Not being able to take Communion is killing me

[TrueLight]

My wife and I began attending Mass some time around June 2008…then we began RCIA together in August and were both Confirmed and received into full communion at the Easter Vigil in April 2009.

So for us, it was about ten months of Sunday Masses without being able to receive Christ in the Eucharist.

Like you, I longed for Christ. I understood why I was not able to receive, and agreed with the doctrine (and even defended it in conversation with ‘open communion’ Protestant family and friends)…but on some emotional level I hated sitting there in the pews while almost everybody else went up and received.

As others have pointed out, you can and should engage in a prayerful spiritual communion. I know this is a poor substitute for receiving Christ – body, blood, soul, and divinity – but it can still be very beneficial as you prepare to receive the Sacraments. Personally, my prayers during communion time helped strengthen my faith and my resolve to ‘go through with it’ no matter what my Protestant family and friends had to say .

Each spiritual communion I made got me that much closer to a full, complete belief in the Real Presence, and made me that much more prepared to finally receive at the Easter Vigil.

I know it’s frustrating. Trust me, I’ve been there. The wait is worth it

God bless you!

Wow. You must have been trembling when you finally received it.

Awesome!

Awesome advice from everyone.

 

[joanofarc2008]

I grew up half-Catholic and half-Protestant and then did some time as an Agnostic and then had a very earth-shattering first confession in Iraq. It wasn’t until three years until I received my first Eucharist (partly due to my own stubborness of not being done partying and partly the time of the RCIA process). Now that I am divorced and working on my decree of nullity I have only to remember those three years with belief but without Eucharist and it keeps me from wanting to date without the decree of nullity in hand because I will not willfully separate myself from that Sacrament again.

 

[Chrismacmax]

No one TAKES communion. We RECEIVE communion.

(pet peeve of mine)

 

[PiousTemplar]

I don’t understand why it would be killing you. For me, I’m getting confirmed at Pentecoast. Communion is what I’m looking forward to.

:\

 

[Holly3278]

Maybe you could make an Act of Spiritual Communion when everyone else goes up to receive the Eucharist.

My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

 

[dconklin]

This is an exercise in patience, ain’t it?

So, I just kneel and pray and try to focus on the blessing, but it is killing me.

Welcome to Jesus’ boot camp! The training is the hardest part and obviously it is tortuous for you. Think of your period of initiation as a marathon. You are on the final stretch! We are all cheering you on. The reward in the end, which is actually only the beginning, is so worth it. The visiting priest this weekend (he is putting on a parish mission) said “Don’t open the oven yet or the souffle will fall.”

 

[lutherlic]

While not a substitute for receiving the Holy Eucharist, consider Eucharistic Adoration if it is available at your parish (or any other in your locale). You will find this time well spent and it will bring you peace. You do not have to be Catholic for this wonderful devotion.

(I wrote about adoration here if you are unfamiliar with it.)

 

[TrueLight]

While not a substitute for receiving the Holy Eucharist, consider Eucharistic Adoration if it is available at your parish (or any other in your locale). You will find this time well spent and it will bring you peace. You do not have to be Catholic for this wonderful devotion.

(I wrote about adoration here if you are unfamiliar with it.)

Thank you for the link. I’m not sure I understand the part about the Eucharist never being left unattended. Isn’t Jesus bigger than the wafer?

 

[TrueLight]

No one TAKES communion. We RECEIVE communion.

(pet peeve of mine)

So now you get to air your pet peeve. Bravo!

 

[TrueLight]

Maybe you could make an Act of Spiritual Communion when everyone else goes up to receive the Eucharist.

My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

Holly, that is a wonderful prayer. Thanks!

 

[joanofarc2008]

Thank you for the link. I’m not sure I understand the part about the Eucharist never being left unattended. Isn’t Jesus bigger than the wafer?

We believe that this is THE BODY of CHRIST. Because of this there have been cases of desecration to the Eucharist. I won’t get into from whom or why - but there have through history even if sometimes it is as careless as stealing the monstrance for the gold and leaving Christ on the floor.

 

[Love_Divine]

Even being a cradle Catholic, the waiting was too long for me. I got so tired of having to get a “blessing” (which I now know weren’t even blessings ) that when I was five and curious about what all the fuss was about, I boldly stuck out my hands and received. I don’t recommend doing that. I got in a heap of trouble.

Just be patient. Good things come to those who wait.

 

[hxcCatholic413]

So now you get to air your pet peeve. Bravo!

 

[ThomasJC]

Thanks!

You only had to do three months because you know theology?

How do they determine if you should be fast-tracked?

In my case it was kinda obvious. After studying the religion for 4 years, you don’t really need that much catechesis
Which doesn’t mean that I got no catechesis at all! All in all I’ve met with the Father 10 times. There are some things you don’t learn at the universities.

