The unworthy receiving the Eucharist

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joanofarc2008 said:
You cannot necessarily say they are or are not in Communion with the Lord because you do not know their status regarding Confession. You also do not know if they fully understand the teaching of the Church. In today’s world sadly it is not so rare to have people that honestly do not understand the teachings of the Church - this goes to intent. I am not saying that I am letting them off the hook but yes some people are that poorly catechized. Not only that but if they are hearing one message one place and another from their parents it could rightly go to invincible ignorance - who are we to say.
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Hello

I understand the varying degrees of culpability. These are people I know because they are in my circle - friends and family. You are right, there are those who are poorly catechized (myself being one of them). These are closest friends and family - I do know their status of Confession , or more like the lack thereof. I do know of their lack of understanding, which is why I am always ready to explain to them what the Eucharist is.

I just want to say again, as we all are part of the Body of Christ we all should help each other and we can start with our friends and family - what the Eucharist is etc. We all can’t say that it’s none of our business or because I’m doing this because I am holier than thou kind of mentality. I don’t want my love ones to miss out on the Eucharist which is why , in the words of Saint Peter, " …always be ready to give an answer to the hope that is in you - and so with gentleness and respect."

Thank you and God bless you.
 
xformer7 said:
Betrayed Jesus? (The betrayal surely occurred before he was handed over)
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Great posts - and why would the church make up rules about when an individual can receive that exclude those most in need of God’s help? Do you only go to the doctor when you are perfectly healthy?
 
Allegra said:
Most of the time, one doesn’t really know if others are in a state of mortal sin or not so I don’t really worry about it. When I do know of an instance, it doesn’t usually make me angry. More often it makes me sad, because that person doesn’t really “get it”. What does make me angry is when people who are clearly not practicing Catholics claim to be in order to decieve the faithful.
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Bishops state that certain individuals are not to receive communion and they don’t usually say anything about their being in mortal sin. They simply want to avoid scandal.
 
patg said:
Great posts - and why would the church make up rules about when an individual can receive that exclude those most in need of God’s help? Do you only go to the doctor when you are perfectly healthy?
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We “go to the doctor” in the Confessional; not at Holy Communion.
 
If I know for a fact that the person in question is receiving unworthily then yes, it angers me. It is very disrespectful to God to do that. But even more I fear for that person because I always remember what St.Paul said about the matter. This awareness makes me very conscious about my sins primarily.
 
soylatte3 said:
Hello

I understand the varying degrees of culpability. These are people I know because they are in my circle - friends and family. You are right, there are those who are poorly catechized (myself being one of them). These are closest friends and family - I do know their status of Confession , or more like the lack thereof. I do know of their lack of understanding, which is why I am always ready to explain to them what the Eucharist is.

I just want to say again, as we all are part of the Body of Christ we all should help each other and we can start with our friends and family - what the Eucharist is etc. We all can’t say that it’s none of our business or because I’m doing this because I am holier than thou kind of mentality. I don’t want my love ones to miss out on the Eucharist which is why , in the words of Saint Peter, " …always be ready to give an answer to the hope that is in you - and so with gentleness and respect."

Thank you and God bless you.
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I would completely agree that in cases when we are talking about close members of our family or close friends we absolutely should say something privately and charitably. However, I also think that we need to be in a position we are receiving Sacraments first and part of that Communion. Sometimes I think it takes a real gut check to ask yourself if it should be said and if I am the one that should be saying it.
 
ProVobis said:
Bishops state that certain individuals are not to receive communion and they don’t usually say anything about their being in mortal sin. They simply want to avoid scandal.
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Whether they are in mortal sin or not, what they do is harming the Church and faithful. I don’t like it one bit.
 
joanofarc2008 said:
I would completely agree that in cases when we are talking about close members of our family or close friends we absolutely should say something privately and charitably. However, I also think that we need to be in a position we are receiving Sacraments first and part of that Communion. Sometimes I think it takes a real gut check to ask yourself if it should be said and if I am the one that should be saying it.
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Hello again 🙂

I hope I am understanding you correctly when I say that I know it is hard for most of us to explain the Eucharist ( the what, when, where, how and who should receive it etc ) especially that we all know of our fallen nature and how easy it is for us to sin. We are bound by these sacraments but God is not. So just because one is in sin, doesn’t hold any bearing to the truth of the Eucharist; even when a sinner (like myself) is explaining and defending it. I hope I’m understanding you correctly.

I always pray that God harden not the hearts (take the scales off their eyes, shine His light on the minds) of my friends and family when it comes to the Eucharist. It is not easy because I am swimming upstream. I don’t do it out of tradition. I don’t do it to seek brownie points in heaven. I do it out of love. After all, our Lord was tortured and killed because of the Truth He spoke about - even if it is so hard to accept and believe.
 
soylatte3 said:
Hello again 🙂

I hope I am understanding you correctly when I say that I know it is hard for most of us to explain the Eucharist ( the what, when, where, how and who should receive it etc ) especially that we all know of our fallen nature and how easy it is for us to sin. We are bound by these sacraments but God is not. So just because one is in sin, doesn’t hold any bearing to the truth of the Eucharist; even when a sinner (like myself) is explaining and defending it. I hope I’m understanding you correctly.

