Not being able to take Communion is killing me

[Springkeeper]

Well, I was given all of the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and my first Holy Communion) on the Easter Vigil and have not committed any sins that I have noticed over the past 2 days (though it has still been a struggle). However, I made so many mistakes during the Vigil! And even though the physical accidents of the Body and Blood of Christ tasted terrible (sour wine and tough, stale bread), I do not think that I could get ever enough of the Eucharist. Today, I went to Mass at another parish (the one near my college) and likewise made errors when going up to receive Him. I tried to have the priest give me the Body on the tongue, but I must have done something wrong (perhaps I had not tilted my head back enough?), since he just looked at me.

Oh boy I know that feeling! I did some research and decided receiving on the tongue was the way I was going to receive the Eucharist. I said amen and then bowed and I could have sworn I almost head-butted the priest. Then I, like most people, am not used to standing in front of someone with my mouth wide open so I didn’t open my mouth wide enough. I have been to several Masses since and things have definitely improved. It is a learning curve, that is for sure.

I am sorry about the situation with your priest. Maybe he was taken aback and wasn’t sure if he remembered how to distribute the Body on the tongue properly.

 

[jmcrae]

Well, I was given all of the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and my first Holy Communion) on the Easter Vigil and have not committed any sins that I have noticed over the past 2 days (though it has still been a struggle).

Congratulation! :extrahappy: :extrahappy: :extrahappy:

However, I made so many mistakes during the Vigil!

Heck, half the old-timers at our parish made mistakes at the Vigil - some were more noticeable than others - it happens - we move on.

One tip for receiving on the tongue - if you fold your hands in front of you prayerfully, this is often a good way to tip them off that you want to receive on the tongue. If you’re just holding your hands at your sides, they just assume you are going to receive on the hand.

 

[kmtroy04]

Well, I was given all of the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and my first Holy Communion) on the Easter Vigil and have not committed any sins that I have noticed over the past 2 days (though it has still been a struggle). However, I made so many mistakes during the Vigil! And even though the physical accidents of the Body and Blood of Christ tasted terrible (sour wine and tough, stale bread), I do not think that I could get ever enough of the Eucharist. QUOTE]

I hate to sound like a lush…but the win I received on Easter was actually pretty good!

 

[EvelynEVF]

You don’t sound like a lush because it wasn’t wine

I grew up Episcopalian, and they had nasty altar wine, a cheap sherry. I don’t know if they were trying to deter altar boys from sneaking sips or what. Receiving the Eucharist for the first time as a Catholic was a very pleasant surprise for me, too.

)hen I was 18, I was baptized a Baptist, and I was quite surprised that the water in the pool was toasty warm. Our Catholic font was filled with straight, scalding hot water at about noon, so I guess it was perfect at the vigil

 

[Young_Thinker]

Oh boy I know that feeling! I did some research and decided receiving on the tongue was the way I was going to receive the Eucharist. I said amen and then bowed and I could have sworn I almost head-butted the priest. Then I, like most people, am not used to standing in front of someone with my mouth wide open so I didn’t open my mouth wide enough. I have been to several Masses since and things have definitely improved. It is a learning curve, that is for sure.

I am sorry about the situation with your priest. Maybe he was taken aback and wasn’t sure if he remembered how to distribute the Body on the tongue properly.

Thank you. That is good to hear. I went to Mass at the same church yesterday, and it went more smoothly. I guess that the way that I have been told to position myself to receive the Body is different from this particular priest expects (so I copied what one of the people in front of me did).

 

[Young_Thinker]

Congratulation! :extrahappy: :extrahappy: :extrahappy:

Heck, half the old-timers at our parish made mistakes at the Vigil - some were more noticeable than others - it happens - we move on.

One tip for receiving on the tongue - if you fold your hands in front of you prayerfully, this is often a good way to tip them off that you want to receive on the tongue. If you’re just holding your hands at your sides, they just assume you are going to receive on the hand.

Thank you very much. And I will try to remember that advice. And only yesterday, I learned that I have been making the sign of the Cross in the wrong way (like a priest giving a blessing rather than a parishioner). I had always wondered how other people managed to touch their right shoulders at the end!

 

[TrueLight]

Thank you very much. And I will try to remember that advice. And only yesterday, I learned that I have been making the sign of the Cross in the wrong way (like a priest giving a blessing rather than a parishioner). I had always wondered how other people managed to touch their right shoulders at the end!

