Question about eating before Communion

  • Thread starter Thread starter Carmelite1983
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Carmelite1983 said:
thought that was the “whole point” of Mass…
Thanks for the (name removed by moderator)ut!
Click to expand...
That’s a common misconception which came about because of the change in Church discipline where the laity receive Communion at every Mass.

For several hundred years it was the exact opposite - the laity only received once a year.

The pendulum swung from one extreme to the other - now it’s reaching a comfortable middle where people realize they don’t NEED to receive at every Mass, but frequent Communion is good.
 
It seems to me that a lot of people could stand to think about the intent behind the rule rather than just mindlessly applying it like some kind of ocd train conductor. Obviously, the intent is that we make some small sacrifice (a short fast) to put ourselves in the right mindset to receive. Freaking out over whether a mint is primarily a breath freshener or “food” strikes me, I don’t know…Rainman-esque?
 
@Carmelite1983

https://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/communion_dispositions.htm
2. Fasting for One Hour. By ancient tradition Christians abstain from profane food prior to receiving the sacred food of the Eucharist. Until the pontificate of Pope Pius XII the Eucharistic fast was from midnight. Pope Pius reduced it to three hours, and after Vatican II, Pope Paul VI reduced it to one hour. The current Code of Canon Law states,
Canon 919
  1. One who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion.
  2. A priest who celebrates the Most Holy Eucharist two or three times on the same day may take something before the second or third celebration even if the period of one hour does not intervene.
  3. Those who are advanced in age or who suffer from any infirmity, as well as those who take care of them, can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have taken something during the previous hour.
Click to expand...
The Eucharistic fast is before Holy Communion, not the Mass. It is a fast from food and drink, water is alright, as is medicine. The moral theology tradition teaches that to be food it must be a) edible, b) taken by mouth, and c) swallowed. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, candies, breath mints, lozanges and anything that is put into the mouth to be dissolved or chewed meets these conditions once the dissolved contents are swallowed. Chewing gum does not break the fast, but it is disrespectful of the Sacred Liturgy and once the juice is swallowed the fast is broken. The tradition also teaches that the fast is strict - one hour, that is, 60 minutes. Given that until recently the fast was from midnight, this seems very little to ask of Catholics.
 
I disagree. As I said one could receive at a later mass, but even if it’s the last mass if the day you caused the situation. Being careless and forgetful when you know you’re under pain of mortal sin if you don’t receive at the next mass certainly isn’t saintly…
 
This begs the question. Why oh why would a cough drop (it’s name implies medicine) be labeled as candy?!? Oh boy can’t wait to get me a Snickers bar, some jelly beans and a cough drop for Halloween!
 
O.P., if you have any health issues like diabetes or any other blood sugar issues, then you may not have a choice. I have to eat breakfast when I get up or it will mess with my blood sugar. I don’t need to be passing out while driving to church. That being said, get up earlier so that you don’t need to worry about it, I started doing that (harder to do when I have to work on Saturday, I end up being really tired Sunday morn), then eat.
If you are worried enough time has not elapsed then don’t receive the Eucharist that Sunday, do it next.

I take Communion so serious that if I believe I may have committed a mortal sin and not have been to confession yet, I will pass. I have a particular sin I struggle with and usually fall short so more often than not I don’t receive because I don’t wan’t to receive unworthy. There is no shame in not receiving, if you feel you are not in a state to do so.

My understanding as to why the Church does this, as it was explained to me, is so that anything you ate is completely digested and will not mix with the Eucharist before that is completely digested, since the Eucharist is Jesus.
 
Last edited:
lilypadrees said:
If the buyer doesn’t use the product as the instructions state it is to be used, they are mis using it.
Click to expand...
Please!
Anyone who has reached the age of reason and has a good education does exactly what you deny all the time when they purchase things. Manufacturers are not all knowing gods who must be obeyed by a cowering anxious population as if in some totalitarian state.

Often enough items made expressly for one purpose are so over-priced that it is regularly cheaper to buy something made for another purpose which will do the same job. Anybody with basic technical sense or experience knows this.

As a 17 year old I worked out how to change gears when driving the car without using the clutch.
It takes a skill and an understanding of how drive transmissions work. Yes it is risky but it can be done under certain circumstances if you know what you are doing.
If you dont then follow the label.
 
Last edited:
First thing, when you refrain because you are not properly disposed, that does not mean you
Carmelite1983 said:
refuse to receive communion
Click to expand...
Only receive if you are disposed. Haven eaten anything (except medicine or for other serious illnesses that require food) an hour ahead of time means you are not disposed.

You are required to receive the Eucharist once each year during the Easter Season. Even the most forgetful can remember to keep the fast for one Sunday 🙂
 
lilypadrees said:
If you are in the USA, Hall’s Cough Drops are labeled as medicine. Those you can take if necessary. (Water also helps prevent coughing fits.)

In other countries, the same cough drops are labeled a hard candy. You can’t take anything that is candy because it would break your fast.
Click to expand...
Would you point me to the directive from the Vatican that establishes this?
 
If you are having coughing fits, it is likely better that you stay home so you do not spread your illness to everyone else!
 
Carmelite1983 said:
I thought that was the “whole point” of Mass…
Click to expand...
The point of Mass is, as far as I believe, to be present in union with all Catholics in the world, all the angels and saints in Heaven, and all the souls in purgatory, to witness the timeless sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and his ressurection. Receiving Communion is to be very much recommended, but it is not compulsory and if a person is not in a state of grace, or has not observed the Communion fast, then they should not receive.
 
bassmansteiny said:
My understanding as to why the Church does this, as it was explained to me, is so that anything you ate is completely digested and will not mix with the Eucharist before that is completely digested, since the Eucharist is Jesus.
Click to expand...
I used to think this, but I recently heard that the reason for the Communion fast is that we feel a sense of hunger for Christ in the Eucharist. The notion that we approach the Eucharist with a physical hunger as we yearn for Christ to satisfy us, I think that is beautiful and would perhaps encourage us to go beyond the one hour fast.
 
Last edited:
Brendan_64 said:
used to think this, but I recently heard that the reason for the Communion fast is that we feel a sense of hunger for Christ in the Eucharist. The notion that we approach the Eucharist with a physical hunger as we yearn for Christ to satisfy us, I think that is beautiful and would perhaps encourage us to go beyond the one hour fast.
Click to expand...
I like this also 😀
 
The link to the page the information came from is in post #27. I don’t have a link to the Vatican saying anything about it.
 
Okay, so it is an opinion, not a doctrine that I had not yet learned.

thank you.
 
Read the article and look at the pictures. The pictures in the article show the facts. Cough drops are medicine and placed with other cough medicines in the US while they are labeled candy and placed with candies in other countries.

The priest of our parish said it was okay to have a cough drop if necessary to quell a cough. It’s not considered a food or beverage. But we cannot have gum, candy or breath mints because those break the fast.
 
Again, that article, the pictures, are all the opinions of the author.

The Church has not decreed that the manufacturing label has any bearing. For a diabetic having a low blood sugar episode, a gummy bear or jelly bean IS medicinal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top