Is it normal to go to mass but not receive communion?

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notredame_999

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Im a young man who tries to go confession whenever I commit a mortal sin before receiving communion. However, now it is very hard for me to receive communion even after confession. This is because of all the venial sins I commit during the week including, profanity, laughing at sexual jokes at work with other men, not praying nightly, staring at women below the waist. Is it permissible to refrain from communion not just because of mortal sins but also because of venial sins?

Also I have heard that in some hispanic parishes communion is rarely received by the majority for any given sunday, with the exception of a few times a year. Is this true? I think its good.
 
You are not obligated to receive communion every week. You are obligated to attend mass. You must take communion during Eastertide. We have been encouraged, but not required, to take communion more often. I do think that you might want to reconsider this, though. There is no reason to refrain from communion because of venial sins, and if they bother you that much, you can always just go to confession every week.
 
Prayers during the mass and even the Eucharist itself would free you from venial sin. So if you have not committed any mortal sin you are worthy to receive.
 
notredame_999 said:
Im a young man who tries to go confession whenever I commit a mortal sin before receiving communion. However, now it is very hard for me to receive communion even after confession. This is because of all the venial sins I commit during the week including, profanity, laughing at sexual jokes at work with other men, not praying nightly, staring at women below the waist. Is it permissible to refrain from communion not just because of mortal sins but also because of venial sins?

Also I have heard that in some hispanic parishes communion is rarely received by the majority for any given sunday, with the exception of a few times a year. Is this true? I think its good.
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Receiving the Eucharist is one way to have your venial sins forgiven, so I would encourage you to receive it as much as possible.
 
There is a prayer at the beginning of Mass that removes venial sins, if I remember correctly. Maybe someone can double check me on this. But if I am correct, if you have no Mortal sins before Mass then you are good to go.🙂
 
Prot. N. 700/00/L

Circular Letter
concerning the integrity of the
Sacrament of Penance

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20000630_circolare-sulla-penitenza%20_en.html
  1. It is to be recalled that the “Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins - that is proper to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who are in full communion with the Church.” At the same time, since the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice, whenever the faithful receive the Body and Blood of Christ worthily, they are strengthened in charity, “which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins”. “By the same charity that it enkindles in us, the Eucharist preserves us from future mortal sins.”
 
notredame_999 said:
Also I have heard that in some hispanic parishes communion is rarely received by the majority for any given sunday, with the exception of a few times a year. Is this true? I think its good.
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It is true in Polish communities as well.

The rule is that you must be properly disposed in order to receive. If you don’t feel properly disposed — even if you have fasted and are free from mortal sin ---- such as being angry for just having received a traffic ticket or you had a fight with your spouse, you probably could justify postponing receiving the sacrament until a more appropriate time. You don’t need to receive communion in order to fulfill your Sunday obligation.
 
Sunflake9 said:
There is a prayer at the beginning of Mass that removes venial sins, if I remember correctly. Maybe someone can double check me on this. But if I am correct, if you have no Mortal sins before Mass then you are good to go.🙂
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Really? That is so neat, I did not know that. I hope someone can chime in and give more info on this.🙂
 
ProVobis said:
It is true in Polish communities as well.

The rule is that you must be properly disposed in order to receive. If you don’t feel properly disposed — even if you have fasted and are free from mortal sin ---- such as being angry for just having received a traffic ticket or you had a fight with your spouse, you probably could justify postponing receiving the sacrament until a more appropriate time. You don’t need to receive communion in order to fulfill your Sunday obligation.
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That’s too bad. What a wonderful gift to give up!
 
dailey said:
That’s too bad. What a wonderful gift to give up!
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If you’re not properly disposed, you’re better off not receiving. Not my rules.

Besides, I merely pointed out that you’re postponing the event, not giving up anything, unless the Church has made it mandatory that you receive twice per day every day, which it hasn’t.

Not only that but I know that in Polish communities, everyone is expected to go to Church, whether they’re divorced, cohabiting, or whatever. So it is good that these people not receive. This is what the OP asked, I think.
 
Snerticus said:
Receiving the Eucharist is one way to have your venial sins forgiven, so I would encourage you to receive it as much as possible.
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I have a major problem with this statement. What if I decide to steal $10 from the collection plate or spread gossip just before Mass? Does receiving communion forgive me?
 
