Receiving not in a state of grace

[Monicathree]

The woman I am sponsoring told me something that just irks me. It doesn’t surprise me, because it comes from one of those way liberal parishes,ie they don’t even have a tabernacle.

She told me that a Eucharistic minister from this parish told her when she asked about the rule about recieving, that we should not separate ourselves from the body of Christ. I told her he was wrong for saying that. She asked me my opinion. I said that it is not a matter of opinion but what the Church teaches. We are only to receive in a state of grace. I referred her to the catechism and to 1 Cor. 11:23-34. I told her when I was becoming Catholic this type of disunity bothered me, but that I realized that evil attacks unity and that a house divided cannot stand, even though we will always stand by way of the protection of the Holy Spirit. And that from this just know your faith and witness to it, even when it is hard and people might think you are the religious freak and judgemental. I told her Jesus made the rules not us.

What do you guys think?

Peace

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Well, in a sense, the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion was right – we should not separate ourselves from the Body of Christ which means we should not sin. However, if we are in a state of mortal sin we are not to receive Holy Communion with first going to confession. There is only one exception to this, and that is a life-or-death situation where one makes an act of contrition (it need not be perfect) with the intention of going to confession if it is possible (meaning that one survives the situation). The supposes that the one brining communion is not a priest or, if he is a priest, that the numbers going to communion are not so great as to preclude confession.

Deacon Ed

 

[jrabs]

and what if your Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is in a state of mortal sin? As I know my friend to be?

 

[Monicathree]

Hello,

He did not mean by sinning. He meant by not receiving.

peace

 

[Chris_W]

Monicathree:

Hello,

He did not mean by sinning. He meant by not receiving.

peace

I’m confused. Are you saying the person told her it would be a sin not to receive communion? And then you pointed out that this cannot be so because we certainly would not want to receive in the state of sin? Please clarify.

At any rate, I tend to shy away from discussing the “rules” of the Catholic Church, especially with those considering Catholicism. The reason is that one of the “turn offs” I hear all the time is that we (Catholics) have too many rules. Therefore, I recommend just explaining why something is right or wrong, without saying it is a “rule”. The Catechism is usefull for explaining why, but I caution against discussing who is and who is not obeying the rules, if that makes sense. It is not right or wrong based on the rule. It is right or wrong based on the reasons behind the rule. The rule just states what is.

 

[Monicathree]

They were discussing receiving only in a state of grace, which is Church law, he said pretty much don’t pay that any mind, you don’t want to separate yourself from Christ by not receiving period.

peace

 

[JimG]

Monicathree:

They were discussing receiving only in a state of grace, which is Church law, he said pretty much don’t pay that any mind, you don’t want to separate yourself from Christ by not receiving period.

Anyone in a state of mortal sin has by definition already separated himself from Christ. He must be reconciled to Christ (through the sacrament of reconciliation) before receiving the Eucharist.

 

[mkw]

Along the lines of receiving not in a state of grace, what if we truely Forget a sin and receive?.. I am still quite new at this, only being received into church this past Easter, I try very hard to confess ALL sins, but memory not perfect.

 

[Monicathree]

I know JimG, that is what I told her, I witnessed to her and told how the church feels about this, I guess that’s all I can do.

MKW, I think you shoud talk to your priest, but I am not sure how culpable you would be if in your heart of hearts you honestly forgot. Just before you do your examination of conscious, pray for your sins to be revealed to your heart and mind. Don’t worry yourself sick or be to scrupulous about it. I am new to the Church since 2002 and understand what you mean.

peace

 

[Pug]

mkw:

Along the lines of receiving not in a state of grace, what if we truely Forget a sin and receive?.. I am still quite new at this, only being received into church this past Easter, I try very hard to confess ALL sins, but memory not perfect.

Do not be afraid to receive communion at mass! When you go to confession, tell the mortal sins that you remember. All the mortal sins are forgiven, even if you forget to tell one. If you later remember it, do tell it at your next confession, but remember, it was forgiven at the last confession, really.

The only problem would be the deliberate “forgetting” of a mortal sin. If you deliberately omit one in confession, you are not forgiven.

