Was this a sin?

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waytogo1984

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I ate my pills before mass without thinking very much just because I wanted to take them early, but they can make me feel sick at my stomach and throw up if I do not have food in my stomach. I guess I thought I could take it this time, but I started to feel my stomach. I got scared that I might have to throw up during mass or feel sick, so I ate a banana right before mass. Was this a sin? Should I confess it? Thanks for the help.
 
As you were told on the other thread, it would have been better not to receive Holy Communion.

Some people mistakenly believe that one must receive Holy Communion every time he goes to Mass. This is untrue. If you have not fasted, feel as if you might throw up, are not in a state of grace, etc., you should not receive. Simply stay in your pew and make a spiritual communion, asking Jesus to come into your heart in a spiritual way.

Betsy
 
Wouldn’t an hour have passed before communion if you ate the banana just beforehand? You only need to fast for 1 hour, correct?

Still, there are exceptions for the elderly and infirm re:the eucharistic fast, so wouldn’t this apply in this case?

Honestly, I don’t think it’s a big deal.
 
Well it depends, some people might call that ’ hardly a big deal’ while some would say thats a sin. Just a fact, did you know you used to have to fast from 12:00 AM sunday morning?:eek:
 
scimitar60 said:
Well it depends, some people might call that ’ hardly a big deal’ while some would say thats a sin. Just a fact, did you know you used to have to fast from 12:00 AM sunday morning?:eek:
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Some of us still do.
 
You sound like you must be exempt from the requirement. According to CA Apologist Michelle Arnold who says to a person inquiring about whether or not the elderly need to observe the one hour fast: (bold faced type is mine)

“The ordinary requirement is that everyone, no matter their age, who receives Communion should abstain from food and liquid (with the exceptions of water and medicine) for one hour before Communion. However, anyone of any age for whom abstaining from food and liquid for an hour would cause medical problems is exempt from the requirement. Usually, only those homebound individuals who must receive Communion from EMHCs are the ones who could have a problem scheduling their food intake according to the EMHC’s schedule. However, if someone healthy enough to attend Mass does have a medical condition that makes it impossible for him to observe the fast, he is indeed exempt.
Bottom line: It is not age that is a factor, but medical condition.”
 
Who among us is truly worthy, truly in “a state of grace”, when receiving communion?
 
waytogo1984 said:
I ate my pills before mass without thinking very much just because I wanted to take them early, but they can make me feel sick at my stomach and throw up if I do not have food in my stomach. I guess I thought I could take it this time, but I started to feel my stomach. I got scared that I might have to throw up during mass or feel sick, so I ate a banana right before mass. Was this a sin? Should I confess it? Thanks for the help.
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The matter causes you concern and shows that you Love Christ and do not wish to offend Him.
Confess it. The priest will guide you on this matter as to whether it is a “sin” or not…
In this way your mind will be at ease and you will know more fully what you can and cannot do in your particular and unique situation.

So many people seem to think that they have to already “know” whether something is a sin when they go to confession. This is not true. Just go and, if it’s bothering you, bring it up. Then be guided by the advice of your confessor.

Peace
James
 
tskrobacz said:
Who among us is truly worthy, truly in “a state of grace”, when receiving communion?
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Nobody is worthy! Quite a few people are in a state of grace, at least if there is a correlation to the lines in front of the confessional. Everything else is moral relativism to justify going for communion independently of the objective state of our soul.
 
waytogo1984 said:
I ate my pills before mass without thinking very much just because I wanted to take them early, but they can make me feel sick at my stomach and throw up if I do not have food in my stomach. I guess I thought I could take it this time, but I started to feel my stomach. I got scared that I might have to throw up during mass or feel sick, so I ate a banana right before mass. Was this a sin? Should I confess it? Thanks for the help.
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Mention it in confession. Unless it is necessary for you to take the medicine before going to Mass (and, for medical reasons, you can’t take it earlier to make sure you keep the Eucharistic fast), you shouldn’t receive communion if you break the fast. It’s not a sin at all to break the fast- you don’t have to receive communion all the time. We are encouraged to receive frequently- that’s why the Eucharistic fast was shortened, but we still don’t have to receive communion every time we go to Mass. If you are really bothered by it, talk to your priest.
 
