Is passing the Eucharist around bad?

[pcg2]

Today MIchelle Arnold, our resident apologist, asnwered a question thusly: “Mass celebrated in a home is subject to the same rubrics as Mass celebrated in Church. There is NO passing of the Eucharist from one person to the other while sitting in a circle!” (emphasis mine)

On Thursday masses at my “church” (it’s actually a catholic center at my college), when we receive the Eucharist, we always gather around in a circle around the altar and do what was described above – pass the Eucharist to one another. I always knew that we shouldn’t be gathering around the altar, and I had a feeling that passing of the Eucharist wasn’t “allowed” either. My question is, is this sinful in any way?

I’m always confused during moments like these – when I know that/am conflicted about whether a celebrant is doing something illicit during mass, what should I do? Is it bad to still receive the Eucharist? I want to receive so badly and I need Him, especially because I face so much temptation here on campus every day. I guess I just figure that if I am doing something (venially) sinful, the Eucharist cancels it out… any answers/suggestions?

Thank you

 

[MarkThompson]

This practice is a grave abuse of the Blessed Sacrament. The instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum makes clear:
94. It is not licit for the faithful “to take . . . by themselves . . . and, still less, to hand . . . from one to another” the sacred host or the sacred chalice. Moreover, in this regard, the abuse is to be set aside whereby spouses administer Holy Communion to each other at a Nuptial Mass.
According to paragraph 173 of the same document, a violation of this “puts at risk the validity and dignity of the Most Holy Eucharist” and is “objectively to be considered among grave matters.”

It’s difficult to judge whether it is sinful for you to participate in this, since up to now you haven’t really known any better and you were following the instructions of the priest, who is entitled to a presumption of correctness in handling the liturgy of his parish. However, the practice needs to end immediately, and you should should bring this up with him. If he continues, you should bring it up with the bishop. I’m sure that’s not easy, so I’m sorry.

 

[Catholicben]

[Passing around the Eucharist]

Bad idea…

 

[pcg2]

So it’s actually mortally sinful to do this? So I can’t even receive?..

 

[MarkThompson]

Redemptionis Sacramentum says this is grave matter, but it doesn’t say that it’s a mortal sin; I don’t know what level of sin it would be to engage in deliberately. And since you did not know any better in the past (although apparently you suspected something was off, since you posted here), and you were following the instructions of the priest, I would presume that the level of sin would be reduced or eliminated for you. I’m not a priest or a moral theologian, so don’t take that to the bank though.

I would hazard a guess (just a layman’s guess, though) that it would be a sin to continue in this practice. Probably not a moral sin, but I don’t know. In the future, you should ask the priest to receive from him.

Don’t worry, you did well by asking the question here!

 

[ProVobis]

Redemptionis Sacramentum says this is grave matter, but it doesn’t say that it’s a mortal sin; I don’t know what level of sin it would be to engage in deliberately.

From Catholic Encyclopedia:

Conditions of mortal sin: knowledge, free will, grave matter

And I don’t know if passing the Eucharist qualifies as “intentionally discarding” it, as that may be grounds for excommunication. I’ll look up the canon law on this.

 

[ProVobis]

I’m not sure if this applies but from the 1983 Canon Law:

Can. 1367 A person who throws away the consecrated species or takes or retains them for a sacrilegious purpose incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; moreover, a cleric can be punished with another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state.

There is more on this here.

 

[puzzleannie]

So it’s actually mortally sinful to do this? So I can’t even receive?..

it is no sin at all for you, you are not the celebrant
you may wish to quietly tell the priest, I prefer to receive directly from you and not engage in an illicit practice, that is what I do when I have to attend Mass at another location that has this custom, and my wishes are honored. and no, the canon on discarding or abusing the Eucharist does not apply here, assuming everyone immediately consumes the sacred species. However, one of the reasons this is an abuse is that it is much harder to insure this is done. I urge you to simply speak to the priest privately and ask why the law is being disobeyed in this case, and let him know your reason for asking, namely the citation above about “calling the validity of the Eucharist into question.” It is your right to have this explained to you, and your duty to protest. But no you do not sin even if you continue to attend Mass there especially if you have no choice.

 

[benedictgal]

Is the OP part of the Neocatechumenal Movement? For years, this movement was engaging in this ilicit practice. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI issued instruction to have this practice stopped, quoting Redemptionis Sacramentum. Here is what his instructions stated:

On the manner of receiving Holy Communion, a period of transition (not exceeding two years) is granted to the Neo-Catechumenal Way to pass from the widespread manner of receiving Holy Communion in its communities (seated, with a cloth-covered table placed at the center of the church instead of the dedicated altar in the sanctuary) to the normal way in which the entire Church receives Holy Communion.

This was back in 2005 and the period of transition ended in 2007. Thus, the normal means of receiving Holy Communion was to have been employed since then.

Thus, as others have indicated, this is a serious liturgical abuse and needs to be stopped.