Can I get a YouTube on you doing it that way?

 

[Young_Thinker]

Can I get a YouTube on you doing it that way?

Hahah!

 

[Nelka]

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?

When you finally receive the Eucharist, it’s, well, too great for words.

 

[TrueLight]

When you finally receive the Eucharist, it’s, well, too great for words.

You know, I visited a parish today and I had a conversation with two ladies about different topics and we got to communion and my usual litany. Such litany being: “Not being able to take communion is killing me.”

So one says, 'You know, if you speak to the priest, he can probably get you into communion quicker.".

I surprised myself by saying, “uh-uh. I’m not ready.”

 

[curumba13]

i have been in ‘training’ to become a catholic for the past year and a half. and i still need to wait longer. sometimes i really crave being able to go up for communion, and it is really difficult because in my mind i have this view of what it is like to receive jesus in the eucharist. a year ago i really wanted to try it so i went up and received communion in a church, even though i knew it was wrong and i wasnt a catholic and it actually made me really upset and it almost physically hurt as i was putting jesus within myself when i wasnt in a state of grace and wasnt a member of the church. but i realised that was wrong and for the past year ive been going to adoration each week and make my spiritual communion with jesus that way.

 

[TrueLight]

i have been in ‘training’ to become a catholic for the past year and a half. and i still need to wait longer. sometimes i really crave being able to go up for communion, and it is really difficult because in my mind i have this view of what it is like to receive jesus in the eucharist. a year ago i really wanted to try it so i went up and received communion in a church, even though i knew it was wrong and i wasnt a catholic and it actually made me really upset and it almost physically hurt as i was putting jesus within myself when i wasnt in a state of grace and wasnt a member of the church. but i realised that was wrong and for the past year ive been going to adoration each week and make my spiritual communion with jesus that way.

What is the reason you feel you are not ready? You need not answer if it is too personal.

I heard something I think on Catholic Answers where someone said they still had some struggles and is it better to wait till everything is resolved before being confirmed or if she feels led to the Church should she join and trust that God will work everything out?

The answer was something like, if you believe in the infallibility of the Church, you don’t need to wait till you believe in every dogma to join the church. You can trust God will work it out. Now if you don’t believe that the infallibility of the church, you can wait.

How do people feel about that?

 

[curumba13]

i would rather not go into the reasons why ive had to wait so long already, but for a lot of the time i felt like i wasnt ever going to be able to fully give myself to god and to give up living a sinful life, but recently i feel more ready although the thought of going up for communion seems to be both amazing but actually quite terrifying at the same time. part of me really wants to be able to just trust the church that it will all be ok in the end but i do find that difficult at times.

 

[TrueLight]

i would rather not go into the reasons why ive had to wait so long already, but for a lot of the time i felt like i wasnt ever going to be able to fully give myself to god and to give up living a sinful life, but recently i feel more ready although the thought of going up for communion seems to be both amazing but actually quite terrifying at the same time. part of me really wants to be able to just trust the church that it will all be ok in the end but i do find that difficult at times.

Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Marat]

The person who mentioned that you receive communion not take it wasn’t trying to give you some sort of Catholic grammar lesson. It is more a matter of attitude toward the Eucharist, which is a gift. You don’t, or shouldn’t, “take” a gift. You receive it with gratitude. It isn’t something we are entitled to.

The wait was difficult for me as well. RCIA seemed to last forever even though I enjoyed it and met many wonderful people. Receiving communion is one of the few things you can’t do yet. Try and focus on the things you can. Try getting involved in one of your parish’s ministries. Maybe being able to serve others in some way will help bring you closer to God until then.

 

[jmcrae]

What is the reason you feel you are not ready? You need not answer if it is too personal.

I heard something I think on Catholic Answers where someone said they still had some struggles and is it better to wait till everything is resolved before being confirmed or if she feels led to the Church should she join and trust that God will work everything out?

The answer was something like, if you believe in the infallibility of the Church, you don’t need to wait till you believe in every dogma to join the church. You can trust God will work it out. Now if you don’t believe that the infallibility of the church, you can wait.

How do people feel about that?

“Ready” means something different for each individual.

