Late to Daily Mass: Do not Receive

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I go to daily Mass here in England and today at the end of Mass our curate/assistant Priest announced that those who had come in late should not have come up for Communion as the Mass itself was the preparation for receiving the Lord and therefore they should refrain from doing so.
I was not one of those people but iI know that in the past I have been late getting to daily Mass because of some work circumstance etc that has been out of my control and has delayed me. However in such instance I have always gone to communion knowing that it was not my intention to show disrespect to the Lord in arriving late and consoling myself that He desired me to receive Him in this great Sacrament.
Is our Priest correct?
If he is not then how could I approach him on this subject in a way that would change his mind?
For my part if I arrive late at daily Mass again I will not go to Communion.
 
Cid said:
I go to daily Mass here in England and today at the end of Mass our curate/assistant Priest announced that those who had come in late should not have come up for Communion as the Mass itself was the preparation for receiving the Lord and therefore they should refrain from doing so.
I was not one of those people but iI know that in the past I have been late getting to daily Mass because of some work circumstance etc that has been out of my control and has delayed me. However in such instance I have always gone to communion knowing that it was not my intention to show disrespect to the Lord in arriving late and consoling myself that He desired me to receive Him in this great Sacrament.
Is our Priest correct?
If he is not then how could I approach him on this subject in a way that would change his mind?
For my part if I arrive late at daily Mass again I will not go to Communion.
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Here is a Q&A regarding this question.

It doesn’t appear that there is a hard and fast rule, so your Priest can make up his own mind on the matter.
 
DallasCatholic said:
Here is a Q&A regarding this question.

It doesn’t appear that there is a hard and fast rule, so your Priest can make up his own mind on the matter.
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I don’t think this q&a is taking daily Mass into question. If the original question was centered on Sunday Mass, perhaps there would be reason to dig a little deeper. However, assuming that the person in question is not in mortal sin, then I think the priest is incorrect here. If a person is visiting another in a hospital and has not received the Eucharist that day, he/she is allowed to recieve at that time. I get as frustrated by late Mass arrivals on Sunday as anyone, but during the week, it is more difficult for people to get where they are going, etc. Furthermore, I get the impression that the OP would never be late on purpose. Even if there were an issue here, if the tardiness was not habitual nor intentional, I just don’t see the problem.
 
gvogt4 said:
I don’t think this q&a is taking daily Mass into question. If the original question was centered on Sunday Mass, perhaps there would be reason to dig a little deeper. However, assuming that the person in question is not in mortal sin, then I think the priest is incorrect here. If a person is visiting another in a hospital and has not received the Eucharist that day, he/she is allowed to recieve at that time. I get as frustrated by late Mass arrivals on Sunday as anyone, but during the week, it is more difficult for people to get where they are going, etc. Furthermore, I get the impression that the OP would never be late on purpose. Even if there were an issue here, if the tardiness was not habitual nor intentional, I just don’t see the problem.
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The point is that there appears to be no specific instruction, so the Priest is within his authority to decide. It’s not about what you or I think, the Priest has stated a decision according to the OP. Unless someone has a specific documentation to the contrary then one should show obedience to one’s Priest. Mass is Mass, the only difference is that you are obligated to attend on Sunday.
 
DallasCatholic said:
The point is that there appears to be no specific instruction, so the Priest is within his authority to decide. It’s not about what you or I think, the Priest has stated a decision according to the OP. Unless someone has a specific documentation to the contrary then one should show obedience to one’s Priest. Mass is Mass, the only difference is that you are obligated to attend on Sunday.
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Ok, then let’s put it this way.

Dear Cid,
Perhaps you should discuss this with your pastor (which I am not sure is the priest you referred to.) If your pastor gives clear instrunction to refrain from receiving the Eucharist in circumstances such as those you described, you should do so…until you get clarification from the bishop as he is the authority from which the priest gets his.
 