I always pray that God harden not the hearts (take the scales off their eyes, shine His light on the minds) of my friends and family when it comes to the Eucharist. It is not easy because I am swimming upstream. I don’t do it out of tradition. I don’t do it to seek brownie points in heaven. I do it out of love. After all, our Lord was tortured and killed because of the Truth He spoke about - even if it is so hard to accept and believe.
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No, what I am saying is that one might have better luck explaining the truth of the Eucharist if they have completed the Rites of Christian Initiation themselves. Otherwise it is more likely to fall on deaf ears.
 
Zundrah said:
If someone you know is in a state of sin yet they still go up to take part in communion, does it anger you?
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If I know that the person is in a state of venial sin then I am more relieved than angry. The Eucharist will wash away his sin and his life will move along a better path. Honestly I would say that most if not all the people that approach communion probably are in a state of venial sin.

If I were to know that the person is in a state of mortal sin then I would have the moral obligation to instruct the person in a charitable way, and if after instruction they still persist in breaking God’s law then it would be reasonable for me to become angry and fearful for the soul of the recipient.

If we know the state of the soul of the individual we also know how we must behave, doing good is not always being nice. However: I still I cannot figure out how I would be able to know the state of an individual’s soul to the point of affirming that they are in a state of mortal sin. I can barely figure out what my family members think during a conversation.
 
Cristiano said:
However: I still I cannot figure out how I would be able to know the state of an individual’s soul to the point of affirming that they are in a state of mortal sin. I can barely figure out what my family members think during a conversation.
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LOL, good point. We would have to be extraordinarily gifted, in order to know what strangers are thinking, or the state of their soul. Most of us have trouble communicating even the most basic things, with people we’ve known all our lives. 😃

It reminds me of Woody Allen’s comment about people who want to communicate with aliens - most of the people who think they can communicate with aliens would probably get lost in Chinatown. But it’s way easier to make stuff up about people we will never actually meet than it is to deal with people we encounter all the time.
 
Taylor_Davis said:
Ummm… Jesus was the Son of God. He had the right to do anything He wanted, technically, and He couldn’t sin, because He’s God in the flesh.
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salusanimarum17 said:
What had Judas done, at that point, to deserve being refused Communion?
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xformer7 said:
Betrayed Jesus? (The betrayal surely occurred before he was handed over)
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I’m sure you guys realize that FrIntervention was being sarcastic?
FrIntervention said:
yeah,it makes me angry! What right did Jesus have giving Judas communion at the Last Supper,anyway?
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Either that or I’m becoming more gullible to peoples “good intentions”.

I believe he means that it is for Christ to deem him worthy, not us.
 
FrIntervention said:
yeah,it makes me angry! What right did Jesus have giving Judas communion at the Last Supper,anyway?
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  1. Jesus did not offer the first Mass for Judas; he was explicitly excluded. That is Catholic teaching. It’s stated clearly in the Catechism of the Council of Trent, though I can’t remember where. I think the Douay-Rheims may also make a note of it.
  2. When Jesus said He was going to be betrayed and that one of them was a devil, the Apostles inquired among themselves to determine who it was. Jesus did not rebuke or chastise them for dilligently inquiring into whom amongst them was a danger.
  3. The Apostle says in his Epistle that those who partake of Communion unworthily do eat and drink condemnation upon themselves.
While I agree we cannot know every person intimately, nonetheless, in the case of public sinners, they should be barred from Communion.

Further, a Catholic should be angry at every sacrilege.

But the point has already been made that we cannot know if a person has confessed.
 
soylatte3 said:
Hello - it doesn’t anger me per se, it does bother me though.

We all should help each other out as part of the Body of Christ. I see it as an opportunity to evangelize, and let’s do so with charity and gentleness.
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It’s a touchy subject.
I’ve had instances where I’ve advised family members that if they don’t believe that it’s truly Jesus they are receiving up there that the need to refrain from it and sadly, when I try to explain, I am met with with so much resistance. Or told friends who are engaged in pre-marital sex that they are not in communion and so I have to explain the sacrament of marriage etc…
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This is what I was driving at. People you know and which have told you on a personal level about what they’ve done or have been doing over a long time yet they receive the Eucharist despite you explaining that they should absolutely not be taking part.
 
I wouldnt know why I would be angry I would be sorrowful for the persons arogance. However, Like someone stated earlier, Jesus broke bread with Judas the greatest of sinners, and we all know that Jesus calls all sinners to him. Why wouldn’t this person be able to take the body of christ. In the definition of a mortal sin posted above it is stated that any sin not confessed is a mortal sin. then any sin that we commit and do not confess whether forgotten or knowingly, is a mortal sin. if thats the case, every sunday we should line up for confession before we line up for communion.
 
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