Shouldn't we receive Communion every time we go to Mass?

[CollegeKid]

I was just reading Michelle Arnold’s answer to the thread Do I have to receive Communion when I go to Mass? and was somewhat disturbed at the advice that we are only required to receive the Eucharist once a year during the Easter season.

From the tone of her answer, it almost sounded as if we shouldn’t feel any special urge to receive it at Mass, but just make up our minds on the matter according to what we want at the moment. This seemed like an odd piece of advice given that Jesus said we must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have eternal life. I guess it just seems to me that he would want us to receive often, even every day if we choose to go Mass daily.

Just to be clear, are we really only required to receive once a year, during Easter, despite the fact that the Eucharist is at the center of our faith and is so important for us to have eternal life?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

The requirement to receive Communion at least once per year during the Easter season should not be interpreted to mean that Catholics should only receive once per year. It reflects a time in Catholic history when Catholics were far more reluctant to receive Communion on a regular basis because they were far more scrupulous than they are today over whether they were properly disposed to receive Communion. The “once per year” requirement was instituted to ensure that Catholics would not go years without receiving Communion.

My answer to the inquirer was intended to dispel her fear that she had done something wrong by accidentally missing her chance to receive Communion. It was not intended to advise Catholics not to take seriously the privilege of receiving Communion on a regular basis. St. Therese of Lisieux, who lived during an age when people did not go to Communion often, once said:

Our Lord does not come down from heaven every day to lie in a golden ciborium. He comes to find another heaven which is infinitely dearer to him – the heaven of our souls, created in his image, the living temples of the adorable Trinity.

That said, it is also true that too many Catholics today have the opposite problem to what afflicted our Catholic ancestors: They approach Communion far too casually, without reflecting much over whether they are properly disposed to receive. While I agree with you that all those who are properly disposed have available the privilege of receiving Communion daily, it also must be said that it is possible that rote reception of Communion can lead to sacrilegious reception of Communion.

Recommended reading:

Why couldn’t St. Therese receive Communion whenever she wanted?