 

[pcg2]

it is no sin at all for you, you are not the celebrant
you may wish to quietly tell the priest, I prefer to receive directly from you and not engage in an illicit practice, that is what I do when I have to attend Mass at another location that has this custom, and my wishes are honored. and no, the canon on discarding or abusing the Eucharist does not apply here, assuming everyone immediately consumes the sacred species. However, one of the reasons this is an abuse is that it is much harder to insure this is done. I urge you to simply speak to the priest privately and ask why the law is being disobeyed in this case, and let him know your reason for asking, namely the citation above about “calling the validity of the Eucharist into question.” It is your right to have this explained to you, and your duty to protest. But no you do not sin even if you continue to attend Mass there especially if you have no choice.

Thank you I’ll definitely be talking to him today about it. And I’ll make sure that I receive from him. However, all the hosts are eaten right then and there, always. The mass on Thursdays rarely has more than 5 people (sadly), so we are all able to see one another directly receive – there’s really no way to not eat it without being seen.

Another, somewhat related question I have is this: Is it allowed for a woman to celebrate a communion service? My campus minister is a woman, and she sometimes does this.

 

[pcg2]

Is the OP part of the Neocatechumenal Movement? For years, this movement was engaging in this ilicit practice. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI issued instruction to have this practice stopped, quoting Redemptionis Sacramentum. Here is what his instructions stated:

This was back in 2005 and the period of transition ended in 2007. Thus, the normal means of receiving Holy Communion was to have been employed since then.

Thus, as others have indicated, this is a serious liturgical abuse and needs to be stopped.

Nope, we don’t do anything like that. When the mass is small, we gather around the altar (which I know is illicit), but we don’t go anywhere else.

 

[EasterJoy]

…I guess I just figure that if I am doing something (venially) sinful, the Eucharist cancels it out… any answers/suggestions?

Thank you

OK, well…
First off, presumption “cancels out” repentance. If you’re repentant, you stop doing what you ought not do. You may not presume on God’s mercy by expecting the Eucharist to cover your willful decision to continue doing what you know you ought not do. We’ll need plenty of God’s mercy for the weakness we don’t overcome by our weak and undiscplined wills. We have to make an act of will to receive it, though; that is, we have to repent in some meaningful way besides a perfunctory “oops, I guess that was against the rules, huh?”

Second, if you did not know better, you did not sin, excepting in any failure in diligence to know the rules. Now, though…talk to the priest and ask him why he doesn’t follow the rubrics. Maybe he’s unaware that the rules have changed. Maybe he thinks no one cares. Whatever. He deserves to have you bring this to him first.

If he does nothing, then you have to talk to someone above him until things change or you have told everyone above him who deserves to know. It is not your job to change this. It is your job to make those responsible for changing it aware of the problem and whether or not there has been improvement.

When you ask those above him how to handle the situation this priest (or priests) are putting you in, ask what they want you to do with regards to receiving Holy Communion under the circumstances. There may be options we haven’t considered.

 

[MarkThompson]

Another, somewhat related question I have is this: Is it allowed for a woman to celebrate a communion service? My campus minister is a woman, and she sometimes does this.

The very short answer, as I understand it, is yes this is permissible, but it is highly undesirable to have any such service at all.

 

[benedictgal]

The very short answer, as I understand it, is yes this is permissible, but it is highly undesirable to have any such service at all.

However, it is permissible only under certain circumstances:

[166.] Likewise, especially if Holy Communion is distributed during such celebrations (Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of Priest–bg explanation), the diocesan Bishop, to whose exclusive competence this matter pertains, must not easily grant permission for such celebrations to be held on weekdays, especially in places where it was possible or would be possible to have the celebration of Mass on the preceding or the following Sunday. Priests are therefore earnestly requested to celebrate Mass daily for the people in one of the churches entrusted to their care.

The red bold letters are my explanation.

 

[puzzleannie]

Another, somewhat related question I have is this: Is it allowed for a woman to celebrate a communion service? My campus minister is a woman, and she sometimes does this.

yes if she has been commissioned as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, there is no ordained minister or male minister available, and she has permission to do it at the time and place selected. Whether or not daily communion services are allowed or a good idea is up to the bishop. To do this means the place must be a church, chapel or oratory where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle.

 

[benedictgal]

yes if she has been commissioned as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, there is no ordained minister or male minister available, and she has permission to do it at the time and place selected. Whether or not daily communion services are allowed or a good idea is up to the bishop. To do this means the place must be a church, chapel or oratory where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle.

You mean, if she is a commissioned Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. But, if there is daily Mass at the university, then a communion service really would not be a good thing, per Redemptionis Sacramentum.

 

[ljubim]

Now that you know, participating in this is sinful… Talk with the priest, and then take it right to the bishop afterwards if Father doesn’t stop. This is a basic liturgical abuse, something that requires no investigation and will be acted on right away by the bishop (or should be).

