know of a catholic person who hasn’t gone for sunday mass for a quite long time, but would want to go only if somebody accompanies.

Now according to the church teachings if a person has missed purposely(because of casual attitude) then its a grave sin and should not receive Holy Communion.

So I am a bit confused as to suggests that person to approach the sacrament of confession before receiving Communion, because at the same time the person should not feel discouraged and finally decide not even to go for mass.

Also if I know that something is wrong and not correcting out of love thereby allowing that person to receive Holy communion is wrong on my part.

What do you suggest in such situations.
 
ed0268 said:
Hi

I know of a catholic person who hasn’t gone for sunday mass for a quite long time, but would want to go only if somebody accompanies.

Now according to the church teachings if a person has missed purposely(because of casual attitude) then its a grave sin and should not receive Holy Communion.

So I am a bit confused as to suggests that person to approach the sacrament of confession before receiving Communion, because at the same time the person should not feel discouraged and finally decide not even to go for mass.

Also if I know that something is wrong and not correcting out of love thereby allowing that person to receive Holy communion is wrong on my part.

What do you suggest in such situations.
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I would not only encourage them to go to Mass, but offer to go with them. As for recieving the Eucharist. I would remind them that as they have not been in a while by a choice to just not go they need to go to confession before recieveing. I would also volunteer to go with them then as well, as I noramlly have somthing that needs to be confessed as well.
 
Hi,

If they cannot make it to confession before the next Mass, I would definetly tell them that they could go up and receive a blessing from the priest during Holy Communion.

I like the last suggestion of going with them to Confession. It really helps to have a friend in line with ya for moral support.

Little One0307
 
Talk to your friend ahead of time, perhaps over dinner or just some coffee. Explain that you would enjoy going to Mass with that person, but that he/she should not receive Communion due to missing Mass purposely in the past. The Church teaches that our Communion is truly the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ, and therefore should not be taken lightly. If a mortal sin is on one’s soul and receives Communion, that person risks bringing condemnation on himself/herself. Reference 1 Corinthians 11: 27-29 (NAB)…
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
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Explain that you wouldn’t want that to happen to your friend, so before receiving Communion your friend must go to Confession. Offer to go to Confession with that person. If he/she doesn’t want to go, that person can still go to Mass…but he/she shouldn’t receive Our Lord in the Eucharist. Explain all that to your friend in a kind, loving manner. After that, it’s up to your friend what he/she chooses to do. Oh, and pray for your friend regardless of the decision he/she makes…
 
Since you mentioned your friend wants to have someone accompany them back to Mass, it would seem to me that you are experiencing two Graces. One, your friend must have said something for you to know the condition expressed and that Grace is your friend’s response to a loving God. The second Grace is your response in this opportunity of witness and catechesis.

A Priest at my Parish liked to repeat frequently in homilies and in conversation that the majority of Catholics returning to the Church come back after a personal invitation. Use this opportunity, like the other responses here, to be a good example and help your friend to come home. Explain with sincere concern what it’s going to take to get back in communion with the Church (in all the senses of the word).

God Bless you both.
Mark
 
Thank you all for your help.

I went with her, last sunday for mass and explained to her why she should not receive Holy Communion and that she needs to go for confession. Although she did not pay heed initially to what I said but during mass she chose not to receive communion. Thanks be to God.
However she is still unwilling to go for confession.

One thing that really shook me is when she said that after waiting for 45 min for mass would I not want to eat that “piece of bread”.

There are so many such youth in the world who are caught up with the “things of the world” that has made Jesus something abstract, and not someone real, who loves them at all times.

Let us all pray for these youth that they may experience the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you and God Bless
 
ed0268 said:
Thank you all for your help.

I went with her, last sunday for mass and explained to her why she should not receive Holy Communion and that she needs to go for confession. Although she did not pay heed initially to what I said but during mass she chose not to receive communion. Thanks be to God.
However she is still unwilling to go for confession.

One thing that really shook me is when she said that after waiting for 45 min for mass would I not want to eat that “piece of bread”.

There are so many such youth in the world who are caught up with the “things of the world” that has made Jesus something abstract, and not someone real, who loves them at all times.

Let us all pray for these youth that they may experience the love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you and God Bless
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Good, thanks for posting that update. I would start praying for her to have the grace to go to Confession. I will pray for her as well.

Praying with you for the youth. They are always foresmost in my prayers too, as they are the future Church.

Little One0307
 
You also need to witness to her what ‘that piece of bread’ really is and share with her why it is so important to you personally to receive Him. Find a good written explanation of the Eucharist to give her to read later too.
 
Little_One0307 said:
Hi,

If they cannot make it to confession before the next Mass,** I would definetly tell them that they could go up and receive a blessing from the priest during Holy Communion.**

I like the last suggestion of going with them to Confession. It really helps to have a friend in line with ya for moral support.

