Mortal Sin and the Eucharist

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Hypothetical question: If one were to commit a mortal sin and not have a chance to go to Confession, would that person be able to receive Communion with the intention of going to Confession as soon as he can, or would he have to go to Confession immediately afterward?
 
You must not receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist in a state of mortal sin. You will have to wait until after you have made a good confession, no matter how long it takes. There is no justification for receiving the Body of Christ while in a state of mortal sin.
 
Actually you are allowed, if you say a Perfect Act of Contrition (sorrow for sin which arouses from Love of GOD). and promise to go to confession as soon as possible.
 
No, mortal sin is the willing choice to separate oneself from GOD. The only way back - without confession first - is if you are in imminent danger of death and you self-confess by calling upon GOD’s mercy at the moment, i.e. plane is crashing etc.

You can take communion with mortal sin on your soul, and JESUS cannot jump out of the HOST, but you consume HIM as Pilate, i.e. bound, tied, beaten, spit upon, and falsely tried for crimes. You continue to sin by that communion.
 
Paul_Infirdigno said:
Actually you are allowed, if you say a Perfect Act of Contrition (sorrow for sin which arouses from Love of GOD). and promise to go to confession as soon as possible.
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No! What makes you think so?

Actually this is true if there is no possible chance for the opportunity to go to confession like if you are on a battlefield or something. Otherwise, no , you don’t go up for communion if you are in a state of mortal sin. You go to confession at the next possible opportunity and then you may receive communion.
 
No, you cannot receive Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin unless you have a very serious reason why you can’t go to confession beforehand. I’m not sure what would constitute such a reason so best not to “test” it.

From the 1983 Code of Canon Law: “A person who is conscious of a grave sin is not to . . . receive the body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present** and there is no opportunity of confessing**; in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible” (CIC 916).

I used to be the kind of Catholic that would go out and party Saturday night, commit all kinds of mortal sins (mostly lust-based) and still receive communion with the promise to God I would go to confession Monday. A very wonderful priest corrected my thinking. I wouldn’t dream now of receiving if I had the stain of mortal sin. To me it would be like throwing Jesus in a dirty, disgusting, stinking room and leaving him there, then cleaning the room later.
 
MarysGirls said:
Hypothetical question: If one were to commit a mortal sin and not have a chance to go to Confession, would that person be able to receive Communion with the intention of going to Confession as soon as he can, or would he have to go to Confession immediately afterward?
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You abstain from communion until you go to confession. You sit in the pew and pray for the grace to get to confession as soon as possible. You pray an act of contrition and ask for God’s grace to achieve perfect contrition.
 
Paul_Infirdigno said:
Actually you are allowed, if you say a Perfect Act of Contrition (sorrow for sin which arouses from Love of GOD). and promise to go to confession as soon as possible.
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I’ve heard this said as well, but I’d personally recommend that one does not take such action. The reason being is that a person can never know if they have made a Perfect Act of Contrition. The person in question may be influenced (even partly) by the fear of Hell or because of the heinousness of the sin, thus making it an Imperfect Act of Contrition. Only the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) can give us a 100% guarantee that our sins have been forgiven.

If we truly knew we could make a Perfect Act of Contrition, there wouldn’t even be much point in going to Confession. We would probably be like many Protestants who ask for forgiveness from God directly.

We should never forget that Jesus is sacramentally present in the Eucharist, and so we should receive Him worthily. In the words of St. Paul, “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:29).
 
Paul_Infirdigno said:
Actually you are allowed, if you say a Perfect Act of Contrition (sorrow for sin which arouses from Love of GOD). and promise to go to confession as soon as possible.
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…this is incorrect…

We are not to be doing this.

(there are rare occasions…but no …one is to go to confession first)
**
Catechism of the Catholic Church:**

1385 To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself."216 Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.
 
Ad_Altare_Dei said:
No, you cannot receive Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin unless you have a very serious reason why you can’t go to confession beforehand. I’m not sure what would constitute such a reason so best not to “test” it.

From the 1983 Code of Canon Law: “A person who is conscious of a grave sin is not to . . . receive the body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present** and there is no opportunity of confessing**; in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible” (CIC 916).
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A good example…perhaps a possible example could be…one is in some far away place where a Priest comes once every 7 months… but they have communion service…and someone is in a grave reason to receive …

but such is not the norm… as one the Catechism notes:

1385…Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.
 
Bookcat said:
…this is incorrect…

We are not to be doing this.

(there are rare occasions…but no …one is to go to confession first)
**
Catechism of the Catholic Church:**

1385 To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself."216 Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.
Click to expand...
 
Paul_Infirdigno said:
Actually you are allowed, if you say a Perfect Act of Contrition (sorrow for sin which arouses from Love of GOD). and promise to go to confession as soon as possible.
Click to expand...
That is not true.
Making an act of perfect contrition forgives your sins should you die before you get to Confession but it does not allow you to receive Communion before getting to Confession.
 
Thank you for all the responses guys! They were very helpful.
 
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