Receiving Communion and Mortal Sin

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Brooklyn

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Here’s the deal. I was at Mass this morning at a church that also has a school, and there was a class of 8th graders there. The priest started the homily talking to the kids and said: “How many of you are Catholic?” About 90% to 95% raised their hands. Then he asked, “How many of you went to Mass this past Sunday.” About 95% of those hands went down. In other words, only 10% or so of these Catholic School 8th graders had attended Mass on Sunday.

I was appalled at that, but I expected the priest to say, well, unless you have gone to confession, you should not receive communion today. Instead he went on to say that we need to live what we believe and expounded on that. Then he talked about the first reading, which was from Acts, and asked the kids who Saul was. No one had a clue, not surprisingly.

Well, communion time came, and every one of those kids got up and received communion from the priest, and he didn’t say a word.

I think I witnessed wholesale sacrilege this morning, as sacrilege is defined thus: "Real sacrilege is the irreverent treatment of sacred things as distinguished from places and persons. This can happen first of all by the administration or reception of the sacraments (or in the case of the Holy Eucharist by celebration) in the state of mortal sin, as also by advertently doing any of those things invalidly. Indeed deliberate and notable irreverence towards the Holy Eucharist is reputed the worst of all sacrileges. "

newadvent.org/cathen/13321a.htm

What, if anything, do you think I should do in this case? I am not a member of this parish, and I don’t know the priest.
 
That’s exactly what it is, sacrilege, not to mention scandal, and it’s running way too rampant in the Church.
 
*Dear Brooklyn,
Wow, this is unbelievable, and extremely sad! I’m not sure what you should do. I’m curious what the thoughts would be of one of CA Apologist would be … they share tremendous wisdom for Catholicism!
I know I would of been extremely disappointed to see this at Mass.
God Bless you,
Angel Face
*
 
For sure, he missed an opportunity to teach that to miss Sunday Mass without good reason is a mortal sin but I don’t know that 8th graders who are dependent on their parents for transportation to Church would be in mortal sin. I teach in a Catholic school and I have my 6th graders take their religion book home so they can read to their parents about the 3rd commandment. Many parents just don’t know what their faith teaches…even those who send their children to Catholic schools.
 
Michelle_Jude said:
For sure, he missed an opportunity to teach that to miss Sunday Mass without good reason is a mortal sin but I don’t know that 8th graders who are dependent on their parents for transportation to Church would be in mortal sin. I teach in a Catholic school and I have my 6th graders take their religion book home so they can read to their parents about the 3rd commandment. Many parents just don’t know what their faith teaches…even those who send their children to Catholic schools.
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I think that is the key. It is the parent’s sin; not the child’s.
 
8th graders who can’t drive, can’t get themselves to Mass. Yes, they should be encouraged to go and so should their parents, but if they had no way of getting to church, it isn’t their sin.

What you witnessed may indeed have been enough to get the kids thinking and talkign to their parents. You say you don’t belong to this parish or know the priest, so you can’t say what else he teaches about Mass attendance in his homilies and in the school.

The best thing you can do is pray freverently for the priest, the children, their parents, and the school. Pray that the Holy Spirit lights their hearts on fire for God.

If this parish is near where you work, maybe you could volunteer to help out in the school or parish religious ed after school or during your lunch break. Even just talking about your own faith journey and vocation (to marriage, religious life, or singleness) could have a big impact on the kids.
Brooklyn said:
Here’s the deal. I was at Mass this morning at a church that also has a school, and there was a class of 8th graders there. The priest started the homily talking to the kids and said: “How many of you are Catholic?” About 90% to 95% raised their hands. Then he asked, “How many of you went to Mass this past Sunday.” About 95% of those hands went down. In other words, only 10% or so of these Catholic School 8th graders had attended Mass on Sunday.

I was appalled at that, but I expected the priest to say, well, unless you have gone to confession, you should not receive communion today. Instead he went on to say that we need to live what we believe and expounded on that. Then he talked about the first reading, which was from Acts, and asked the kids who Saul was. No one had a clue, not surprisingly.

Well, communion time came, and every one of those kids got up and received communion from the priest, and he didn’t say a word.

