Rule of Fasting before Eucharist

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Hi- I know we are supposed to fast from food and and any liquid except water for at least an hour before receiving Communion…does this apply also to cigarettes? I assume it does, and I live by that assumption, even though I have not ever seen it addressed. However, last Wednesday, Mass was going quicker than I expected and found myself deciding to receive Communion having “fasted” from cigarettes for only 57 minutes. So, 1) did I violate the fasting rule, and 2) what is the gravity of violating the fasting rule? I hope it’s merely venial…
 
I’m not sure about whether it’s venial or mortal…but it does seem that you broke the rule…I believe the only exceptions (those I know) are brushing your teeth and accidentely swallowing something or eating or drinking because you must take necessary medication…I was also led to believe that smoking cigarrettes is sinning as well…but that I’m not completely sure of:confused:
 
lorenzo_help said:
Hi- I know we are supposed to fast from food and and any liquid except water for at least an hour before receiving Communion…does this apply also to cigarettes? I assume it does, and I live by that assumption, even though I have not ever seen it addressed. However, last Wednesday, Mass was going quicker than I expected and found myself deciding to receive Communion having “fasted” from cigarettes for only 57 minutes. So, 1) did I violate the fasting rule, and 2) what is the gravity of violating the fasting rule? I hope it’s merely venial…
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No, don’t worry about specifics, you have no control about the speed of the mass. It is about an hour, things are not timed to the second.
 
Inhalation of smoke is not eating or drinking. The Code of Canon Law only addresses consumption of food and drink, not inhalation of smoke.
Can. 919 §1. A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.
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No, smoking is not included in the Catholic rules for fasting. Abstaining from smoking from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan is binding on Muslims, though. Their rule is that nothing shall pass their lips and this was interpreted to include smoke.

If you deliberately did not fast before receiving Communion, knowing that the Church has declared that you must fast for at least an hour on pain of sin, then that sin would be mortal. It is a grave matter (disrespect of Our Lord) and the action was chosen with full knowledge and consent. If it was not deliberate, ie - some circumstance not under your control prevented you from fasting for the hour or you didn’t know it was a sin, then it is only venial. Now, venial sin is forgiven with the reception of Holy Communion and, imho, you should call it to mind specifically for forgiveness and make the effort not to let it happen again.
 
I never heard about cigarette smoking in this regards and I have been a Catholic 50 years. If you do feel guilty, you ought to mention this at your next confession and go on what the priest says. It may be possible that this is a venial sin if you believed that you were breaking the rule of fasting, even if you had the wrong information about smoking in this regards.
 
I want to say this as tactfully as possible…smoking may be harmful to one’s “temple of the Holy Spirit” anyway…😉
 
Miserissima said:
I want to say this as tactfully as possible…smoking may be harmful to one’s “temple of the Holy Spirit” anyway…😉
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and being not so tactful it is a disgusting habit…harmful to others as well as self…smells terrible on clothes, hair et… and wow receiving Jesus into a mouth that smells like an ashtray!! 😃
 
thistle said:
and being not so tactful it is a disgusting habit…harmful to others as well as self…smells terrible on clothes, hair et… and wow receiving Jesus into a mouth that smells like an ashtray!! 😃
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Smokers do not realize how bad they smell. I actually like the intial smell of a freshly lit cigarrette…however Smokers exude a smell even from their skin and it smells like burning trash to me.

Dialysis pts that smoke can be identified from the odor for their hemodialysis filter when it is being sterilized for re-use (dialyzers are not re-used by other pts each person gets their own for re-use)
 
Fasting is meant to fast from what we desire. If eating or drinking is what we desire, then naturally it would seem that fasting (or rather abstaining) from smoking, or drinking coffee before Eucharist would also be a good goal. When fasting is defined by various rules or regulation it is easy to lose focus on the WHYof fasting and only focus on HOW one fasts and whether they are following the letter of the rule.

While the Echaristic fast is considered as one hour before communion, for most Catholics, quite often at work we might go for two or three hours with only water in between breaks and not even think so much about it, so why does it seem to be such an effort to fast before Liturgy? Is it because we are busy worrying about the rule of fasting rather than focussing on why we fast in the first place?

The morning fast is meant to focus us on the Eucharist as our spiritual nourishment after which we eat break-fast, our physical nourishment. In that light, if smoking is cause for satisfying the physical before the spiritual, it would make sense to abstain from smoking before receiving the Eucharist. In a similar way, one could look at drinking coffee before liturgy as possibly being a break from the fast…

In most Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, the fasting rules are generally that one fast from midnight till after receiving Communion. Some say three hours before (A good incentive to attend early liturgies!)

Just my :twocents:

Steve
 
SVP said:
Fasting is meant to fast from what we desire. If eating or drinking is what we desire, then naturally it would seem that fasting (or rather abstaining) from smoking, or drinking coffee before Eucharist would also be a good goal. When fasting is defined by various rules or regulation it is easy to lose focus on the WHYof fasting and only focus on HOW one fasts and whether they are following the letter of the rule.

