W-w-wait a second!

[Paris_Blues]

Okay this thread shows mortal sins:


and as I was reading through them, the one that says “Failure to receive Holy Communion at least once per year ( if possible, during the Easter Season)” is what caught me off guard!

Why?

I thought you HAVE to recieve the Eucharist at least every single Sunday! 'Cause if you don’t go to Mass, then that’s a mortal sin. And for saying what the quote above says is like saying if you don’t recieve the Eucharist at least one time a year it’s a mortal sin but nevertheless other times of the week.

HUH???

I know I’m misunderstanding this so could someone please explain it to me so that I can have a better understanding?

 

[CuriousInIL]

You have an obligation to attend Mass weekly on Sunday (or Saturday in anticipation). You do not have to receive the Eucharist weekly. And, importantly, you should not receive the Eucharist if in a state of mortal sin. But, you still are obligated to attend Sunday Mass.

 

[Ryniev]

What do they do when people live very far away from a Catholic Church, do they get a dispensation from the Sunday obligation?

 

[Orionthehunter]

Ryniev:

What do they do when people live very far away from a Catholic Church, do they get a dispensation from the Sunday obligation?

Yes there is a dispensation. I know of a person who was going to Saudia Arabia (where Mass is illegal except on U.S. military bases which technically is U.S. soil) for work for a year. They were told to make Sunday holy as best they could, to reflect on the readings and travel outside the country for over the Easter season for Confession and Eucharist.

 

[CheesusPowerKid]

One of the saddest things a person can do is ask “What’s the least I can do and still be a good Catholic?” That’s where all of these “rules” came from…honestly, youshouldattend mass every Sunday, hopefully more, because you want to be in Christ’s presence, you want to recieve Him, you want to worship him, not because it the rules! And you most definitely should receive Christ more than once a year because you want to have Him physically living inside you and you want to live in His grace and His beauty, not because it’s the rules!
a “good Catholic” is not someone who does the least they have to, ie attending mass and receiving the Eucharist only when they “have” to…a good Catholic strives everyday to do everything they can to get back that wonderful house of God and be with Christ, just like Jesus commanded us.

 

[Ryniev]

Orionthehunter:

Yes there is a dispensation. I know of a person who was going to Saudia Arabia (where Mass is illegal except on U.S. military bases which technically is U.S. soil) for work for a year. They were told to make Sunday holy as best they could, to reflect on the readings and travel outside the country for over the Easter season for Confession and Eucharist.

Thank you, that’s what I thought. I remember when I read Gone With the Wind many, many years ago and was flabbergasted that the O’Hara family were Catholics. There was no Catholic churches close by where they lived in Georgia but they all knelt and prayed the rosary. I remember wondering “What about their Mass obligation?” Then again, the whole Catholic thing made no sense because I honestly thought everyone in Georgia was Baptist.

 

[CuriousInIL]

From the CCC

1388 It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, if they have the required dispositions, receive communion each time they participate in the Mass.[219] As the Second Vatican Council says: “That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest’s communion, receive the Lord’s Body from the same sacrifice, is warmly recommended.”[220] 1389 The Church obliges the faithful “to take part in the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days” and, prepared by the sacrament of Reconciliation, to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, if possible during the Easter season.[221] But the Church strongly encourages the faithful to receive the holy Eucharist on Sundays and feast days, or more often still, even daily.

 

[Orionthehunter]

Ryniev:

Thank you, that’s what I thought. I remember when I read Gone With the Wind many, many years ago and was flabbergasted that the O’Hara family were Catholics. There was no Catholic churches close by where they lived in Georgia but they all knelt and prayed the rosary. I remember wondering “What about their Mass obligation?” Then again, the whole Catholic thing made no sense because I honestly thought everyone in Georgia was Baptist.

Addendum: Also, if you are in an area where there is not a Mass being said, on Sunday, one is to gather with fellow Catholics to the extent possible for fellowship (whereever two or more are gathered. . . .)

 

[ahimsaman72]

Ryniev:

Thank you, that’s what I thought. I remember when I read Gone With the Wind many, many years ago and was flabbergasted that the O’Hara family were Catholics. There was no Catholic churches close by where they lived in Georgia but they all knelt and prayed the rosary. I remember wondering “What about their Mass obligation?” Then again, the whole Catholic thing made no sense because I honestly thought everyone in Georgia was Baptist.

I thought everyone in Georgia was Baptist too - and Tennessee. I lived in both states and it’s predominantly Baptist!!! I didn’t know the O’Hara family was Catholic. I don’t remember them praying the Rosary. Guess I need to go back and watch it again!

Peace…

 

[Todd_Easton]

Paris Blues:

Okay this thread shows mortal sins:


and as I was reading through them, the one that says “Failure to receive Holy Communion at least once per year ( if possible, during the Easter Season)” is what caught me off guard!

Why?

I thought you HAVE to recieve the Eucharist at least every single Sunday! 'Cause if you don’t go to Mass, then that’s a mortal sin. And for saying what the quote above says is like saying if you don’t recieve the Eucharist at least one time a year it’s a mortal sin but nevertheless other times of the week.

HUH???

I know I’m misunderstanding this so could someone please explain it to me so that I can have a better understanding?

Catholics are obliged to attend Mass on all Sundays and Holy Days of obligation. Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass more frequently, even daily or multiple times a day.

Catholics are obliged to confess any mortal sins and receive Holy Communion at least once a year, during the Easter season. Catholics are encouraged to confess their sins more frequently (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.) and, provided they have no unconfessed mortal sins, to receive Holy Communion at each Mass they attend, up to two Masses a day.

 

[forthright]

CheesusPowerKid:

One of the saddest things a person can do is ask “What’s the least I can do and still be a good Catholic?” That’s where all of these “rules” came from…

I agree whole heartedly!! The Church had to draw a line somewhere. There are those so committed that they attend mass daily, pray daily, fast often, etc, but the Church obviously can’t expect everyone to live up to this standard. Yet they had to draw a line somewhere and say, “If you really love Jesus and really want to do what he wants you to do, then you will at least do this much.”

The thing that gets me is that everyone has a tendancy to look at others and say, “he’s not doing enough” or “he doesn’t live right” - even Protestants (of course, they’ll say “he wasn’t really born again” but that’s another thread). We all tend to do this, but then practically everyone wonders why the Church has all these rules. Duh?