I think I witnessed wholesale sacrilege this morning, as sacrilege is defined thus: "Real sacrilege is the irreverent treatment of sacred things as distinguished from places and persons. This can happen first of all by the administration or reception of the sacraments (or in the case of the Holy Eucharist by celebration) in the state of mortal sin, as also by advertently doing any of those things invalidly. Indeed deliberate and notable irreverence towards the Holy Eucharist is reputed the worst of all sacrileges. "

newadvent.org/cathen/13321a.htm

What, if anything, do you think I should do in this case? I am not a member of this parish, and I don’t know the priest.
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Michelle_Jude said:
For sure, he missed an opportunity to teach that to miss Sunday Mass without good reason is a mortal sin but I don’t know that 8th graders who are dependent on their parents for transportation to Church would be in mortal sin. I teach in a Catholic school and I have my 6th graders take their religion book home so they can read to their parents about the 3rd commandment. Many parents just don’t know what their faith teaches…even those who send their children to Catholic schools.
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Yes, but the OP said they had the church with the school. Parents driving their kids to Catholic schools daily but not to the same location on Sunday? Strange. We walked miles to church and school when we were young. Now I hear they can’t walk two blocks if their car doesn’t start.
 
And perhaps it may also be a mortal sin not to approach the priest about this issue. Are we not to speak up about this sort of thing? It is our duty as Catholics to charitably talk to the priest.
 
I agree it is up to the parents to see to it that their child / children go to Mass, just like **they **should be going to Mass. It’s hard to set a good example if you are not doing it yourself!
God Bless,
Angel Face
 
ProVobis said:
Yes, but the OP said they had the church with the school. Parents driving their kids to Catholic schools daily but not to the same location on Sunday? Strange. We walked miles to church and school when we were young. Now I hear they can’t walk two blocks if their car doesn’t start.
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School buses run on schooldays, not on Sundays. So do car pools among parents of students. Not every parent takes their child to school.

It’s fine to talk about walking miles, but did you do it on your own as an 8th grader? Did you have parents who would’ve made fun of you for going, or would’ve made family arrangements that conflicted with Mass times, or who simply never went to Church themselves and didn’t care in the slightest if you did?

Maybe the church is in a rough neighbourhood - there are places around here that I, as a reasonably savvy adult, wouldn’t walk through unless you paid me to do so and gave me a bodyguard to accompany me, let alone as an eigth grader.
 
Brooklyn said:
Here’s
Well, communion time came, and every one of those kids got up and received communion from the priest, and he didn’t say a word.

I What, if anything, do you think I should do in this case? I am not a member of this parish, and I don’t know the priest.
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I hope is sermon included a command to remind their parents of the obligation to bring them to Sunday Mass. I doubt an 8th grader who lives far away from church can get himself to Mass, and hence is not subjectively guilty of the sin. All but a handful of our school students live more than a mile away. granted we walked in our day, but this is a different era. what we can’t do is make an assumption about the objective state of the soul of individuals.

I do think you should follow up with the priest, praise him for brining up the issue, but ask your questions specifically, how can the situation be remedied, and how can the children be made to understand the seriousness of this. But in the context, having just asked them for a show of hands, he cannot very well accuse them publicly of mortal sin.
 
You all probably didn’t notice but I’m from Brooklyn, NY. It’s different here than in most parts of America. There are Catholic churches almost every few blocks. Plus we have excellent public tranportation that 13 yr olds take by themselves all the time. And this particular church happens to be in a very good neighborhood. So that is why I was particularly appalled by this whole thing. And then the major thing that disturbed me was the fact that these were kids attending Catholic school who should have already been taught that purposely missing Sun mass is a mortal sin. Also, why did the priest not mention it at the time he was speaking.

The poster who said I will be guilty of sin if I don’t say anything is probably right. I am going to write to the pastor and let him know about this situation. BTW, the priest who did thiis is the retired pastor.

Thanks for all your responses. They are very helpful.
 
LilyM said:
It’s fine to talk about walking miles, but did you do it on your own as an 8th grader?
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When I lived in London, I’d ride the Underground Tube by myself when I was 8 to go to a special school on Saturdays. I never rode on a school bus in my life nor ever had my parents drive me to school. We had no car. Our schools didn’t have school buses. When I moved to the US, it was in the city and we all walked to school and most of us even walked to and from home for lunch besides. One had to prove he or she lived more than a mile away so they could eat lunch at school. And the only parking lots for the church were side streets and you might have ended up walking a few blocks anyway.

