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mesl4
Guest
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When can children take communion and is it still with wine, or do they drink juice?
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Dauphin
Guest
Typically, Children don’t receive the Precious Blood.
Juice is never used in the consecration, since it is invalid matter. Only bread and wine may be used to confect the Sacrifice. Otherwise, no change will occur - Christ’s Body and Blood would not be present on the altar.
Juice is never used in the consecration, since it is invalid matter. Only bread and wine may be used to confect the Sacrifice. Otherwise, no change will occur - Christ’s Body and Blood would not be present on the altar.
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SuscipeMeDomine
Guest
In the Latin church children receive their First Communion around the age of 7. In Eastern churches they may receive communion as infants. The Catholic Church does not use juice at any time. If a child receives the Precious Blood it is in the form of wine.
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dconklin
Guest
The children are encouraged to share in the precious blood. They are only sipping it. A few have been leary about it and we ask them to keep their mouth closed, raise the cup to their lips and allow the PB to touch their lips. Then they catch the drop with their tounge.
I have been told the Eucharist is still valid even only if the PB is consumed. With all the crazy food alergies today, 1st HC can be tricky. I have had peanut alergy kids who have to recieve the cup first in case any of the other kids have peanut butter on their face.
I have been told the Eucharist is still valid even only if the PB is consumed. With all the crazy food alergies today, 1st HC can be tricky. I have had peanut alergy kids who have to recieve the cup first in case any of the other kids have peanut butter on their face.
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tee_eff_em
Guest
That does not sound like encouragement – That sounds like coercion (and IMHO borders on making a mockery of reception).
If children (or persons of any age, for that matter) do not wish to receive, they ought not be forced to do so.
tee
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Br.Rich_SFO
Guest
Different diocese have different requirements for First Holy Communion preparation. Usually it’s after two years of Faith formation around 7 or 8 years old. First Holy Communion is usually between 8 and 9. They are never required to receive the precious Blood by may receive under both forms.
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Fergal
Guest
I was thinking the same thing. My son is 10 and I leave it up to him whether he wants to partake or not. I ask him before we join the line for Communion. If he wants to, he partakes like everyone else. if he doesn’t he returns to our pew. Simple.
That does not sound like encouragement – That sounds like coercion (and IMHO borders on making a mockery of reception).
If children (or persons of any age, for that matter) do not wish to receive, they ought not be forced to do so.
tee
To do anything else compromises the reception.
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dconklin
Guest
No, coercion was the nuns telling us how it was going to be and even hitting us in church. I am guessing, tee, you don’t work with little kids much. Our/my generation of Catholics is the weakest because of coercion being used on us.Why do you think so many people do not go to church? I simply do not want the little kids to be fearful of church or Jesus.
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OutinChgoburbs
Guest
This is inaccurate. Children who have made their First Communion are not barred from receiving the Precious Blood. They might choose not to do so, because they don’t like the taste of the accidents. One of my daughters receives the Precious Blood every week, and she is nine.
This is correct.
To The OP- Children are indeed allowed to receive (Catholics never “take” Communion, they receive it) the Precious Blood when it is offered. Generally, it is not always offered at times such as Latin Rite First Communion, because while Catholics believe that is indeed Jesus’ Blood, the Blood still has what are known as the “accidents” of wine. Nobody wants to clean Jesus out of little white dresses and shirts.
When Catholics receive Holy Communion, no matter if they receive it under one species, Body or Blood, or under both species, they believe that they receive Jesus, whole and entire, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. So it doesn’t matter if a Catholic of any age only receives under one substance.
Infants in the Eastern Churches- which are every bit as Catholic as the Western Church- are communicated right after being baptized and confirmed (chrismated). They never go without Communion under both species as long as they are in a state of grace and properly diposed to receive.
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OutinChgoburbs
Guest
Gee, I grew up in the 50s and 60s, and was never hit. My classmates were never hit. But that is off-topic…
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lizaanne
Guest
It might be helpful to not use abreviations for things in this thread, the OP is not Catholic and may not have any idea what you are talking about.
~Liza
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Walking_Home
Guest
In the 60’s --nuns were my catechists for First Holy Communion –
and as you-- I was not hit, nor my classmates.
