Taking communion unworthily

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Cup_o_Joe

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I go to mass every Sunday but there is no confession on Sunday at my parish (there are 3 priests for 4 parishes). I procrastinate a lot and I don’t go to confession on Saturday night; some Sundays I take the Eucharist unworthily. I sometimes stop myself from going up front to receive communion, other times I go upfront for a blessing and sometimes I get so angry at the lack of reverence around me that I take it into my own hands to show an example of how to receive communion. (I kneel to receive communion on the tongue and do the sign of the cross then I take a step to the right of the priest and do a genuflection towards the Tabernacle) In that situation I receive the Eucharist in anger towards the ignorance and apathy of the parishioners. By the time I get back to the pew if I took communion without having confession prior, I regret what I did and I think of 1st Corinthians 10

“…whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Sometimes I even cry silently after receiving communion unworthily because I know I did it for attention to try to get people to have reverence for Christ. Once, my tears caught the attention of the priest and the deacon when they saw that I was looking directly at the tabernacle during the entire communion ceremony after receiving communion. I sometimes even choke up and have tears at the consecration because I know that Jesus is going from heaven from the Tabernacle through the priest to the Eucharist and I shouldn’t receive Our Lord until I do a complete examination of conscience and go to confession.

Can you all pray that I can have a better prayer life to stop my temptation of going to communion unworthily and to defeat the temptation of not going to confession?
 
First, speak with your priest to make sure that you are not lapsing into scrupulosity. Do you confess weekly? Every other week or even monthly is absolutely fine - unless you are combatting a serious sin. As to the Tabernacle, ask yourself a question: Which is greater, the Tabernacle, or the Lord Who makes the Tabernacle holy? During communion, when you hold the Lord in your hands, the Tabernacle is empty. At that point, there is nothing to bow to. Concentrate on Jesus. When you consume Him, you become a walking Tabernacle of the Lord. Just relax and revel in the spiritual richness that you experience after consuming. And, let your priest decide if you are consuming unworthily.

Prayers ascending for you, and may Christ’s peace be with you.
 
No, I don’t confess weekly, I procrastinate. I SHOULD go to confession weekly though.
I choose to kneel to be reverent, that’s why I bow to Jesus (in the host i’m about to consume) when I come to receive him. And an other reason I do a genuflection near the altar is to show respect to the Holy Spirit who brought Jesus to the altar and to get out of the way while I’m doing the sign of the cross. I know it seems strange but I pretty much try to do it like the old times, I bow to Jesus while receiving him.

I had the inspiration to do this kneel because of these videos:

youtube.com/watch?v=DQU4nhgg6rE

youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0g3UMRtMM

Anyway yeah, I’ll go to confession. Thanks for praying for me.
 
Cup_o_Joe said:
No, I don’t confess weekly, I procrastinate. I SHOULD go to confession weekly though.
I choose to kneel to be reverent, that’s why I bow to Jesus (in the host i’m about to consume) when I come to receive him. And an other reason I do a genuflection near the altar is to show respect to the Holy Spirit who brought Jesus to the altar and to get out of the way while I’m doing the sign of the cross. I know it seems strange but I pretty much try to do it like the old times, I bow to Jesus while receiving him.

I had the inspiration to do this kneel because of these videos:

youtube.com/watch?v=DQU4nhgg6rE

youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0g3UMRtMM

Anyway yeah, I’ll go to confession. Thanks for praying for me.
Click to expand...
Confession is a wonderful source of grace, but unless you are consistently falling into serious sin, the penitential rites of the Mass are there to prepare you to receive worthily. And there is a risk of scrupulosity, so the suggestion of talking with your priest about this is a good one.
 