I’ll concede that situations may be different in the suburbs in the U.S. today though. Parents by owning cars won’t concern themselves with buying a house near a school or church anymore. So they become more dependent on having to drive their kids to school or themselves to church. And walking can be tough when you don’t have sidewalks. So I can see a hardship in some respects for kids but only 20% of them attending Mass on Sunday? And that means their parents aren’t probably going either so there’s another set of Catholics who probably receive sacrilegously if and when they go to Mass. I don’t know how things are in Australia but in the U.S. English OF Masses 98-99% receive and I’ve even heard them brag about it.

As someone asked here or on another thread, are they all saints? I’d add either that or they’re extremely ignorant of sin. But hey, if ignorance gets you salvation, then why not stay ignorant? Where’s the motivation to be concerned about sin when you have nothing to gain and your soul to lose?
 
for the OP, i highly doubt you’d be guilty of mortal sin if you didn’t mention it to the priest. that being said, when you talk to the priest always be charitable in all things. 🙂 as iam sure you will be. remember priests represent Jesus Christ. As regards the kids, its the fault of the parents that they don’t go to Mass as often as they should. But remember, if they are a one parent family, sometimes necessity dictates that they work on sundays in order to support their kid/s. That is not a mortal sin as they are having to care for their child, if they are an EMT, police officer, fire fighter, doctor, or nurse then more often than not they have to work on Sundays. thus they would not be commiting a mortal sin. There are many reasons why and valid ones that some parents cannot take their kids to Mass on Sundays.

More often than not though they are free to take their kids to Mass. Education about the seriousness of missing Mass on Sundays starts at home. If parents educate their children in the faith and make a concentrated effort to take them to Mass on Sundays then they are fulfilling their Sunday obligation.

The reason why Churches are so empty is because of the lack of interest to be at the Mass. If people took it seriously and remembered what the Mass is truly about then perhaps it’d be a different scenario. We must learn to cultivate a true respect for the Mass and a burning desire to be there. This also starts at home. At school as well with our religious educators. Teaching your children to pray the Holy Rosary and setting time aside every day for prayer as a family is also a way to cultivate that love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. One must teach with love at all times.
 
MerryCatholic said:
for the OP, i highly doubt you’d be guilty of mortal sin if you didn’t mention it to the priest. that being said, when you talk to the priest always be charitable in all things. 🙂 as iam sure you will be. remember priests represent Jesus Christ. As regards the kids, its the fault of the parents that they don’t go to Mass as often as they should. But remember, if they are a one parent family, sometimes necessity dictates that they work on sundays in order to support their kid/s. That is not a mortal sin as they are having to care for their child, if they are an EMT, police officer, fire fighter, doctor, or nurse then more often than not they have to work on Sundays. thus they would not be commiting a mortal sin. There are many reasons why and valid ones that some parents cannot take their kids to Mass on Sundays.

I agree that there can be valid reasons for not getting to Church on Sunday, but that is why we have vigil Masses on Saturday afternoon. Remember, we are talking about older kids here, just about ready to go into high school, and in New York City. Trust me, these kids go everywhere by themselves on public transportation. There is no reason why they can’t go to Church on Sunday, even if their parents don’t go. And if they don’t live in the neighborhood, as I said, there are churches everywhere in Brooklyn, which is known as the borough of churches. These are kids who go to Catholic school everyday. Why isn’t the school teaching them how important Sunday Mass is, and more importantly, why didn’t the priest say something right at that time?

I appreciate your thoughts about being kind to the priest. You are absolutely right, he does represent Christ, and this particular priest has been a priest for probably more than 40 years, so I will be respectful.

I think this is emblematic of the deep spiritual problems in the Catholic Church. It breaks my heart seeing people pass in front of the Blessed Sacrament without so much as a bow or nod of the head, must less genuflecting. The statistic for Catholics attending regular Sunday Mass, at least here in NYC, is about 20%. How many souls are we losing? Certainly if they are ignorant of the fact that Sunday Mass is obligatory, they are not held as responsible. But don’t you think it is far more likely that they believe they have the right to decide for themselves what is right and wrong, otherwise known as original sin? I had an argument with a church “leader” in one church about a parishioner who had decided that she didn’t need to attend Sunday Mass if she didn’t feel like it. The “leader” told me that this person lives in the real world. I stopped attending that church when the pastor did not correct her.
The reason why Churches are so empty is because of the lack of interest to be at the Mass. If people took it seriously and remembered what the Mass is truly about then perhaps it’d be a different scenario. We must learn to cultivate a true respect for the Mass and a burning desire to be there. This also starts at home. At school as well with our religious educators. Teaching your children to pray the Holy Rosary and setting time aside every day for prayer as a family is also a way to cultivate that love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. One must teach with love at all times.
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I think I’d be more concerned about the 5% of non-Catholics you saw receive Eucharist instead of the Catholic kids that may have been in mortal sin for not fulfilling the Sunday obligation.

