What is the 'process' for returning to church?

[Apryl]

As we are in the season of Lent, there is an added emphasis on the Sacrament of Confession.

Sometimes, I find myself in awe of the people who have not been in a church in YEARS, or when they were in church, they really weren’t there for church, as much as for “Momma”, the Dearly Departed or for some other event.

We have this drama about whether or not we should allow non-Catholics to come up to receive the Eucharist.

Today, I was looking for some references, hopefully short, but at this point, anything, to help to address this.

What I am looking to say is that when some one has not been at Mass, they should go to Sacramental Confession before they approach for Communion.

If they have been away for a while, they should go to Confession, and talk to the priest about coming back into the church, all before they go for Communion. Don’t just walk back up to the altar as if everything you were taught before means nothing now.

We can always pray to God and ask for forgiveness, but that doesn’t negate the need for the Sacrament of Confession… but how do you get that message out?

Can some one point me to some good (as in Nahil Obstat) resources to share with others?

 

[Matt_707]

As we are in the season of Lent, there is an added emphasis on the Sacrament of Confession.

Sometimes, I find myself in awe of the people who have not been in a church in YEARS, or when they were in church, they really weren’t there for church, as much as for “Momma”, the Dearly Departed or for some other event.

We have this drama about whether or not we should allow non-Catholics to come up to receive the Eucharist.

Today, I was looking for some references, hopefully short, but at this point, anything, to help to address this.

What I am looking to say is that when some one has not been at Mass, they should go to Sacramental Confession before they approach for Communion.

If they have been away for a while, they should go to Confession, and talk to the priest about coming back into the church, all before they go for Communion. Don’t just walk back up to the altar as if everything you were taught before means nothing now.

We can always pray to God and ask for forgiveness, but that doesn’t negate the need for the Sacrament of Confession… but how do you get that message out?

Can some one point me to some good (as in Nahil Obstat) resources to share with others?

Amen!

There are too many people that have become lax after falling into grave sin.

 

[Spencerian]

Hi.

Particularly now, with new canonical requirements by the Vatican, it’s particularly more difficult to actually formally defect to begin with.

That said, most lapsed Catholics do simply need to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to return to being a Catholic in good standing and to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. There are some notable exceptions, such as having a marriage outside of the Church and/or an additional marriage not validated by the Church. They can return, but receiving the Eucharist is not possible because of the invalid marital state.

Catholic.com’s basic entry tract details the formal process of entry. I haven’t yet found an online resource that details any formal re-entry procedure–likely for the reasons I noted above.

Jimmy Akin’s thoughts on formal defection might be a help, too.

 

[Elizabeth502]

Particularly now, with new canonical requirements by the Vatican, it’s particularly more difficult to actually formally defect to begin with.

Could you clarify, please?
Thanks

 

[kage_ar]

Here are the Guidelines for Reception of Holy Communion. It should be in the Missalette in your Parish.

usccb.org/liturgy/current/intercom.shtml

On November 14, 1996, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the following guidelines on the reception of communion. These guidelines replace the guidelines approved by the Administrative Committee of the NCCB in November 1986. The guidelines, which are to be included in missalettes and other participation aids published in the United States, seek to remind all those who may attend Catholic liturgies of the present discipline of the Church with regard to the sharing of eucharistic communion.

For Catholics

As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (canon 916). A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all.

For our fellow Christians

We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ’s prayer for us “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21).

Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 § 4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 § 3).

For those not receiving Holy Communion

All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.

For non-Christians

We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family.

 

[Spencerian]

Could you clarify, please?
Thanks

Absolutely. I apologize for not adding the source–it was complicated to find.

A Vatican document from October 2009, ACTUS FORMALIS DEFECTIONIS AB ECCLESIA CATHOLICA, notes that one has to make specific formal actions to truly leave the Church. Merely saying so does not do, nor does a schismatic act (such as abortion) do the trick.

The Wikipedia article gives a good summary in plain English.

The document is a reinforcing reference to the papal action, or motu proprio, by the Pope, called Omnium in Mentem, made in December 2009. The Pope essentially modified some canon law regarding the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders and reinforces the restrictions on Catholics and marriages to unbaptized people without the said act of formal defection.

This is good news for those who thought they left the Church by some act that doesn’t fit the new laws.

 

[Apryl]

Here are the Guidelines for Reception of Holy Communion. It should be in the Missalette in your Parish.

It is!

