Question about Metamucil and Holy Communion

[FrDavid96]

My question is for personal reflection of every reader. The rules are not black and white. As I said, if the drug is absolutely necessary, then it should be taken. If it can wait, then it should wait. How difficult is it to understand that?

The problem here is that you are adding requirements to the law which the Church has not put there.

 

[Loboto-Me]

You misinterpreted the law. “Liquid” is meant to describe the medicine, not that you can have any liquid. To understand the law better, understand the purpose of fasting. We fast so we know that we can do without these things, even food. But we cannot do without God. Of course medicine is allowed because we shouldn’t put our health at risk when we grow our spirituality.

I think you have it right ConstantineTG, otherwise if we are always after the “letter of the law” then do we not become like the pharisees? We should always think of the reason behind “the law” in order to get it right.

 

[ConstantineTG]

The problem here is that you are adding requirements to the law which the Church has not put there.

I’m not adding requirements, I’m introducing common sense. Obviously if we take the law for just the law, there’s so many questions like this. Jesus and St. Paul talked a lot about common sense when they talked about exemptions to the law. Jesus talked about working on Sabbath, St. Paul told people not to fuss about food they eat. The law is not meant to be the be-all, end-all of the faith. Its meant as a guide. We fast not because of the law but because we want to be closer to Christ. If we follow the law to just follow the law, the we’re just following a law, not Christ.

 

[TrueLight]

I’m not adding requirements, I’m introducing common sense. Obviously if we take the law for just the law, there’s so many questions like this. Jesus and St. Paul talked a lot about common sense when they talked about exemptions to the law. Jesus talked about working on Sabbath, St. Paul told people not to fuss about food they eat. The law is not meant to be the be-all, end-all of the faith. Its meant as a guide. We fast not because of the law but because we want to be closer to Christ. If we follow the law to just follow the law, the we’re just following a law, not Christ.

Wow. I’m going to have to agree with you again!

If one requires a medication for a health issue, and one is required to take it around mass time, by all means take it before going to mass.

If one can take it after mass, or an hour before mass, then why not do that, rather than count the seconds?

Fasting is about self-denial and penance out of love for the Lord.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Wow. I’m going to have to agree with you again!

If one requires a medication for a health issue, and one is required to take it around mass time, by all means take it before going to mass.

If one can take it after mass, or an hour before mass, then why not do that, rather than count the seconds?

Fasting is about self-denial and penance out of love for the Lord.

Apparently all the head-butting has cracked our skulls and merged our minds

 

[Chatter163]

I simply cannot fathom the fact that we have three pages here dedicated to the question of whether Metamucil is a medication or not.

Whether it is in liquid or capsule form, whether it is prescribed by a doctor or not, all vitamins and supplements fall under the medication label. The product is being taken for health reasons, not to satiate hunger or create pleasure. Let’s not split hairs here.

 

[Loboto-Me]

This is how I do it, since I do have timed medications and have to take supplements to counteract some of the effects of my meds

Since I have to take one of my meds 3 times daily, another of my meds once daily and 5 supplements to counteract.

The ones which are timed, I take before Mass if I must because these are the type that need to be evenly distributed in my body, all day long. On days that I’m not going to Mass, I’ll take my supplements at the same time. On days that I’ll be receiving Holy Communion, I wait until later. They’re supplements, sure they counteract the side effects… If I don’t take these, my hair will fall out, I will become nauseous etc… so yeah, they’re super important for me to have, BUT they’re not a timed medication… they can be taken at any time for the benefit.

Now, if I had to take a supplement that was needed to help in absorption or to relieve immediate side-effects of a necessary and timed medication, then yes, I would consider it a direct medication that must be taken.

We must use our judgement! I know someone who drinks flavored black coffee before Mass… I mean minutes before, because otherwise they’re grumpy and might get a headache… I consider this breaking a fast because it’s not necessary. On the other hand, there are some who are diabetic and must have some orange juice or something right before Mass… well yes, then it’s a medical issue and is fine to do.

Let us not be pharisees, let’s remember the reason behind the fast and judge what is necessary and what is not.

