What do You think about a 3 hour fast before Communion

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jasny
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I don’t really like the idea. The last time I didn’t eat before church, I ended up passing out in front of the entire congregation. It was Palm Sunday last year.

Considering Mass is at 11:30 and I eat around 9:30 or 10, it’s not a suitable amount of time.

And I really don’t want to get sick in front of Father Joe again…
 
I remember as a kid fasting from bedtime until after church on Sunday. I also remember how good those breakfasts were. I would recommend it to anyone that can do it without getting ill. As a side note, my co-worker just moved here from Japan and when we all went to noon mass(All Saints) together and we went to lunch afterwards and he looked at us funny because in Japan they fast for an hour before and an hour after mass.
 
I am with The Mage on this one, what kind of fast is it that I can hit up the Mickey D’s on the drive to chuch?

And if were doing a Christmas or easter vigil you probably could squuze in some animal cookies as you walk into the sanctuary.
 
The 3 hr. fast was the norm when I grew up in the 50s. That changed after V II. My mother regaled me with stories of how different things were back in the 40s - e.g. weighing bananas (for banana sandwiches) to comply with Lenten regulations. It was never a problem for me. I never ate breakfast until I became diabetic. And, I must say, it is very hard for me to make sure I eat even though I am not the least bit hungry.
 
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Jasny:
I think a 3 hour fast before Communion would help people who are not in Sanctifying Grace an excuse not to go to Communion, without the Embarressment of sitting there and people thinking they should go to confession.
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I’ve heard other people express this concern, but I don’t really get it. In my parish, and others I’ve been in, not everyone goes up. It happens all the time. I see no reason to think these folks are in mortal sin. Now, your spouse or father or sister might be on to you, but not the rest of the congregation. In other parishes, does absolutely everyone go up?

Reasons people don’t go up:

accidentally ate or drank something
upset stomach so you don’t want to risk barfing on Jesus
they aren’t Catholic but are there with their Catholic spouse
they don’t feel prepared or may need confession
they already received twice that day
they are excommunicated
they are in RCIA
etc., etc.

I would find it near impossible to receive at daily mass (I can go in the evening) with a 3 hour fast. It would mean I wouldn’t receive as often.

It could be a great idea for some people, though, as this thread seems to suggest. It’s just me who thinks it would be difficult. For mass on Sunday morning, however, even the midnight rule takes little effort to observe.
 
Fasting is a personal choice. The church oblige us to fast for 1 hour (at least). If we want to fast for 3 hours then it is all right. The important thing is The important thing is for us to know the importance of fasting.
 
I would be willing to bet that many many people don’t even realise there is a required fasting period before receiving, particularly cradle Cradle Catholics. I live in the Philippines and my wife and two sisters-in-law are very devout but they didn’t know until I told them about it.
 
I was once taught in Catholic school by one of the teachers that the rule was outdated when she gave us all candy canes before a mass that our grade was supposed to go to since each grade goes to a weekly maas. I was only 11 then but I remember asking her whether we were even allowed to eat the candy canes since a daily mass is only a half hour so surely this would be breaking the fast. I assumed for the longest time that the rule was no longer true because of her. However, a few years later while on a retreat the priest absolved us from the fast since we had recenlty had lunch. If the rule was outdated then there would be no need to be absolved from a non existent rule. Therefore I questioned what I was once taught and soon found out that the teacher was very wrong in saying the rule no longer applied.
 
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