You guys must have
really long homilies.
Around here, at a daily Mass, Holy Communion usually occurs after 15 minutes, and if it’s a regular Sunday Mass, it’s somewhere between half an hour and 45 minutes.
That’s what
I was thinking
At any Mass I’ve ever been to, even if the Mass lasts for about an hour (as they do at the local parish) the odds are good that part of that hour will be the post-communion moments of prayer and the priest’s last few words afterwards, followed by the closing prayers, followed by the hymn and recessional. Thus one would have to have eaten at least fifteen minutes before the Mass in order to be sure (and even then, unless they were timing it, it’s iffy) that they hadn’t eaten in an hour when Communion time comes.
I am not trying to excuse my morning behavior…however I have a chronic health problem and there are mornings that I wake up in a complete fog from not having slept well that night. Knowing I am not clear headed nor alert I do take that extra sip of coffee before heading out the door for daily Mass. Now that I know that is a mortal sin I will refrain from receiving Holy Communion.
If it’s possible at all, try going to the church earlier, so you’ll have maybe half an hour to pray and read the scriptures; unless the church is right next door, that’ll add, besides the time dedicated to prayer and reading, the time (perhaps brief) that it takes to get there. All this will automatically give you a half-hour to forty-five minute buffer as
well as enrich your prayer life. In other words, aside from the wonderful advantage of having spent time before the blessed sacrament in the tabernacle, it will be more likely that a full hour will have passed by the time you go to receive Communion if you eat or drink anything at the last minute before leaving home. Check the time just before Communion to make sure (at least the first time: Some Masses may be quite faster than those I’m used to), but once you find a system that works, it may really help.
I am praying that I can understand how that would destroy my relationship with God just as other obvious mortal sins do. That is the part that I will pray hard to fully understand…because right now I do not see them (one hour fast vs. murder/abortion/stealing etc…) as equally mortally sinful acts.
It’s the full intent of it, I believe. Someone who consciously refuses to observe the fast is being obstinate. Even the smallest and most venial of sins can become mortal, I believe, if they are done in deliberate or “I don’t care” defiance. Because such proud or careless defiance in itself is grave, it seems to me. If I understand correctly, the length of the fast would be relative if not for the Church discipline (it used to be since the previous midnight that Catholics had to fast before receiving Communion) but the act of casting aside a Church discipline is Grave. There’s something in the Scriptures that says something along the lines of “He who is faithful with little will be entrusted with much.” One must be faithful with “little,” the disciplines of the Church even though they are subject to change, before one can be entrusted with “much,” in this case the awesome privelege of receiving our Lord in the Eucharist. Also, consider that to deliberately cast the One Hour Fast to the wind is to question the legitimate authority that Christ gave the Church, since it is She who prescribes the Fast. Such would be an indirect attack on Christ’s authority, if there are any questions remaining about the gravity of such an act if deliberately done.
Now, the very fact that you care enough to ask this question makes me believe you are not deliberately or carelessly doing this, which means in the past you have probably not sinned mortally with this (it never hurts to bring it up to confession if you feel inclined, though). You wish to amend this error, and you are right (I believe) to refrain from Communion if you realize “Hey, it hasn’t been an hour since I’ve eaten.” The only exception, if I recall correctly, is in fact if you had to eat for Health reasons. Even without health reasons, however, if you have received communion and
then realize it hadn’t been an hour since you’d eaten, I again do not believe that constitutes deliberate or careless defiance.
I hope this helps!
Peace in Christ,
KindredSoul
Most of the time, the homilies on Sunday are medium length, so it’s about an hour for Mass. We probably have 800-1000 people (which is a rough estimate) at the 9:00am Mass. (The 10:30am Mass - folk mass - is even larger. More kids and teens.)