Take your catechesis serious! It will help you a lot understanding our faith

 

[EvelynEVF]

What is required in terms of catechesis is totally based on the individual and on the pastor’s discretion. The full RCIA process is intended for people without a church background. My parish is small, so people can join RCIA at any time, not just when it officially starts. I had very strong formation as an evangelical protestant, so after two years of Mass attendance and several conversations with church staff, when I finally chose to meet with the DRE and start some kind of process, she told me that I could go to RCIA for Lent to be part of the community, and then enter at Easter, which was all of a few weeks away.

Things got delayed because my marriage was coming apart, and the pastor needed to be sure that it was not because of my impending conversion. In the summer they let me know what they were thinking, and I had a three-way mtg with pastor and DRE to clear everything up, at which point he pulled out the calendar and we found the next scheduled Mass that worked for everyone involved.

So it’s going to be different for everybody. If you feel like RCIA is too slow for you, don’t hesitate to be checking out books and asking a lot of questions!

 

[puzzleannie]

This is an exercise in patience, ain’t it?

I am dying to line up along with the rest of the faithful and receive the Eucharist, but obviously I can’t since I have not been received into the Church and I’m not sure when that will ever happen since I have not even begun an RCIA program.

So, I just kneel and pray and try to focus on the blessing, but it is killing me.

How have those of you who spent a year in RCIA dealt with that? Any advice?

nobody cares, or should care, why you are not receiving so what people think is not even an issue.

My advice is to do what you are doing, prayer of spiritual communion, and offer up the time of waiting and preparation for those Catholics who are deprived of the Eucharist because of persecution or lack of priests.

 

[StateofGrace]

This is an exercise in patience, ain’t it?

I am dying to line up along with the rest of the faithful and receive the Eucharist, but obviously I can’t since I have not been received into the Church and I’m not sure when that will ever happen since I have not even begun an RCIA program.

So, I just kneel and pray and try to focus on the blessing, but it is killing me.

How have those of you who spent a year in RCIA dealt with that? Any advice?

I can relate to your “desire” to partake of the Eucharist. I went through two years of RCIA while waiting for my annulment. I was Southern Baptist (30+ years) and was accustomed to taking communion within that faith.

As I began RCIA and found out what the Eucharist truly is…and what it means to be able to receive the Eucharist and why the Catholic Church only allows recieving the Eucharist after confirmation it became more special than ever. I will never forget the first time I received the Euchartist and how very very special it was and continues to be for me to this day.

The two years in preparation coming into the church were difficult. At times I almost gave up but I would pray, and take part by receiving a blessing and immerse myself in the Mass.

Don’t worry about what others may think. We aren’t supposed to look around and see who is doing what and who isn’t. I know in my parrish I never felt like others were watching me. God yes…man.no.

You’ll never regret going through RCIA. I went for over two years and I’m glad it worked out that way. I’m a stronger Catholic because of RCIA.

 

[Springkeeper]

This is an exercise in patience, ain’t it?

I am dying to line up along with the rest of the faithful and receive the Eucharist, but obviously I can’t since I have not been received into the Church and I’m not sure when that will ever happen since I have not even begun an RCIA program.

So, I just kneel and pray and try to focus on the blessing, but it is killing me.

How have those of you who spent a year in RCIA dealt with that? Any advice?

I feel for you. I started attending weekday or early Sunday moring Mass while still a Fundamentalist Baptist (caused me to get kicked out of that church but no biggie) and I have been attending RCIA since August and it seems like forever to me as well. I want so badly to partake of the Eucharist that sometimes I actually cry during communion but I offer it up and tell myself how much more I will appreciate the Eucharist when I am finally able to partake.

One thing you should never do is watch everyone else taking Communion because some of them are so irreverent it is infuriating to those of us who truly would crawl across broken glass to partake of the Body and Blood of Our Lord.

 

[onmyknees]

I feel for you. I started attending weekday or early Sunday moring Mass while still a Fundamentalist Baptist (caused me to get kicked out of that church but no biggie) and I have been attending RCIA since August and it seems like forever to me as well. I want so badly to partake of the Eucharist that sometimes I actually cry during communion but I offer it up and tell myself how much more I will appreciate the Eucharist when I am finally able to partake.

One thing you should never do is watch everyone else taking Communion because some of them are so irreverent it is infuriating to those of us who truly would crawl across broken glass to partake of the Body and Blood of Our Lord.

 

[TrueLight]

I

One thing you should never do is watch everyone else taking Communion because some of them are so irreverent it is infuriating to those of us who truly would crawl across broken glass to partake of the Body and Blood of Our Lord.

Amen to that!