If I am unable to receive Communion, can I still go up and get a blessing?

[buc_fan33]

We might likewise ask, “Why not?” Personally, I don’t think of it so much as a blessing, as it is an invitation to a spiritual communion. After all, as you say, it’s the communion line.

 

[Crocus]

Years ago a friend told me her husband (a non-Catholic) asked whether he should go to communion along with her and their children. His thoughts were that he wanted to give a positive example, by sharing communion, rather than remaining in the pew while they went forward.

I suggested to my friend that she explain our understanding of the sacrament as a unity of faith with each other. Instead her husband could request a blessing, and in a way be a witness of the tragedy and sorrow we feel from the separation between Christians.

As yet he has no wish to become Catholic, but he goes to church and receives the communion blessing (an accepted custom in our parish). Whenever I see him I thank God for the respect this man shows for the Catholic Church and for the support to his wife and family.

 

[Reuben_J]

I am also curious as to why people go up in the Communion line for a blessing when the priest blesses EVERYONE at the end of the Mass.

Of course, you got a point there. Also the prctice is comparatively recent.

In parishes where this blessing is given, I do not know of the specific reason for it. I could ask why. My personal opinion is that it allows people who cannot receive Communion to receive personal blessing. So, the question, is the final blessing in the mass not enough?

We are a blessing Church. People comes up to priest, “please bless me Father.” We go for Confession, we say, “please bless me Father.” We ask our parents, “please bless me dad,” “please bless me mum.”

When I was a young parent, my Bishop taught me to make it a habit to bless my children. They would come up to me, offer their foreheads to ask for my blessing before they went to school. Every morning without fail.

Before I proclaim a Bible, I ask for blessing. Befoire I gave a teaching, I ask for a blessing, and people would pray over me.

God’s blessing whom we cannot see being done by humans whom we can see.

Perhaps it is cultural. Perhaps it is just a habit.One thing for certain is that people like to be blessed.

Poor reasoning perhaps but to stop this practice would take a whole lot more, like an official letter or instruction from the Pope, his representives or the Bishops.

Those could be the reason.

 

[Reuben_J]

Of course, we often end our messages with a God bless you.

My little son once told me that’s the difference between Christians and non-Christians. We say God bless, they would say, good day or cheers or regards or best wishes.

My Facebook account would just be simply littered with God bless you.

Probably for people like us, they would find it hard to understand (unless of course if they are expert in the liturgy) if during the mass a priest say they cannot come up for a blessing.

Just a thought.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

I am also curious as to why people go up in the Communion line for a blessing when the priest blesses EVERYONE at the end of the Mass.

For the reason Pope Benedict articulated: “I would like to add another practical suggestion. In many countries it has become customary for persons who are not able to receive communion (for example, the members of other confessions) to approach the altar with their hands folded over their chests, making it clear that they are not receiving the sacrament but are asking for a blessing, which is given to them as a sign of the love of Christ and of the Church. /…/ The fact that this would make possible an intense spiritual communion with the Lord, with his whole Body, with the Church, could be a spiritual experience that would strengthen and help them.”

 

[pianistclare]

You’ve hit upon something: I have no objection to the blessing, indeed every pastor here encourages it.
But it does sort of shoot RCIA in the foot. Few non-Catholics are motivated to seek out classes to become Catholic if you can essentially be no different because they see it as not much different. I have even asked some parents of our children in Formation if they have ever considered converting, and they say," no, because I can be blessed with the host, so there’s no need." This is honestly what they think. Having come from the school of thought that it’s just a symbol, they retain that.

Not disagreeing with the good Fathers here, but it does make me wonder.

Having said that, it’s interesting: I have used the exact same quote from Pope St. John Paul II regarding liturgy in my presentations to the parents of those preparing for First Holy Communion. The people that tend to attend these classes are the Catholic parent, the non-Catholic parent seldom comes with them.

In our parish, the people who come for a blessing do tend to be people in families and RCIA students. When Father mentions it at funerals and weddings, the non-Catholics don’t really approach.