Cristiano said:
Nobody is worthy! Quite a few people are in a state of grace, at least if there is a correlation to the lines in front of the confessional. Everything else is moral relativism to justify going for communion independently of the objective state of our soul.
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Jesus said take my body and eat it…eat who you already are. When we recognize the Christ in all, celebrated in the Eucharist, it is far more difficult to understand how we could deny any person intent on doing the Lord’s will a place at the table.
 
tskrobacz said:
Jesus said take my body and eat it…eat who you already are. When we recognize the Christ in all, celebrated in the Eucharist, it is far more difficult to understand how we could deny any person intent on doing the Lord’s will a place at the table.
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I am not able to discuss the state of the soul of any specific individual. I am just saying that there are objective situations when a person is not allowed to receive communion, choosing to do so when forbidden is disobedience to Christ because he is the one that gave us the Church and her rules. Disobedience to Christ is willful separation from him and when we receive communion in that situation we eat ourselves into death.

Here I am not saying that the OP was in a state of mortal sin, but I think that he better talk to the priest in confession to better form his conscience.

Intent to do good is not automatic righteousness. Nobody is denying someone’s place at the Lord’s table, people exclude themselves with their behaviors. People that excommunicate themselves from the Church (I am not talking about the OP) are still made in the image of Christ and we should still see Christ in them but they are not allowed to receive communion for their own good.
 
Cristiano said:
I am not able to discuss the state of the soul of any specific individual. I am just saying that there are objective situations when a person is not allowed to receive communion, choosing to do so when forbidden is disobedience to Christ because he is the one that gave us the Church and her rules. Disobedience to Christ is willful separation from him and when we receive communion in that situation we eat ourselves into death.

Here I am not saying that the OP was in a state of mortal sin, but I think that he better talk to the priest in confession to better form his conscience.

Intent to do good is not automatic righteousness. Nobody is denying someone’s place at the Lord’s table, people exclude themselves with their behaviors. People that excommunicate themselves from the Church (I am not talking about the OP) are still made in the image of Christ and we should still see Christ in them but they are not allowed to receive communion for their own good.
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Fortunately Jesus did not come for call the righteous, but sinners AND as Matthew teaches- He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
 
tskrobacz said:
Fortunately Jesus did not come for call the righteous, but sinners AND as Matthew teaches- He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
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What you say is true and good, however we must remember that the Sun Rising and the Rain falling will not save us. Neither will simply “Calling Lord Lord”,

We must remember that, after being called, we have obligations to that calling; That we not just cry “Lord Lord” but that we obey the commandments, (Mt 7:21-29)
St Paul declared in 1 Cor 11 that,
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
And that is what is being asked here, not just of the OP, but of all. That we examine ourselves so that we understand and properly approach the Eucharist. That we not profaine the Lord’s Body and Blood. That we do not “eat and drink judgement on ourselves” (1 Cor 11:29)

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
What you say is true and good, however we must remember that the Sun Rising and the Rain falling will not save us. Neither will simply “Calling Lord Lord”,

We must remember that, after being called, we have obligations to that calling; That we not just cry “Lord Lord” but that we obey the commandments, (Mt 7:21-29)
St Paul declared in 1 Cor 11 that,
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
And that is what is being asked here, not just of the OP, but of all. That we examine ourselves so that we understand and properly approach the Eucharist. That we not profaine the Lord’s Body and Blood. That we do not “eat and drink judgement on ourselves” (1 Cor 11:29)

Peace
James
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Thanks for the reference. My only caution would be that people who are the most obedient to commandments, Bibles, and church rituals can very often be the hardest to convert. They’ve taken the symbol for the Substance, the ritual for the Reality, the words for the Flesh. They’ve taken the means for the End and become inoculated against the Real Thing. Many of us are the eldest son in the Prodigal Son story (Luke 15:25-30), and we refuse to come to the Great Banquet because we have already done all the right things in all the right ways. When we humble ourselves to the possibility of not knowing fully we allow the Spirit to enter the equation and do not get hung up on right vs wrong religion.
 
tskrobacz said:
Thanks for the reference. My only caution would be that people who are the most obedient to commandments, Bibles, and church rituals can very often be the hardest to convert. They’ve taken the symbol for the Substance, the ritual for the Reality, the words for the Flesh. They’ve taken the means for the End and become inoculated against the Real Thing. Many of us are the eldest son in the Prodigal Son story (Luke 15:25-30), and we refuse to come to the Great Banquet because we have already done all the right things in all the right ways. When we humble ourselves to the possibility of not knowing fully we allow the Spirit to enter the equation and do not get hung up on right vs wrong religion.
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Your warning is a good one

Peace
James
 
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