[POLL] How much time do you fast before Holy Communion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aulef
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I fast from midnight until communion if communion is first thing or early in the morning. Otherwise I go with the hour fast although plenty of times it is more than an hour.
Aulef said:
Low carb, high fat diet allows you that.

When I was full on this diet I could be up to 28 hours without eating (and at least 16 hours)

Its a real game changer
Click to expand...
Different bodies may react differently but for me I found the same. When I avoid carbohydrate rich foods I don’t feel the need to eat as much.

As a kid I was usually made to eat cereal for breakfast. Ironically it is the Seventh Day Adventists who pushed for and got this change in our culture. I’d be extremely hungry just a couple of hours later. As an adult I was able to discover eggs and meat were a much better breakfast for me.
 
I try for over night, but being a diabetic sometimes I have to eat before mass.
 
I started a low carb diet a couple of weeks ago and it really has made a difference in my hunger levels.
 
FYI - Fasting is not eating.
Whenever I have a physical, my doctor tells me no food after midnight.
I am fasting until from then until after the time that blood (for blood work) is drawn the next morning, say around 9:30 a.m.
Fasting is fasting.
 
At my parish, I choose to go to their 5:30PM mass and I usually stop eating at about 3:00PM to give a little extra time.
 
Having been one of the few who checked no fasting, I guess I’ll 'splain. I have type 2 diabetes and a heart condition (actually 2 conditions) I do try to observe the one hour and most of the time I have no trouble with it. But sometime I find myself running late, can feel the weakness and lethargy from the conditions, and will take something to alleviate those conditions. Talked to my pastor and he gave me a blanket dispensation telling me that my health needs be addressed, and neither of us think the Lord is all that upset.
 
Aulef said:
Low carb, high fat diet allows you that.

When I was full on this diet I could be up to 28 hours without eating (and at least 16 hours)

Its a real game changer
Click to expand...
I too have to be a bit careful to eat on time and enough or I get a bit shaky feeling and have brain fog .An hour is fine but only if I’ve eaten something substantial…but then if it were too heavy I feel sleepy and won’t take the mass in as well.
 
I will add that I usually have a breath mint before we leave for Mass (usually a half hour to Mass starting and maybe an hour- hour and 15 minutes before Communion) and I actually never thought of it being a breaking of the fastball because it isn’t good. However, it also isn’t medicine but I want to be presentable and sometimes my breath doesn’t smell great even after brushing. :confused:

Not sure if that’s permissible? I can definitley stop but I know it was never in defiance to the fast!
 
With the original post, it wasn’t as clear you were making a personal encouragement as opposed to saying it was required. Now that you have clarified, I have no problems with such an encouragement.
 
TheCatholicChurch said:
There is no prohibition on fasting for 8 hours dear friend. There is no prohibition on encouraging others to take greater leaps in their faith instead of doing the bare minimum.
Click to expand...
However, you cannot tell people what they should and shouldn’t do when it contradicts Church discipline. If you prefer 8 hours or longer that is your right but please do not tell other people they should do the same.
 
This I do not agree.

Even saints tell us to go further in our acts of Charity
 
I voted “overnight fasting” because I usually go to a Sunday 9.30 AM mass and don’t eat until after. However, in the summer when there are fewer masses, I go to the Saturday 6:30 PM mass, in which case I fast at least one hour before. I just want to be totally honest.
 
Last edited:
Aulef said:
This I do not agree.

Even saints tell us to go further in our acts of Charity
Click to expand...
It’s what the Church tells us that matters (nobody else) and in the case of the Communion fast it is one hour. Nobody says you cannot do more if you wish but that is a free choice the Church gives us.
What is uncharitable is bullying people or trying to make people feel guilty if they do not fast longer than one hour.
 
Footprints said:
if I don’t eat before Sunday Mass (we go to an 8am Mass), I start to feel faint. One time I actually did faint…
Click to expand...
That isn’t good at all. What do you do for medical tests or surgeries that require overnight food/water fasting?

Speak to your doctor, you should be able to fast for a modest period of time without such an adverse effect.
 
I try not to eat before morning Mass Sunday to observe the spirit of fast, but I do drink coffee before the cutoff so I am not a zombie. If it’s an afternoon mass, anything more than minimum is mostly by chance.
 
Do you really think that user bullied or made people feel guilty for not fasting for longer periods?
 
I’ve been told by a priest that yes it’s 1 hour but if you receive the Eucharist say only a few minutes earlier than one hour then it is sufficient- as long as you make an attempt to fast.

Sometimes mass goes much quicker than expected and if Communion is distributed well short of 1 hour after I eat I will remain in my pew but other times if the difference is only a couple minutes even though the priest mentioned this I will receive Communion and hold it in place for that last couple of minutes before I actually consume. Sometimes I wonder if this is not treating the Eucharist properly even though I’m trying to keep to the letter of the 1 hour fast.
 
Last edited:
The priests that celebrate Mass where I go to say 1 hour is fine, but they strongly encourage at least three (3) hours
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top