ProVobis said:
I have a major problem with this statement. What if I decide to steal $10 from the collection plate or spread gossip just before Mass? Does receiving communion forgive me?
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As with the forgiveness of all sins, you must be repentant and be truly sorry.
 
notredame_999 said:
Im a young man who tries to go confession whenever I commit a mortal sin before receiving communion. However, now it is very hard for me to receive communion even after confession. This is because of all the venial sins I commit during the week including, profanity, laughing at sexual jokes at work with other men, not praying nightly, staring at women below the waist. Is it permissible to refrain from communion not just because of mortal sins but also because of venial sins?

Also I have heard that in some hispanic parishes communion is rarely received by the majority for any given sunday, with the exception of a few times a year. Is this true? I think its good.
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Wasn’t this the attitude that Pope St. Pius X was fighting when he encouraged frequent communion?

I think this has been litigated already. It’s (as we lawyers say), res judicata.

I seem to remember that before Pope St. Pius X, it was very common for people not to receive Communion but for a few times a year. St. Pius discredited that belief and encouraged people to receive the Eucharist as weekly (or daily if they could).

Read up on St. Pius X.
 
ProVobis said:
I have a major problem with this statement. What if I decide to steal $10 from the collection plate or spread gossip just before Mass? Does receiving communion forgive me?
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It depends… either could be mortal* or *venial. If you can’t discern; when in doubt, don’t. It’s the same as any reconciliatory process. Even confession won’t forgive venial sins if you’re not sorry.

I can certainly imagine someone thinking “Lord, I have no idea what came over me. You know my heart and you also know I’ve never done anything like that before, I’m so sorry, please forgive me.” Why would recieving communion not forgive the sin, especially if they had the intention of rectifying the situation?

The OP asked “Is it permissible to refrain from communion not just because of mortal sins but also because of venial sins?”. Assuming you know they are venial - and I do not doubt the OP does - then your scenarios should not pose a problem. On the other hand, if you’re trying to point out that one may not be able to discern between the two, that’s a different question, and one not asked by the OP.

Perhaps I misunderstood the OP’s question?
 
notredame_999 said:
Im a young man who tries to go confession whenever I commit a mortal sin before receiving communion. However, now it is very hard for me to receive communion even after confession. This is because of all the venial sins I commit during the week including, profanity, laughing at sexual jokes at work with other men, not praying nightly, staring at women below the waist. Is it permissible to refrain from communion not just because of mortal sins but also because of venial sins?

Also I have heard that in some hispanic parishes communion is rarely received by the majority for any given sunday, with the exception of a few times a year. Is this true? I think its good.
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in answer to thread title, yes
in answer to not receiving because you are conscious of venial sin, there is no need to refrain from receiving, and if you are not, there may be an element of scrupulosity that the priest could help you with. To refrain means you are not aware of or giving credence to the healing power of the Eucharist and in fact frequent reception can help you battle those habits that can lead to venial sin and help you clean up your act, avoid those situations and people that you know are going to set you up for this stuff.

I live in a heavily Hispanic area and I notice no difference in the Spanish and English Masses, or from other areas of the country in frequency of reception. With one exception, here people in invalid marriages know they cannot receive and generally do not.
 
Snerticus said:
The OP asked “Is it permissible to refrain from communion not just because of mortal sins but also because of venial sins?”. Assuming you know they are venial - and I do not doubt the OP does - then your scenarios should not pose a problem. On the other hand, if you’re trying to point out that one may not be able to discern between the two, that’s a different question, and one not asked by the OP.
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I know what you’re saying here. But I was hoping someone would state that restitution of the money stolen (or at least the intention of proper restitution) would be an important part of the forgiveness process, whether mortal or venial. I don’t see where communion absolves you of that restitution.
 
In the old preVat2 days it was quite common not to receive communion at mass, especially at a High Mass. I can remember a woman approaching the altar rails on such an occasion and being completely ignored.She went back to her seat looking sad and embarassed.Probably the celebrant did not notice her, as it would be an unexpected action of a congregant.
 
ProVobis said:
I know what you’re saying here. But I was hoping someone would state that restitution of the money stolen (or at least the intention of proper restitution) would be an important part of the forgiveness process, whether mortal or venial. I don’t see where communion absolves you of that restitution.
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That’s why I said “especially if they had the intention of rectifying the situation?”.

Okay, so I didn’t use the exact word “restitution”, but that’s what I meant.
 
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