 

[Phemie]

Metamucil is a medicine, and is not food. But it can be taken before an hour before Mass so that if you’re worried about it, you can take it earlier…and you can even take it after Mass. Are you asking because you lost track of time and took it too late?

I wouldn’t miss Communion just because I took Metamucil, but that’s just me. When in doubt, ask your priest. He probably took some too sometime that morning…

Guess it depends under which form you take it. I would certainly not consider my Metamucil wafers as simply ‘medicine’. They are just cookies with a high fiber content. And there is no way that your intake of this product is so regimented that it can’t be advanced or delayed to accommodate Communion.

 

[Phemie]

I’ve understood there to be three reasons for the fast:

1. To create a physical hunger and associate that with our spiritual hunger which is fulfilled by the Eucharist.
2. To set aside a time of prayer and fasting before the Eucharist (traditionally done in the Presence, I think).
3. So no one goes to the bathroom during Mass.

Considering what Metamucil does when it functions properly, I’d avoid if possible for #3.

It doesn’t work that fast.

 

[pinctor]

well I memorized the baltimore catechism for 8 years in parochial school and never learned this bit of trivia, please provide a source

The Baltimore catechism is not the only one.
As for a source, I said “I recall”. That is my source.

 

[FrDavid96]

I’m not adding requirements, I’m introducing common sense. Obviously if we take the law for just the law, there’s so many questions like this. Jesus and St. Paul talked a lot about common sense when they talked about exemptions to the law. Jesus talked about working on Sabbath, St. Paul told people not to fuss about food they eat. The law is not meant to be the be-all, end-all of the faith. Its meant as a guide. We fast not because of the law but because we want to be closer to Christ. If we follow the law to just follow the law, the we’re just following a law, not Christ.

Whose requirements are they? Yours or the Church’s?

In one post, you tell people that they can only take medicine in cases of necessity, then you deny that you are adding requirements to the law.

You can’t have it both ways.

The fact is that you are making up your own laws and telling other people here that they have to follow them. I would hardly compare that to St. Paul telling people not to fuss about the foods they eat—because you’re doing exactly the opposite. You’re telling people to fuss about how they take their medicine.

 

[FrDavid96]

Wow. I’m going to have to agree with you again!

If one requires a medication for a health issue, and one is required to take it around mass time, by all means take it before going to mass.

If one can take it after mass, or an hour before mass, then why not do that, rather than count the seconds?

Fasting is about self-denial and penance out of love for the Lord.

The issue here is about the Church’s requirement for the Eucharistic fast.

The canon is quite clear in saying that medicine does not break the fast.

It’s not a matter of “why not do it this way?”

The Communion fast is not a matter of Divine Law. It’s a discipline of the Church, and therefore subject to the Church’s discretion on how it’s defined. If the Church says that medicine does not break the fast, then medicine does not break the fast. It’s that simple.

Given that the Church makes no requirements that medicine must be “out of necessity” no one has any business adding other requirements to the law.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Whose requirements are they? Yours or the Church’s?

In one post, you tell people that they can only take medicine in cases of necessity, then you deny that you are adding requirements to the law.

You can’t have it both ways.

The fact is that you are making up your own laws and telling other people here that they have to follow them. I would hardly compare that to St. Paul telling people not to fuss about the foods they eat—because you’re doing exactly the opposite. You’re telling people to fuss about how they take their medicine.

Father, with all due respect, why is the law in there in the first place? Its there to provide us a guideline on how we should conduct fasting. The important aspect here is about fasting, not what the law says. The intent of the law is to tell those who absolutely need something to take it even if they are under fast. Do we expect the Church to tell us in every detail all the possible situations? If we know why we fast, then the law should make more sense.

So are you telling me its okay for a person addicted on pain medication or cough syrup to feed their addiction 5 minutes before walking into a Mass?

 

[FrDavid96]

Father, with all due respect, why is the law in there in the first place? Its there to provide us a guideline on how we should conduct fasting. The important aspect here is about fasting, not what the law says. The intent of the law is to tell those who absolutely need something to take it even if they are under fast. Do we expect the Church to tell us in every detail all the possible situations? If we know why we fast, then the law should make more sense.