I emphasize may have been because we can not know the state of their souls. What may have been a obvious mortal sin to the OP may not have actually been. Was there the opportunity for each child to receive the sacrament of reconciliation prior to mass? Who’s sin is it really if the families do not go to mass on Sunday? It really isn’t for us to say.
Well, communion time came, and every one of those kids got up and received communion from the priest, and he didn’t say a word
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IMHO, the scandal is the non-Catholic 8th graders receiving the Eucharist.
 
cctabb said:
I think I’d be more concerned about the 5% of non-Catholics you saw receive Eucharist instead of the Catholic kids that may have been in mortal sin for not fulfilling the Sunday obligation.

I emphasize may have been because we can not know the state of their souls. What may have been a obvious mortal sin to the OP may not have actually been. Was there the opportunity for each child to receive the sacrament of reconciliation prior to mass? Who’s sin is it really if the families do not go to mass on Sunday? It really isn’t for us to say.

IMHO, the scandal is the non-Catholic 8th graders receiving the Eucharist.
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You misunderstood my post. The kids who did not raise their hands as Catholics did not receive communion. There were only a couple of them. I did not see any of them receive Communion. But interestingly, when they left the church, the non-Catholic kids genuflected the lowest towards the Blessed Sacrament. The Catholic kids basically looked like they were swatting flies.

I still believe the priest should have said that if you miss Sunday Mass without a valid reason, it is a mortal sin and you cannot receive communion until it is confessed and absolved. I was told that when I was in second grade. It’s time that 13 year old kids were told the same thing.
 
I am not surprised by this event and I would not hold the children accountable. A poll at my parish showed that 30% of the middle school/high school children that come to catechism on Sunday never attend Mass. Then we have an extra 15% that does not attend Mass every Sunday. This is pathetic. Next year in my class I will have to devote the first class to a lecture for the parents on our duty as Catholics and on the general topic of preparing our children for either heaven or hell. It will be helpful to remind them what their commitment was when they had their children baptized.
 
Cristiano said:
I am not surprised by this event and I would not hold the children accountable. A poll at my parish showed that 30% of the middle school/high school children that come to catechism on Sunday never attend Mass. Then we have an extra 15% that does not attend Mass every Sunday. This is pathetic. Next year in my class I will have to devote the first class to a lecture for the parents on our duty as Catholics and on the general topic of preparing our children for either heaven or hell. It will be helpful to remind them what their commitment was when they had their children baptized.
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But again, why didn’t the priest take the moment to tell them that missing Mass on Sunday without a valid excuse is a mortal sin? Does he not believe it himself? Plus, these kids go to Catholic school every day, not just catechism on Sunday.

Someone is accountable here.
 
Brooklyn said:
You misunderstood my post. The kids who did not raise their hands as Catholics did not receive communion. There were only a couple of them. I did not see any of them receive Communion. But interestingly, when they left the church, the non-Catholic kids genuflected the lowest towards the Blessed Sacrament. The Catholic kids basically looked like they were swatting flies.

I still believe the priest should have said that if you miss Sunday Mass without a valid reason, it is a mortal sin and you cannot receive communion until it is confessed and absolved. I was told that when I was in second grade. It’s time that 13 year old kids were told the same thing.
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Oh, I’m sorry I misunderstood.

But I still have to wonder who’s sin this actually is. It isn’t every 13-year old that will leave the house without permission - even to go to mass. And it is one thing to have permission and support from family even if family chooses not to attend. It is totally different, at any age but most especially younger ages, to try to go to mass if one is receiving flack from parents and siblings about being holier than thou, etc.

There are so many different scenarios that could explain the actions of these children without them compounding mortal sin with more mortal sin. I’d rather be a bit charitable in my thinking.
 
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