 

[casslean]

But it does sort of shoot RCIA in the foot. Few non-Catholics are motivated to seek out classes to become Catholic if you can essentially be no different because they see it as not much different.

This was not my experience. When I started going forward for a blessing, being near to Jesus and knowing that I was not able to receive him only strengthened my desire for the Eucharist. I was well aware that my experience was not the same as those around me, and desperately longed to be part of their experience. It was an incredibly moving experience the first time I could come forward and put my hands out for the host instead of crossing them over my chest.

 

[exnihilo]

Or you have worse things happen with non Catholics. I know of one who during a funeral went forward. Whether any instruction was offered about who receives communion I don’t know. Whether any instruction was offered about blessings I don’t know. What I do know is that communion time she went up because everyone else was. She was somewhat confused up front but a Host was put into her hand. She for some reason thought she shouldn’t consume. She didn’t. She went back to her pew and not knowing what to do put the Host in her purse.

I would submit that terrible things like this are more likely to occur when everyone goes up whether receiving communion or not.

 

[casslean]

I would submit that terrible things like this are more likely to occur when everyone goes up whether receiving communion or not.

Why? What is the difference between everyone going up, and those who know they cannot receive asking for a blessing and only those who can receive going forward? The issue is people going forward who do not know they cannot receive. Neither giving nor refusing blessings will address this situation.

 

[exnihilo]

The why is for the reason I stated. Someone who doesn’t know what to do is more likely to stay back in the pew if he sees other people doing the same. If he sees everyone going up he is more likely to go up. He is more likely to get caught up in the flow.

 

[casslean]

I think you’re drastically overestimating the number of people going forward for blessings. If I has stayed behind in the pew at my parish (300+ people in a Mass), there would be only a handful of others doing the same. In some Masses, it would have been just me.

If it’s implicit peer pressure you’re concerned about, there aren’t enough people staying back to combat that.

 

[exnihilo]

I never said anything about numbers so I don’t think I’m overestimating anything. I don’t watch to see how many people receive blessings so I don’t know how common it is. As for everyone going forward there might be people who receive communion who shouldn’t. It is very possibly far too many Catholics receive, and thus go forward, who shouldn’t.

My point was about what influence going up for blessings could have. I don’t think that can be dismissed as having no influence. Communion is so important and sacred we should be particularly concerned with protecting it.

 

[casslean]

My point was about what influence going up for blessings could have. I don’t think that can be dismissed as having no influence. Communion is so important and sacred we should be particularly concerned with protecting it.

If you believe it has influence, then you should pay attention to numbers. If 6 people out of 300 receive blessings (I am an EMHC and am often stationed next to the priest, so I am in a position to see), then what is the likely impact of those six people staying in the pew rather than coming forward, at least in relation to the integrity of the Eucharist?

On the flip side, what is the impact for those six people? Will they be fine, or will they feel excluded, unworthy to be at Mass, etc? Will they grow closer to God or further from Him?

 

[exnihilo]

If everyone is going up then that has an influence. If at least one person isn’t then that has an influence. If six don’t go up that has even more of an influence.

If people aren’t ‘fine’ with not going up then they frankly have a problem. They are too sensitive. If they feel excluded then they likewise have a problem. If they feel unworthy then they actually have a right feeling. They are unworthy to receive the sacrament. That doesn’t mean they are lacking in basic dignity or loved by God. If they think that then they have a problem.

Basically I’d say that anyone who has a problem needs counsel and correction. They have erroneous and dangerous ideas. Those ideas shouldn’t be allowed to fester.

I sat in the pew for two years. It didn’t bother me. I would have loved to receive communion. But I understood and respected why I couldn’t.

 

[TC3033]

You’ve hit upon something: I have no objection to the blessing, indeed every pastor here encourages it.
But it does sort of shoot RCIA in the foot. Few non-Catholics are motivated to seek out classes to become Catholic if you can essentially be no different because they see it as not much different. I have even asked some parents of our children in Formation if they have ever considered converting, and they say," no, because I can be blessed with the host, so there’s no need." This is honestly what they think. Having come from the school of thought that it’s just a symbol, they retain that.