So are you telling me its okay for a person addicted on pain medication or cough syrup to feed their addiction 5 minutes before walking into a Mass?

What I am telling you is that you cannot add your own personal requirements to what the Church defines as the Eucharistic fast and then tell other people that they are bound by your law rather than the Church’s law. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what you’re doing here.

 

[Pug]

The fast is not a fast from medication. Medication does not break the fast, so who cares when you take it (relative to the fast)? Medication is not relevant to the fast.

I somewhat understand, though, the urge to make your life more irritating or inconvenient as some type of penance. But that is not a requirement of the fast. If you keep the fast, you have kept the fast, even if you didn’t find the fast personally irritating.

 

[ConstantineTG]

What I am telling you is that you cannot add your own personal requirements to what the Church defines as the Eucharistic fast and then tell other people that they are bound by your law rather than the Church’s law. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what you’re doing here.

I’m sorry Father, but the law is meant to enrich our spiritual lives in a way that we can sincerely fast without putting our lives in danger. If people use the law merely to circumvent the fasting, then the spirit of the law is dead. I’m not putting my own requirement here. What did I add or take away? People need to be sincere in their fasting. If people just merely follow the letter of the law, what good does that give one’s soul?

 

[ConstantineTG]

The fast is not a fast from medication. Medication does not break the fast, so who cares when you take it (relative to the fast)? Medication is not relevant to the fast.

I somewhat understand, though, the urge to make your life more irritating or inconvenient as some type of penance. But that is not a requirement of the fast. If you keep the fast, you have kept the fast, even if you didn’t find the fast personally irritating.

Its not about making your life irritating as a form of penance. The question really is, do you really need that medicine now or not.

When I wake up in the morning I normally don’t take water unless I eat. So I do not take water as part of my fasting unless I really have to. The symbolism of fasting is that we know that it is the Lord alone who we need to live. I need God more than water, that is for sure.

 

[puppyluv]

Don’t worry it’s medicine. Just put it in water, no other beverages and avoid eating with it.

 

[TrueLight]

This is how I do it, since I do have timed medications and have to take supplements to counteract some of the effects of my meds

Since I have to take one of my meds 3 times daily, another of my meds once daily and 5 supplements to counteract.

The ones which are timed, I take before Mass if I must because these are the type that need to be evenly distributed in my body, all day long. On days that I’m not going to Mass, I’ll take my supplements at the same time. On days that I’ll be receiving Holy Communion, I wait until later. They’re supplements, sure they counteract the side effects… If I don’t take these, my hair will fall out, I will become nauseous etc… so yeah, they’re super important for me to have, BUT they’re not a timed medication… they can be taken at any time for the benefit.

Now, if I had to take a supplement that was needed to help in absorption or to relieve immediate side-effects of a necessary and timed medication, then yes, I would consider it a direct medication that must be taken.

We must use our judgement! I know someone who drinks flavored black coffee before Mass… I mean minutes before, because otherwise they’re grumpy and might get a headache… I consider this breaking a fast because it’s not necessary. On the other hand, there are some who are diabetic and must have some orange juice or something right before Mass… well yes, then it’s a medical issue and is fine to do.

Let us not be pharisees, let’s remember the reason behind the fast and judge what is necessary and what is not.

Excellent post!

 

[amlcssr]

I’m sorry Father, but the law is meant to enrich our spiritual lives in a way that we can sincerely fast without putting our lives in danger. If people use the law merely to circumvent the fasting, then the spirit of the law is dead. I’m not putting my own requirement here. What did I add or take away? People need to be sincere in their fasting. If people just merely follow the letter of the law, what good does that give one’s soul?

This whole discussion is just another example of the hyperlegalism of most Latin Rite Catholics, and I entirely agree with you ConstantineTG. For some reason people seem to be determined to assert their right to consume Metamucil or whatever other nonurgent daily medication they have specifically during the fasting period just to prove that they can. It’s like Latin Catholics who go out for a Lobster dinner on Good Friday just to “stick it to Canon Law” or something like that.

The fact of the matter is that all Catholics should be fasting from Midnight before receiving communion whenever possible. Not because it is required, but because it is an ancient tradition, and because not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.