To be a mortal sin, you must know or have knowledge about it. So to receive the host while you have a mortal sin that you have honestly forgotten, well, you would not have knowledge that what you are doing is wrong. What is wrong is in the normal course of events to go to receive knowing that you are in a state of mortal sin.

Just be honest in confession, go to confession when you need to, and receive the host at mass with no worries! The system is meant to reassure, not create worry. Walk in peace with the Spirit, all will be well.

 

[JimG]

If you honestly forget a sin, it was probably not mortal. You would be likely to remember mortal sins. We don’t need to confess all venial sins before receiving communion! That’s a sure road to scrupulosity.

 

[mkw]

Thanks Monicathree…

I always feel so good and “clean” after I have confessed my sins, then later, I start getting the feeling that I had forgotten something, but can not remember.

We have a kind-holy-spiritual and knowledgable priest, the parish just loves him, but for some reason, I have a difficult time talking to him. I believe my problems started when during confession, he checked his watch and said others might be waiting.

I know the devil does not want me to receive our Lord in the Eucharist. Every day, before I receive, I say a silent prayer of forgiveness to God if I had forgotten any sins and that He remind me of them.

 

[JimG]

My only advice is: don’t agonize over your confessions. Just state the sins, receive absolution, leave, and complete your penance. Then don’t worry about it!

 

[Sir_Knight]

If a person receives communion while knowing that they have an unconfessed / unforgiven mortal sin on their soul, they commit a second mortal sin by receiving the body and/or blood of Christ unworthily and instead of aiding in their salvation, the body and/or blood of Christ contributes to their condemnation.

 

[moedom]

I have a friend who was not receiving for a long time because of her marriage not being valid since her husband had not annulled his marriage with his previous wife. She had agonized over this for many years but in the end her prayers paid off and he finally got his annulment plus had their marriage blessed. She is a very holy person and I see that through her trial she has grown more in spirit and in mind.:dancing:
I do find it difficult to believe that there are so many people in the church not living in mortal sin. I talked to a pro-life councilor (sp?) who said many of her clients were Catholics. Unfortunately many, in our diocese at least, are not told of this mortal sin, plus the one on fornication… from the pulpit so they do not know what is right and what is wrong. I for one have abstained from the Eucharist for my mortal sins and have found healing in doing so. It is not easy when you are going through that process but lying to God is like hiding as Adam tried in the garden, you can’t hide from God so you might as well fess up. I believe that God honors our efforts and as usual good comes out of bad.
My :twocents: ,

Moe****

 

[Chris_W]

Monicathree:

They were discussing receiving only in a state of grace, which is Church law, he said pretty much don’t pay that any mind, you don’t want to separate yourself from Christ by not receiving period.

peace

Here’s how I appraoch the issue:

Sin is what caused the death of Jesus. It is for this reason that nothing unclean can enter Heaven…because God cannot (will not) allow the cause of the death of His Son to live in unity with Him. It cannot happen.

So what happens, when we receive in the state of mortal sin? We are taking Jesus into the temple of our bodies, which also contains the sin. One would therefore be placing Jesus in the midst of the cause of His death, so to speak. It is a sacralige and abuse to do this to the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Not sure of the theology of my opinion (hopefully correct), but this seems to drive home the significance of the issue.

 

[otm]

jrabs:

and what if your Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is in a state of mortal sin? As I know my friend to be?

And what makes you think you are capable of judging the state of their soul?

 

[otm]

mkw:

Thanks Monicathree…

I always feel so good and “clean” after I have confessed my sins, then later, I start getting the feeling that I had forgotten something, but can not remember.

We have a kind-holy-spiritual and knowledgable priest, the parish just loves him, but for some reason, I have a difficult time talking to him. I believe my problems started when during confession, he checked his watch and said others might be waiting.

I know the devil does not want me to receive our Lord in the Eucharist. Every day, before I receive, I say a silent prayer of forgiveness to God if I had forgotten any sins and that He remind me of them.

You might want to speak to your confessor about scrupulosity, as what you are describing is heading in that direction.

His action of checking his watch and his comment were lacking in charity; but you might want to think about what he said. It sounds as if you are wandering around during your confession. Again, you might want to check out issues with scrupulosity.