Not disagreeing with the good Fathers here, but it does make me wonder.

Having said that, it’s interesting: I have used the exact same quote from Pope St. John Paul II regarding liturgy in my presentations to the parents of those preparing for First Holy Communion. The people that tend to attend these classes are the Catholic parent, the non-Catholic parent seldom comes with them.

In our parish, the people who come for a blessing do tend to be people in families and RCIA students. When Father mentions it at funerals and weddings, the non-Catholics don’t really approach.

I would be one of those non-Catholic parents who didn’t attend any of the first communion workshops that year. I doubt I’ll go next year when #2 has his first communion year too. If it’s something I can’t really share in with my kid(s), I don’t know why I’d go. Wife’s kind of on the same page as me, she didn’t expect I’d go.

One thing I’ve noticed, that I think is strange anyway, I hear that adults need to be better cathecised so they can better explain to non-Catholic family and friends that they’re not welcome to communion. If I remember right, all my in-laws could tell me is “it’s Catholic only”.

Anyway…nowhere in the family faith formation stuff for this year is communion even touched on. I figured that would have been a sure thing.

 

[casslean]

I sat in the pew for two years. It didn’t bother me. I would have loved to receive communion. But I understood and respected why I couldn’t.

I sat in a pew for ten years. I understood why I couldn’t receive Communion and respected that. But I became part of the parish and gained much more from my participation when I started going forward for blessings.

 

[TC3033]

exnihilo:

My point was about what influence going up for blessings could have. I don’t think that can be dismissed as having no influence. Communion is so important and sacred we should be particularly concerned with protecting it.

If you believe it has influence, then you should pay attention to numbers. If 6 people out of 300 receive blessings (I am an EMHC and am often stationed next to the priest, so I am in a position to see), then what is the likely impact of those six people staying in the pew rather than coming forward, at least in relation to the integrity of the Eucharist?

On the flip side, what is the impact for those six people? Will they be fine, or will they feel excluded, unworthy to be at Mass, etc? Will they grow closer to God or further from Him?

That’s basically me whenever I go with my family (I’d change unworthy to unwelcome). If I can, I’ll find an excuse to excuse myself before communion (lately it’s the 15 month old that won’t sit still) rather than being one of the 1 or 2 people of 200 that everybody needs to take a gander at and wonder why they’re not going up.

 

[exnihilo]

I don’t deny that. I am just saying it makes sense to me that communion being for communion might result in greater respect and protection of the Eucharist. Everything we do can have consequences both good and bad.

 

[casslean]

I don’t deny that. I am just saying it makes sense to me that communion being for communion might result in greater respect and protection of the Eucharist. Everything we do can have consequences both good and bad.

I’m afraid I disagree. And in this case, I think the consequences are far more negative from not allowing blessings than from allowing them.

I will say that one of the most tangible effects for me from being told I could go forward for a blessing - I started attending daily Mass. There are usually 15-20 people at daily Mass, and I had been incredibly intimidated to go and be so obviously “different” - like I shouldn’t be there because I wasn’t a “real” Catholic. When I could quietly just be there with everyone else and do nothing to set myself a part, it opened a door for me.

 

[exnihilo]

That’s basically me whenever I go with my family (I’d change unworthy to unwelcome). If I can, I’ll find an excuse to excuse myself before communion (lately it’s the 15 month old that won’t sit still) rather than being one of the 1 or 2 people of 200 that everybody needs to take a gander at and wonder why they’re not going up.

I am not unsympathetic but if you aren’t Catholic then you aren’t welcome to receive. When I was converting I understood that and didn’t have a problem with that. It was easily resolved by committing myself to the Catholic Church. I made myself unwelcome to receive. It was my choice.

If people are wondering why you aren’t going up then that is their problem. If you are assuming people are wondering why you aren’t going up that is your problem. I understand our inclinations to feel a certain way but this is where reason should rule.