 

[pcg2]

OK, well…
First off, presumption “cancels out” repentance. If you’re repentant, you stop doing what you ought not do. You may not presume on God’s mercy by expecting the Eucharist to cover your willful decision to continue doing what you know you ought not do. We’ll need plenty of God’s mercy for the weakness we don’t overcome by our weak and undiscplined wills. We have to make an act of will to receive it, though; that is, we have to repent in some meaningful way besides a perfunctory “oops, I guess that was against the rules, huh?”

Thanks for the response.

I suffer from scrupulosity and so try to follow the “If I’m not sure if this is a sin or not, it probably isn’t and I should go ahead and do it anyways” rule. So in this case, I think I did what I was supposed to do, don’t you think? I understand what you mean about the presumption, but the thing is, I’m not even sure if I was sinning in the first place.

 

[pcg2]

Now that you know, participating in this is sinful… Talk with the priest, and then take it right to the bishop afterwards if Father doesn’t stop. This is a basic liturgical abuse, something that requires no investigation and will be acted on right away by the bishop (or should be).

But what should I do when it happens? I understand that I should tell the Catholic center about this illicit practice (because it’s not only the priests who do it, but also the campus minister that celebrates the communion services). But I have a few questions:

1. Why is this mortally sinful? I don’t understand… I mean, I get that we shouldn’t be “self-communicating,” but why is it grave matter?
2. What do I do if, say I let them know how I feel and they don’t stop? Would it be sinful for me to continue going to mass, knowing that this will probably be happening?
3. What happens when/if this happens at another parish, chapel, catholic center sometime in the future when I have no idea that this is going to happen? I go into a mass, expecting it to be “the right way,” and then the priest starts passing the eucharist around? What should I do? Do I still receive?

This pisses me off so much. There are so many rules and I don’t understand why all these priests don’t know how to celebrate the mass – the central aspect of our faith, the most important thing anyone can do in their life – licitly. Don’t they learn all this stuff in the seminary??? I feel like I have to baby them, telling them how to do their job right. I just want to go to receive our Lord and have some peace in my life, and I CONSTANTLY HAVE TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WHETHER A PRIEST IS DOING SOMETHING WRONG OR NOT. I go looking for a little comfort and a little deviation from my scrupulosity/anxiety and I just end up scrupling about the structure of the mass anyways.

 

[MarkThompson]

But what should I do when it happens? I understand that I should tell the Catholic center about this illicit practice (because it’s not only the priests who do it, but also the campus minister that celebrates the communion services). But I have a few questions:

1. Why is this mortally sinful? I don’t understand… I mean, I get that we shouldn’t be “self-communicating,” but why is it grave matter?

We don’t know that it’s mortally sinful. Redemptionis Sacramentum considers this “grave matter,” but I don’t know that you can translate that one-for-one into “gravely sinful.” There’s probably also a difference between the level of sin involved for the priest to mandate the practice, versus for the communicant if it’s the only way to receive Holy Communion.

1. What do I do if, say I let them know how I feel and they don’t stop? Would it be sinful for me to continue going to mass, knowing that this will probably be happening?

I think it would not be sinful for you to go to Mass in such a case. You’re not in charge of the Mass, you’re just a college student. However, you should ask to receive the Sacrament from the priest, and you should not administer the Sacrament to anyone else.

If they don’t stop – and you’re not just letting them know how you “feel,” you’re informing them of the mandatory instructions from the Holy See – then you should contact the next person up the ladder of authority. I don’t know whether this is a Catholic college, or whether this priest is a member of a religious order or what; it would depend on that. The next step up would probably be the head of Campus Ministry, the diocesan bishop, or some sort of superior in a religious order. Luckily, you can get good answers on this forum.

1. What happens when/if this happens at another parish, chapel, catholic center sometime in the future when I have no idea that this is going to happen? I go into a mass, expecting it to be “the right way,” and then the priest starts passing the eucharist around? What should I do? Do I still receive?

That’s tough to say. Fortunately, I think this practice is quite rare nowadays; I’ve never seen it. I would think that if you cannot “opt out” without it being disruptive, you should go along with it and bring it up with the priest afterward, but that’s just my opinion.

This pisses me off so much. There are so many rules and I don’t understand why all these priests don’t know how to celebrate the mass – the central aspect of our faith, the most important thing anyone can do in their life – licitly. Don’t they learn all this stuff in the seminary??? I feel like I have to baby them, telling them how to do their job right. I just want to go to receive our Lord and have some peace in my life, and I CONSTANTLY HAVE TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WHETHER A PRIEST IS DOING SOMETHING WRONG OR NOT. I go looking for a little comfort and a little deviation from my scrupulosity/anxiety and I just end up scrupling about the structure of the mass anyways.

99% of the time, you don’t have to be on the lookout for errors on the priest’s part. If he makes up his own prayers, doesn’t wear the right vestments, gives a questionable homily, none of that stuff really impacts you. You just sit there, and since you can’t do anything about it, it does you no good to concern yourself with it. But what this priest is doing is asking you to directly participate in a prohibited practice. That’s highly unfortunate, and I’m sorry you got put in that position.