While the Echaristic fast is considered as one hour before communion, for most Catholics, quite often at work we might go for two or three hours with only water in between breaks and not even think so much about it, so why does it seem to be such an effort to fast before Liturgy? Is it because we are busy worrying about the rule of fasting rather than focussing on why we fast in the first place?

The morning fast is meant to focus us on the Eucharist as our spiritual nourishment after which we eat break-fast, our physical nourishment. In that light, if smoking is cause for satisfying the physical before the spiritual, it would make sense to abstain from smoking before receiving the Eucharist. In a similar way, one could look at drinking coffee before liturgy as possibly being a break from the fast…

In most Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, the fasting rules are generally that one fast from midnight till after receiving Communion. Some say three hours before (A good incentive to attend early liturgies!)

Just my :twocents:

Steve
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We’re meant to abstain from everything we enjoy? So you’d say we can’t watch TV or go on the internet within that time either? How about reading a good book? How about kissing the wife or husband or playing with the children? Must we stop doing those things also?

Sounds like you’re doing a reductio ad absurdam to me.
 
I would say that your fellow parishioners would probably appreciate you abstaining from smoking for one hour before the beginning of Mass. That way, the smell of smoke in your clothes will not be so strong and distracting.

And please, I hope this thread does not degenerate into a debate as to whether smoking is a sin.
 
rpp said:
I would say that your fellow parishioners would probably appreciate you abstaining from smoking for one hour before the beginning of Mass. That way, the smell of smoke in your clothes will not be so strong and distracting.
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Yes, rpp, well I did abstain, for 57 minutes. Body odor wasn’t the question (nor my concern, nor yours), nor do you know whether there is anyone near me. And to a previous poster, obviously I have the spirit (as opposed to letter) of the law in my heart and mind, otherwise I would not have even asked the question. Some posters are helping to “degenerate this thread” (quote of rpp) by talking about smell. The issue isn’t smell; the issue is fasting. What if I smelled like a summer breeze, would that make a difference? For all subsequent posters, until smoking is forbidden by the Pope, the morality of smoking should obviously be set aside. If you want to talk about things that distract you during Mass, start another thread. I have a whole list of them myself- but they are not relevant to this thread.
 
summasix said:
What if I desire the Eucharist?
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The quote above is just that sense of rule based absolutism rather than seeing the spirit of fasting.:rolleyes:

NO, I did not mean we should fast from the Eucharist! That was never said nor implied by my post.

Perhaps my growing up in the Eastern Catholic church I tebd to see things differently. Therefore, I should have written we fast from those earthly things we desire BEFORE partaking of the Eucharist. The idea is to focus on the Eucharist as a result of our fasting from other desires, usually meant things like food and drink.
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LilyM:
We’re meant to abstain from everything we enjoy? So you’d say we can’t watch TV or go on the internet within that time either? How about reading a good book? How about kissing the wife or husband or playing with the children? Must we stop doing those things also?
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There seems to be so much resistance to the spirit of Eucharistic fasting in favor of legalism, watching the clock, debating over what is defined as food, whether smoking is a sin, watching TV, surfing the internet, etc.
Abstain from those things which distract from our focus on the Eucharist.
If watching TV, what is it you watch?
If surfing the internet, what sites do you view?
If reading a book, what is the book about?

I never said we should stop doing those things, just be aware of why we do them.
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LilyM:
Sounds like you’re doing a reductio ad absurdam to me
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My intent was not as such, I will just stay away from this thread from now on.🤷
 
summasix said:
What if I desire the Eucharist?
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What if you desire your own private jet? Can you afford it?

You must be in the proper state and properly disposed to receive the Eucharist. Just like your bank account must be in the proper state and properly disposed to buy a private jet.
 
As per forum rules and the OP’s direct request, please stay on topic, everyone. Take side issues to new or existing threads. Thank you all.
 
SVP said:
Fasting is meant to fast from what we desire. If eating or drinking is what we desire, then naturally it would seem that fasting (or rather abstaining) from smoking, or drinking coffee before Eucharist would also be a good goal. When fasting is defined by various rules or regulation it is easy to lose focus on the WHYof fasting and only focus on HOW one fasts and whether they are following the letter of the rule.

While the Echaristic fast is considered as one hour before communion, for most Catholics, quite often at work we might go for two or three hours with only water in between breaks and not even think so much about it, so why does it seem to be such an effort to fast before Liturgy? Is it because we are busy worrying about the rule of fasting rather than focussing on why we fast in the first place?

The morning fast is meant to focus us on the Eucharist as our spiritual nourishment after which we eat break-fast, our physical nourishment. In that light, if smoking is cause for satisfying the physical before the spiritual, it would make sense to abstain from smoking before receiving the Eucharist. In a similar way, one could look at drinking coffee before liturgy as possibly being a break from the fast…

In most Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, the fasting rules are generally that one fast from midnight till after receiving Communion. Some say three hours before (A good incentive to attend early liturgies!)

Just my :twocents:

Steve
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Well said Steve!! And to the last posts who are making this post sound like it says fasting from everything - like TV and books and what else – you know what he ment!! Fasting is about putting God first and in Eucharistic fasting it’s about sacrificing that bowl of cereal or cigarrette or coffee or gum or water, etc. to let Jesus be the first nourishment that enters our bodies!
 
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