Cup_o_Joe said:
I go to mass every Sunday but there is no confession on Sunday at my parish (there are 3 priests for 4 parishes). I procrastinate a lot and I don’t go to confession on Saturday night; some Sundays I take the Eucharist unworthily. I sometimes stop myself from going up front to receive communion, other times I go upfront for a blessing and sometimes I get so angry at the lack of reverence around me that I take it into my own hands to show an example of how to receive communion. (I kneel to receive communion on the tongue and do the sign of the cross then I take a step to the right of the priest and do a genuflection towards the Tabernacle) In that situation I receive the Eucharist in anger towards the ignorance and apathy of the parishioners. By the time I get back to the pew if I took communion without having confession prior, I regret what I did and I think of 1st Corinthians 10

“…whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Sometimes I even cry silently after receiving communion unworthily because I know I did it for attention to try to get people to have reverence for Christ. Once, my tears caught the attention of the priest and the deacon when they saw that I was looking directly at the tabernacle during the entire communion ceremony after receiving communion. I sometimes even choke up and have tears at the consecration because I know that Jesus is going from heaven from the Tabernacle through the priest to the Eucharist and I shouldn’t receive Our Lord until I do a complete examination of conscience and go to confession.

Can you all pray that I can have a better prayer life to stop my temptation of going to communion unworthily and to defeat the temptation of not going to confession?
Click to expand...
Seems to me that it would be of benefit if you were to set up a regular appointment for confession. Then your receiving of that sacrament would be less sporadic, more disciplined, and you would not have it on your conscience.

Then try to be less judgemental of the people around you. Only God is their judge. And if you are drawing attention to yourself, stop doing it, because it is only a big distraction for everybody around you. The are looking at you instead of focusing on the Lord whom they have just received. So be more discrete.
 
I believe that perhaps you are being a bit harsh on yourself. Nevertheless, remember that venial sins are forgiven during the Mass. Also you may just begin doing an act of contrition every night. Finally, I respect the fact that you are so reverent it is definitely a bit rare these days. Although I do not receive communion on my knees I am very reverent when it is placed in my hands and I genuflect at the crucifix that sits behind the altar. One of the hardest things to do is not to cast judgement of those receiving even though I do understand that some individuals receive as if you were picking up an order from a drive through window. Remember that unless you are in mortal sin you can still receive communion. I say relax and enjoy the fact that you are well aware of the true understandign of the Eucharist and pray that others would receive that enlightenment.👍
 
It depends on what you mean by unworthily? None of us are really worthy, hence the language during the mass. “Lord I am not worthy to recieve you, but only say the word and I shall be healed”.

If by unworthily you mean you have venial sins on your soul, those are forgiven during the penetential rite during mass. So there is no need to worry about venial sins after that point.

If by unworthily you mean you are in state of mortal sin, then recieving communion is gravely sinful and sacrilige and you should stop immediately until you go to confession, and be sure to confess to recieving communion while having mortal sin on your soul.
 
Cup_o_Joe said:
No, I don’t confess weekly, I procrastinate. I SHOULD go to confession weekly though.
I choose to kneel to be reverent, that’s why I bow to Jesus (in the host i’m about to consume) when I come to receive him. And an other reason I do a genuflection near the altar is to show respect to the Holy Spirit who brought Jesus to the altar and to get out of the way while I’m doing the sign of the cross. I know it seems strange but I pretty much try to do it like the old times, I bow to Jesus while receiving him.

I had the inspiration to do this kneel because of these videos:

youtube.com/watch?v=DQU4nhgg6rE

youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0g3UMRtMM

Anyway yeah, I’ll go to confession. Thanks for praying for me.
Click to expand...
Again, ask your priest about bowing and the other physical signs you make. Even though we may not agree with the modern norms for reception, we are called to deny ourselves and be obedient. Your thanks, your reverence, your joy is spiritual and internal and need not be manifested in physical acts - especially those done for human reasons (that others may see that you are pious). I am thinking here of the tax collector and the Pharisee in the temple. The Pharisees did many things to be seen by the public as pious. The simple act of humility by the tax collector justified him before God. Simply receive your Savior in all humility and know that you answer for your sins and others for theirs. Follow Jesus’ example of humility and you will not be far from the Kingdom of God.

