Is my son going to hell for spitting out the Eucharist?

[ruuthieann]

My 8-year-old son was so excited about receiving his First Communion. He’d been waiting forever to do it. At church one Sunday, he couldn’t wait any longer. He asked me if he could go to Communion and I said yes. I misunderstood him. I thought he wanted to get a blessing. When he opened his mouth, all happy and proud, I was shocked and overreacted. He felt ashamed that he did something bad, ran out the church, and spit it out. I was horrified to say the least. I did not know what to do. Are my child and I going to hell for this?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Please relax. Neither you nor your son intended to do anything wrong. You did not realize what your son wanted to do. Your son was afraid of having committed a sin and was trying to rectify his mistake. Yes, objectively speaking, it was terrible that our Lord was spit out onto the ground, but in this case it was a terrible mistake and not a terrible sin.

What should have happened once you realized that your son had received the Eucharist was for you not to comment on it until after Mass. Then you could have said, “Johnny, I’m so sorry. I thought you wanted to receive a blessing and that is why I told you that you could go up to the altar with me at Communion time. Don’t worry, it was just a mistake. You’ll be able to receive Communion again at your First Holy Communion [insert time frame].”

Once your son spit out the Eucharist, you should have picked it up (in a tissue if you had one handy), comforted your son, and returned to your seats. After Mass, you and your son could then take the host to a priest, deacon, or EMHC for proper disposal.