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puzzleannie
Guest
first communion should ideally be administered under both species, during the Easter Season in the context of a regular Sunday Mass, and at the age designated by the bishops of the country (any time after age of discretion, about age 7, following due preparation and disposition and after first confession. even under reforms of the liturgy in the 50s and 60s before the NO when reception from the cup was uncommon, there were instances, first communion and matrimony among them, where communicants could receive under both species.
grape juice is invalid matter.
I do work with little kids much, have been helping children prepare for first communion since I was 14, spent 12 years in Catholic Schools, and have been working with nuns assisting with catechism, CCD and sacramental prep for over 40 years. I never was hit by a nun, I never witnessed such a thing, never received a reliable first had report of such a thing, and never was in a situation where it could even remotely be deemed necessary.
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Claire_from_DE
Guest
In parish school in the early 50’s I was hit and shaken and I saw a ruler broken over a boy’s head (a 2 by 4 wouldn’t have made an impression on him). There were 50 of us in a 4th grade class. Looking back I sympathize with the nun.
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EasterJoy
Guest
This is what I tell my students preparing for First Communion: if they only take a small sip, which is all they should take, they do not need to worry about any alcoholic effects. Nevertheless, they receive Our Lord whole and entire if they only receive under the species of bread. I stress very strongly that receiving either species by itself is not “less” than receiving both.
Most people do not realize that, in order for vanilla extract to be called pure, the FDA requires that the solution contain a minimum of 35% alcohol. Most wines are in the neighborhood of 10-12% alcohol. In other words, the Precious Blood, while retaining the appearance (and therefore the effects) of wine, would not render an alcoholic effect in the amount typically consumed by a communicant, and in fact will have less of an effect than the amount of vanilla one might use to flavor a child’s drink or dessert without a second thought. I tell parents this.
Having said this, I’m also clear with the kids that it is up to their parents to decide what is best in their case. It is parents who should be the judges of whether their child is ready to be careful and steady enough with the chalice, whether he or she really will restrict himself or herself to the proper-sized sip, whether they want their child to even know what wine tastes like (an experience I highly recommend before receiving the Precious Blood, so as to not make some funny face at the novel taste), and so on. For this reason, I tell my students to ask their parents what to do, and to be obedient to that…and to always refrain from receiving if they have a cold or something else that could be catching.
Most people do not realize that, in order for vanilla extract to be called pure, the FDA requires that the solution contain a minimum of 35% alcohol. Most wines are in the neighborhood of 10-12% alcohol. In other words, the Precious Blood, while retaining the appearance (and therefore the effects) of wine, would not render an alcoholic effect in the amount typically consumed by a communicant, and in fact will have less of an effect than the amount of vanilla one might use to flavor a child’s drink or dessert without a second thought. I tell parents this.
Having said this, I’m also clear with the kids that it is up to their parents to decide what is best in their case. It is parents who should be the judges of whether their child is ready to be careful and steady enough with the chalice, whether he or she really will restrict himself or herself to the proper-sized sip, whether they want their child to even know what wine tastes like (an experience I highly recommend before receiving the Precious Blood, so as to not make some funny face at the novel taste), and so on. For this reason, I tell my students to ask their parents what to do, and to be obedient to that…and to always refrain from receiving if they have a cold or something else that could be catching.
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SenorSalsa
Guest
I like to watch the faces little kids make when they recieve the Precious Blood. Some can be downright hilarious.
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mlchance
Guest
Unless people are actually pouring vanilla extract into the drink or onto the dessert, you might want to amend what you tell people. If vanilla extract is added to dessert and then cooked, the cooking process burns off the alcohol. IOW, if I make homemade vanilla cookies, there’s no alcohol content to those cookies by the time they’re done cooking.
– Mark L. Chance.
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Phemie
Guest
I used to make eggnog for my son and one of the ingredients that went into the mix was pure vanilla. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
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EasterJoy
Guest
My mom used a teaspoon of vanilla extract per serving in uncooked eggnog. This did not have an alcoholic effect. A sip of wine would be a fraction of that. Besides, vanilla and other flavor extracts are very often added at the end of the cooking process, where it is possible, such as in puddings or a custard destined to be ice cream.
Nevertheless, I feel very strongly that this is something for parents to decide. If they don’t want their kids having cake with rum in the frosting, that is their call. It will not hurt a child to wait to receive the Precious Blood. It will hurt to give them the idea that obedience to their parents is gratuitous.
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Phemie
Guest
No kidding, particularly when we’re talking about peanut butter in the same conversation.
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