Little One0307
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No. That is wrong. Communion line is for those receiving Communion only. Blessings are not permitted. Everyone gets a blessing just before the end of the Mass.
 
thistle said:
No. That is wrong. Communion line is for those receiving Communion only. Blessings are not permitted. Everyone gets a blessing just before the end of the Mass.
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I don’t see that practice stopping any time soon, in spite of directives to the contrary. Just a little more than a week ago, I attended a Mass where a number of children received their First Communion. The priest actually invited the non-Catholics to come forward for a blessing during Communion.
 
thistle said:
No. That is wrong. Communion line is for those receiving Communion only. Blessings are not permitted. Everyone gets a blessing just before the end of the Mass.
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Funny I have never heard that it is wrong. In fact, I have always been told if one is in sin and cannot take Communion they could go up and cross their arms and receive a blessing. Perhaps I should not have said blessing.

Please link sources such as litrugical norms or something of that nature, because to my knowledge there is nothing forbidding that, unless the Bishops decided to get together in recent times and change things.

If you can provide documents such as these, I will consider changing my practice and my advice, but until then I still stand by my advice.

I will try and look for things on my end.

The last poster mentioned directives, please cite these directives for me. Thanks.

Thanks.

Little One0307
 
Little_One0307 said:
Funny I have never heard that it is wrong. In fact, I have always been told if one is in sin and cannot take Communion they could go up and cross their arms and receive a blessing. Perhaps I should not have said blessing.

Please link sources such as litrugical norms or something of that nature, because to my knowledge there is nothing forbidding that, unless the Bishops decided to get together in recent times and change things.

If you can provide documents such as these, I will consider changing my practice and my advice, but until then I still stand by my advice.

I will try and look for things on my end.

The last poster mentioned directives, please cite these directives for me. Thanks.

Thanks.

Little One0307
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From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments:
  1. The liturgical blessing of the Holy Mass is properly given to each and to all at the conclusion of the Mass, just a few moments subsequent to the distribution of Holy Communion.
  2. Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest (cf. Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; Canon 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18).
**3. Furthermore, the laying on of a hand or hands — which has its own sacramental significance, inappropriate here — by those distributing Holy Communion, in substitution for its reception, is to be explicitly discouraged. **
  1. The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio n. 84, “forbids any pastor, for whatever reason to pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry”. To be feared is that any form of blessing in substitution for communion would give the impression that the divorced and remarried have been returned, in some sense, to the status of Catholics in good standing.
**5. In a similar way, for others who are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in accord with the norm of law, the Church’s discipline has already made clear that they should not approach Holy Communion nor receive a blessing. This would include non-Catholics and those envisaged in can. 915 (i.e., those under the penalty of excommunication or interdict, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin). **
 
Another reason that it isn’t a good idea to advise someone to go up for a blessing at Communion time is that many priests obey the directives and do not do this and your friend could find herself standing there waiting. It could be an awkward situation for her and the priest.
 
thistle said:
From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments:
  1. The liturgical blessing of the Holy Mass is properly given to each and to all at the conclusion of the Mass, just a few moments subsequent to the distribution of Holy Communion.
  2. Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest (cf. Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; Canon 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18).
**3. Furthermore, the laying on of a hand or hands — which has its own sacramental significance, inappropriate here — by those distributing Holy Communion, in substitution for its reception, is to be explicitly discouraged. **
  1. The Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio n. 84, “forbids any pastor, for whatever reason to pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry”. To be feared is that any form of blessing in substitution for communion would give the impression that the divorced and remarried have been returned, in some sense, to the status of Catholics in good standing.
**5. In a similar way, for others who are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in accord with the norm of law, the Church’s discipline has already made clear that they should not approach Holy Communion nor receive a blessing. This would include non-Catholics and those envisaged in can. 915 (i.e., those under the penalty of excommunication or interdict, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin). **
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Hmmm. I am going to be looking into it, thanks for posting. So what do you we do with all those healing Masses? Guess they are out too in light of what is given above.

On the last quote, I need to get the actual Canon that it is implicitly referring to. Nothing in Canon law have I read about it forbidding this practice. I am not saying that I am not willing to change my position on this, but further research and looking stuff up is necessary.

Little One0307
 
Little_One0307 said:
Hmmm. I am going to be looking into it, thanks for posting. So what do you we do with all those healing Masses? Guess they are out too in light of what is given above.

On the last quote, I need to get the actual Canon that it is implicitly referring to. Nothing in Canon law have I read about it forbidding this practice. I am not saying that I am not willing to change my position on this, but further research and looking stuff up is necessary.

Little One0307
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Can. 915 Those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion.
 
thistle said:
Can. 915 Those upon whom the penalty of excommunication or interdict has been imposed or declared, and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to holy communion.
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Thanks very much. God Bless. Have a wonderful weekend.

Did you find out anything about the healing Masses?

Little One0307
 
Little_One0307 said:
Thanks very much. God Bless. Have a wonderful weekend.

Did you find out anything about the healing Masses?

Little One0307
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Sorry I forgot to check on the healing Masses but my feeling is that a Mass is a Mass when it comes to anyone going up in the Communion line for a blessing, i.e. they shouldn’t. However if I find anything I will let you know.
 
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