During confession, these are excellent subjects to bring up before the priest.

Christ’s peace be with you.
 
If you’re only guilty of venial sins, don’t worry. 🙂

If you’ve committed a mortal sin, definitely make it a priority to go to confession before communion.

I’ll keep you in my prayers
 
Cup_o_Joe said:
I go to mass every Sunday but there is no confession on Sunday at my parish (there are 3 priests for 4 parishes). I procrastinate a lot and I don’t go to confession on Saturday night; some Sundays I take the Eucharist unworthily. I sometimes stop myself from going up front to receive communion, other times I go upfront for a blessing and sometimes I get so angry at the lack of reverence around me that I take it into my own hands to show an example of how to receive communion. (I kneel to receive communion on the tongue and do the sign of the cross then I take a step to the right of the priest and do a genuflection towards the Tabernacle) In that situation I receive the Eucharist in anger towards the ignorance and apathy of the parishioners. By the time I get back to the pew if I took communion without having confession prior, I regret what I did and I think of 1st Corinthians 10

“…whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Sometimes I even cry silently after receiving communion unworthily because I know I did it for attention to try to get people to have reverence for Christ. Once, my tears caught the attention of the priest and the deacon when they saw that I was looking directly at the tabernacle during the entire communion ceremony after receiving communion. I sometimes even choke up and have tears at the consecration because I know that Jesus is going from heaven from the Tabernacle through the priest to the Eucharist and I shouldn’t receive Our Lord until I do a complete examination of conscience and go to confession.

Can you all pray that I can have a better prayer life to stop my temptation of going to communion unworthily and to defeat the temptation of not going to confession?
Click to expand...
:eek:
 
Cup_o_Joe said:
I go to mass every Sunday but there is no confession on Sunday at my parish (there are 3 priests for 4 parishes). I procrastinate a lot and I don’t go to confession on Saturday night; some Sundays I take the Eucharist unworthily. I sometimes stop myself from going up front to receive communion, other times I go upfront for a blessing and sometimes I get so angry at the lack of reverence around me that I take it into my own hands to show an example of how to receive communion. (I kneel to receive communion on the tongue and do the sign of the cross then I take a step to the right of the priest and do a genuflection towards the Tabernacle) In that situation I receive the Eucharist in anger towards the ignorance and apathy of the parishioners. By the time I get back to the pew if I took communion without having confession prior, I regret what I did and I think of 1st Corinthians 10

“…whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Sometimes I even cry silently after receiving communion unworthily because I know I did it for attention to try to get people to have reverence for Christ. Once, my tears caught the attention of the priest and the deacon when they saw that I was looking directly at the tabernacle during the entire communion ceremony after receiving communion. I sometimes even choke up and have tears at the consecration because I know that Jesus is going from heaven from the Tabernacle through the priest to the Eucharist and I shouldn’t receive Our Lord until I do a complete examination of conscience and go to confession.

Can you all pray that I can have a better prayer life to stop my temptation of going to communion unworthily and to defeat the temptation of not going to confession?
Click to expand...
You may be more worthy to receive than the rest of them, God works in strange ways you know, I received in a sinful state a few times in my life, I didn`t feel guilty, I felt exhilerated, more in communion with the Lord then when I receive after reconciliation, However I did not make a habit of it, nor do I condone it. God knows our hearts
 
NoWhereMan said:
You may be more worthy to receive than the rest of them, God works in strange ways you know, I received in a sinful state a few times in my life, I didn`t feel guilty, I felt exhilerated, more in communion with the Lord then when I receive after reconciliation, However I did not make a habit of it, nor do I condone it. God knows our hearts
Click to expand...
:eek:
 
We have a lack of reverence in our church also, the people go up to communion like a bunch of cattle. How id it get to be this way?🤷
 
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