Some people can join the Church and be really faithful Catholics on very little at all - they have such a deep trust in the Church that, even though they can’t explain very much of the teaching, they just instinctively “get” that they need to go to Mass every Sunday, and go to Confession regularly, and they do all of the fasting days, and celebrate all of the feast days, just as if they had been born into it.

Others (like me) are not so lucky - we take forever to wrap our minds around things, and then, finally, it makes sense, and then, only after we “get it,” we can finally kind of let loose and trust the Church, and do all the things we are supposed to do.

I think that when you see someone coming to Mass every Sunday, and going to their RCIA classes every week, even when there are so many other things they could be doing instead, and you see them being really interested and really involved, then that person is “ready,” but if you see someone who is very half-hearted, and has to know why they have to come to Mass every Sunday, or has an excuse every week about why they couldn’t come to RCIA class, then that person isn’t really “ready” even though at some level they really do desire to become Catholic. But if the simple things are insurmountable for them, then it’s really hard to think that they would be able to overcome them when there’s nobody there to remind them, and nobody there to encourage them.

 

[heathernoel]

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 have spent 5 years in RCIA. I’ve put two of our girls through religious ed and watch them as they rec’ve the Eucharist. I’ve cried, prayed…

and know what I came up with? Now that I’m at the finish line and I will be confirmed/last daughter baptized/marriage blessed at Pentecost…it’s clear. It was His time. I could have rushed things, fought with DH over his annulment, etc., but it wasn’t His time.

Had I rushed, I’d have missed an essential part of my faith’s journey. Oh, how much richer my life is because I had to wait.

 

[TrueLight]

“Ready” means something different for each individual.

Some people can join the Church and be really faithful Catholics on very little at all - they have such a deep trust in the Church that, even though they can’t explain very much of the teaching, they just instinctively “get” that they need to go to Mass every Sunday, and go to Confession regularly, and they do all of the fasting days, and celebrate all of the feast days, just as if they had been born into it.

Others (like me) are not so lucky - we take forever to wrap our minds around things, and then, finally, it makes sense, and then, only after we “get it,” we can finally kind of let loose and trust the Church, and do all the things we are supposed to do.

I think that when you see someone coming to Mass every Sunday, and going to their RCIA classes every week, even when there are so many other things they could be doing instead, and you see them being really interested and really involved, then that person is “ready,” but if you see someone who is very half-hearted, and has to know why they have to come to Mass every Sunday, or has an excuse every week about why they couldn’t come to RCIA class, then that person isn’t really “ready” even though at some level they really do desire to become Catholic. But if the simple things are insurmountable for them, then it’s really hard to think that they would be able to overcome them when there’s nobody there to remind them, and nobody there to encourage them.

You know, I go to mass 2x - 3x a week. Even though I am not Catholic, I made sure I attended the Vigil mass this past Saturday because I wasn’t going to be able to make mass this Sunday. I have been studying and learning like crazy. I purchased my first Roman Catholic Missal.

Nevertheless, every mass, I am still moving out of the way for people to go take communion.

It is still killing me.

 

[TrueLight]

I have spent 5 years in RCIA. I’ve put two of our girls through religious ed and watch them as they rec’ve the Eucharist. I’ve cried, prayed…

and know what I came up with? Now that I’m at the finish line and I will be confirmed/last daughter baptized/marriage blessed at Pentecost…it’s clear. It was His time. I could have rushed things, fought with DH over his annulment, etc., but it wasn’t His time.

Had I rushed, I’d have missed an essential part of my faith’s journey. Oh, how much richer my life is because I had to wait.

Congratulations. Very inspiring.

 

[jmcrae]

You know, I go to mass 2x - 3x a week. Even though I am not Catholic, I made sure I attended the Vigil mass this past Saturday because I wasn’t going to be able to make mass this Sunday. I have been studying and learning like crazy. I purchased my first Roman Catholic Missal.

Nevertheless, every mass, I am still moving out of the way for people to go take communion.

It is still killing me.

Without realizing it, you are growing in virtue. You are developing patience. Your ego is being pruned away, little by little. By being forced to give way to others, and be happy for them to get things that you don’t get to have yet, you are developing the habit of gratitude.

This is part of the process of becoming a Catholic. By the time you reach the Sacraments, you won’t even recognize yourself.

Keep up the good work - and believe me, the time will fly by faster than you expect.