Receiving Jesus multiple times a day

[Matthias123]

I understand that you can only receive communion twice in one day, as long as the second time is during a mass. If you are in danger of death, then you may receive a third time, even outside of a mass.

Now is this “day” considered a 24 hour period since you received last, or it is a calendar day?

I always thought it would be a calendar day, so if you received at say, 5PM, and 11PM, you could receive again at 8:00AM the next day. Am I correct?

 

[nicolep]

I understand that you can only receive communion twice in one day, as long as the second time is during a mass. If you are in danger of death, then you may receive a third time, even outside of a mass.

Now is this “day” considered a 24 hour period since you received last, or it is a calendar day?

I always thought it would be a calendar day, so if you received at say, 5PM, and 11PM, you could receive again at 8:00AM the next day. Am I correct?

I understand it as a calendar day as well.

 

[tee_eff_em]

A calendar day seems to be called for, since the laws regarding reception do not express otherwise.

Can. 200 Unless the law expressly provides otherwise, time is to be computed according to the norm of the following canons.

Can. 202 §1. In law, a day is understood as a period consisting of 24 continuous hours and begins at midnight unless other provision is expressly made; …

tee
Who Is Not A Canon Lawyer

 

[Jay53]

My understanding from our parish priest was that you could receive communion multiple times in a day (and I believe it was a calendar day) as long as the Masses were for different ‘purposes’ (for lack of a better word), i.e. you could receive at daily mass, a funeral and a wedding if they all occurred in the same day. You would not be able to receive for all the Sunday Masses, i.e 8AM, 10AM, 12PM.

 

[tee_eff_em]

My understanding from our parish priest was that you could receive communion multiple times in a day (and I believe it was a calendar day) as long as the Masses were for different ‘purposes’ (for lack of a better word), i.e. you could receive at daily mass, a funeral and a wedding if they all occurred in the same day. You would not be able to receive for all the Sunday Masses, i.e 8AM, 10AM, 12PM.

You either misunderstood, or your priest was mistaken – The laws regarding reception do not place such a condition.

And you may not *receive at daily mass, a funeral and a wedding *-- That is 3 receptions and under ordinary circumstances the faithful are limited to 2.

tee
Still Not A Canon Lawyer

 

[Jay53]

You either misunderstood, or your priest was mistaken – The laws regarding reception do not place such a condition.

And you may not *receive at daily mass, a funeral and a wedding *-- That is 3 receptions and under ordinary circumstances the faithful are limited to 2.

tee
Still Not A Canon Lawyer

OK. I’ll have to check with him because I’m positive that that is what he said. I actually thought he gave 4 examples of different Masses, but I couldn’t think of what the 4th one was.

 

[liriosennen]

Hello!

Our Music Minister receives Communion at all the masses, i.e. at 5 PM on Saturdays and at 8, 9:30 and 11 AM on Sundays. She even joins the EMs
before the altarbefore Communion. I have always believed, too, that that is not allowed. But she has been doing since her joining our congregation around six years ago.
The priests never said anything I guess, so who am I to question it.

 

[Jay53]

Can someone please post the canon law that says you may only receive the Eucharist twice in one day. The only one I found was this:

Can. 917 One who has received the blessed Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only within a eucharistic celebration in which that person participates, without prejudice to the provision of can. 921 §2.

It only says the subsequent receptions are to be within a eucharistic celebration, but doesn’t seem to limit the number. I would take this to mean that Daily Mass, a funeral and a wedding that you are all participating in would be acceptable for receiving Communion. Is there a subsequent Canon Law that specifies only twice?

Thank you.

 

[tee_eff_em]

Can someone please post the canon law that says you may only receive the Eucharist twice in one day.

The Canon you quoted is an early translation of the Canons (by a British organization, I think). Note the subtle difference in the translation at the Vatican website:

Can. 917 A person who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist can receive it

a second time

on the same day only within the eucharistic celebration in which the person participates, without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 921, §2.

This squares with these notes from the *New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law * ( John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, Thomas J. (Thomas Joseph) Green, Canon Law Society of America, Published by Paulist Press, 2002 ISBN 0809140667, 9780809140664):
Page 68, Footnote 82:

The first authentic interpretation of the 1983 code concerned the word *iterum *in canon 917 on receiving Communion more than nce a day. The meaning of the canon was doubtful because *iterum *can mean “a second time” or “again.” The latter is more open-ended and would have enabled a person to receive Holy Communion as often as he or she attended Mass, not just twice in one day. However, the authentic interpretation determined that the meaning was “a second time.” PCILT, August 7, 1984, *AAS *76 (1984) 746; Pamplona ComEng, 1293-1295. *CCC *1388 must be read in light of this authentic interpretation.

Page 1112:

In 1984 the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Canons of the Code of Canon Law issued an authentic interpretation on this canon to clarify that the word *iterum *as used here means “a second time,” not “again and again” as often as one participates in the Eucharist. Only as Viaticum, or in the case of the priest who has permission to trinate, may anyone receive communion a third time in one day. The purpose of this law is twofold: on the one hand, to promote active participation in the Eucharist including the full sacramental sharing in the Lord’s body and blood; on the other hand, to prevent the abuse of receiving multiple communions out of superstition, ignorance, or misguided devotion.

tee

 

[dans0622]

Can someone please post the canon law that says you may only receive the Eucharist twice in one day. The only one I found was this:

It only says the subsequent receptions are to be within a eucharistic celebration, but doesn’t seem to limit the number. I would take this to mean that Daily Mass, a funeral and a wedding that you are all participating in would be acceptable for receiving Communion. Is there a subsequent Canon Law that specifies only twice?

Thank you.

Hi Jay53,

You won’t find a more specific canon than that c. 917. This was a case when the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (as it is now called) was asked to give an “authentic interpretation” of what this law meant–“again” as in as many times as a person participated in Mass or “a second time.” The Council said it means “a second time. (period)” This interpretation was promulgated in 1984.

Dan

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Another source confirming tee_em_off’s last post is the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Second Edition), footnote #222 attached to paragraph 1388:

222 Cf. CIC, can. 917; The faithful may receive the Holy Eucharist only a second time on the same day [Cf. Pontificia Commissio Codici Iuris Canonici Authentice Intrepretando, *Responsa ad proposita dubia,

1: AAS 76 (1984) 746].

(The numbering of the footnotes seems to change in each edition. This footnote was not in the original edition, and the online version on the Vatican website is numbered differently.)

 

[Jay53]

Thank you everyone! I didn’t want to talk to my priest and look like an idiot!

 

[Matthias123]

Thanks guys for all the responses!