Can. 843 §1. Sacred ministers cannot deny the sacraments to those who seek them at appropriate times, are properly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them.
 
gvogt4 said:
Can. 843 §1. Sacred ministers cannot deny the sacraments to those who seek them at appropriate times, are properly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them.
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“…seek them at apporpriate times,…” that’s the important part. Obviously the Priest in question did not think being late to Mass constituted an appropriate time. Your suggestion in the previous post was spot on…talk to the Pastor and go from there.
 
My guess is that this particular priest is a big stickler for punctuality. I think his preferance should be respected. He is requesting that those who wish to receive be on time. I think you should honor his request cheerfully, since punctuality is very important to him. I’m a very punctual person myself, so I sympathise.
 
At daily Mass i have sen people come in as late as the Consecration…wouldn’t that be “considered” late by anyone’s standards? Just wondering…

:heart:Blyss
 
There are a lot of different things in play here. First off is the difference between CAN receive communion and SHOULD receive communion.

For Daily Mass a person that is walking by the church, notices the communion is happening, is Catholic, and properly disposed to receive can get in line to receive as long as he hasn’t received already that day. There is no requirement to attend Mass to receive communion. Now if that person wants to receive again that day they would actually have to attend Mass and participate in order to receive again.

Whether a person should be habitually walking into daily Mass late and/or receiving communion is another matter all together.

As for whether walking in late satisfies Sunday obligation versus being able to receive on Sunday is another matter all together.
 
I would speak to him privately to get some guidance regarding your specific circumstances. Like you, I can be up to 5 or 10 minutes late for daily Mass due to traffic problems coming from work. I am ok with coming in during the Liturgy of the Word and then receiving Holy Communion, but one time I got stuck in traffic and did not get to Mass until the Lamb of God…and I felt it would not be right to receive Jesus…so I went up and got a blessing. I talked with the pastor afterwards to get his take on it. I am a member of the RCIA team and I was concerned with not setting a good example to our candidates or catechumates who attend Mass before classes.
 
Daily mass can be really quick - it takes few minutes to get to the Gospel part. If I am late for Gospel, I won’t receive the Communion. I don’t know the rule though.
 
There certainly is precedent for this position. The tradition prior to VII was that if one was late for Mass, one did not receive communion.
 
I know a friend was telling me that in her parish there was a group of people who seem to have decided that they didn’t really need the Mass just communion and would purposely come in late. Her priest made a similar judgment

another friend and I went to visit Ave Maria University. We got there unplanned just at the start of communion. We received. I admit I felt bad but it wasn’t on purpose and it wasn’t fulfilling a Sunday obligation. Her family later said we shouldn’t have so she asked our priest. He said it was fine.
 
Thanks everybody for your thoughts.

I think the general consensus is that respect for the Priest’s decision is important but that I need to clarify with him just exactly where he draws the line with regard to when ‘late’ becomes ‘too late’ for receiving Communion at his daily Mass.
 
I realize, chipping in late…

Rev. Fr. Hartman, OP, taught us (back in the 1970’s) that If you didn’t hear the alleluia on, you don’t take communion.

Rev. Fr. John Fearon, OP, of Blessed Memory, suggested strongly that you had to hear the gospel and homily to be properly disposed.
 
If a person is late due to circumstances beyond their control, I think it would be cruel to deny them the Eucharist.
 
I am struggling to understand how the idea that you must attend the entire daily mass squares with the existence of Eucharist services and the following:
Can. 917 One who has received the blessed Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only within a eucharistic celebration in which that person participates, without prejudice to the provision of can. 921 ß2.
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Can. 918 It is most strongly recommended that the faithful receive holy communion in the course of a eucharistic celebration. If, however, for good reason they ask for it apart from the Mass, it is to be administered to them, observing the liturgical rites.
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which to me imply that the first reception in a day can be apart from participation in the Eucharistic Celebration.
 
Sandi said:
If a person is late due to circumstances beyond their control, I think it would be cruel to deny them the Eucharist.
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Which is why, on one day where my bus was late, Fr. John pulled myself and the other person from that bus aside, and did a “private” mass; we walked in just as the Angus Dei started. In Latin. In about 1985. By the Dominican Rite Propers. (He was the celebrant for an earlier mass, and it was a holy day of obligation.)
 
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