But, as with so many people, and so many written documents… if the pages aren’t pulled apart, it doesn’t work!

Picture this: Leopold comes to church because it’s his grandmother’s birthday. He had been baptised as an infant, received his First Holy Communion in the second grade… even had his Confirmation when he was 12.

He goes away to college, but hasn’t been in a church other than for friends’ weddings, and those were not Catholic.

So, he’s sitting there, and he remembers all the stand-up-sit-down-kneels that make up Mass. He even remembers the cadence of the Apostle’s Creed. As far as HE is concerned, he’s Catholic!

Grandmother, so happy to see Little Leopold back in church, is happy to see Leopold back in church. Mother, is just glad he’s not there with that woman he had been dating, and is wondering about when she is going to get out of there because she doesn’t want to have to wait for dinner.

That being the case, how do we make it clear that Leopold, even though he had received Sacraments up to this point, because he hasn’t had Reconciliation, really shouldn’t go up for the Sacrament of the Eucharist today?

Yes, the stuff is in the book… but for Leopold, and for Mother and Grandmother, that doesn’t fit, as he is a ‘Catholic’, and as he hasn’t been married to any one else, and is not on trial for murder, is in ‘good standing’.

I’m looking for ways to tug some coat tails, and to let people know that if they haven’t been to Mass (when they could go), they have committed a sin. Knowing it was a sin and doing it any way makes it a Mortal Sin. If they are in doubt, they should go to Confession any way.

Yes, the Missalettes are in our pews. But for many, ‘that doesn’t apply’. How do I make it where they see it DOES apply?

 

[kage_ar]

That has to be taught from the pulpit and the CCD desk and from mom and dad at the dinner table.

 

[puzzleannie]

That has to be taught from the pulpit and the CCD desk and from mom and dad at the dinner table.

and none of these messages will reach someone who has turned his back on the Church and his Catholic family for years.

I think OP is looking for someway to approach a friend or family member who has been away, and is making noises about reconciling with the Church. the document in question is that on the Sacrament of Penance and reconciliation, the US bishops have a good pamphlet as do most Catholic publishers including CA. The individual starts with sacramental confession, the first sin being confessed is the time they have been away from practice of the faith, and follow the pastoral counsel of the priest. The best part the family can play is to invite–not urge, demand, force or make a condition of family life–the individual to return to confession, Mass and sacraments. Search and Rescue by Patrick Madrid remains IMO the best resource for how to convey this message.

 

[kage_ar]

Of course!

I had the impression that these were not personal friends/family members - if you know the person be honest with them and instruct them.

For some reason, I had in mind the OP was speaking of those that were strangers.

 

[Apryl]

and none of these messages will reach someone who has turned his back on the Church and his Catholic family for years.

I think OP is looking for someway to approach a friend or family member who has been away, and is making noises about reconciling with the Church. the document in question is that on the Sacrament of Penance and reconciliation, the US bishops have a good pamphlet as do most Catholic publishers including CA. The individual starts with sacramental confession, the first sin being confessed is the time they have been away from practice of the faith, and follow the pastoral counsel of the priest. The best part the family can play is to invite–not urge, demand, force or make a condition of family life–the individual to return to confession, Mass and sacraments. Search and Rescue by Patrick Madrid remains IMO the best resource for how to convey this message.

(… and the OP says: )

 

[Apryl]

For some reason, I had in mind the OP was speaking of those that were strangers.

Um… I kinda was, I guess

No one else in my family is Catholic. Most of my friends are practicing Catholics… but they have friends and family members who ‘pop-in’ and there is the question of, ‘what do I do?’… the remains unasked.

Sometimes, I see a friend from (Catholic) Grade School who shows up, and just struts right to the front to receive Communion.

It may come up in conversation, where, sadly, there are the comments of ‘the church will ALWAYS welcome you’ (which is true… but… ) and the ‘when I hadn’t been at church, it was nice to come back’… but no mention of the SACRAMENT of Confession.

If I speak directly to Leopold (btw: I know of no one with this name. I just like the sound of it), I run the risk of coming off as demanding and being a ‘know it all’. If I say it, rather, to EVERY ONE, then I get the benefit of those who are in the church to know better so they can stop telling their family and friends incorrect information, and then Leopold won’t feel singled out.

I really think that Puzzleannie has the best understanding.

Sometimes, I don’t articulate my questions as clearly as they roll around in my head, sometimes.