When you shouldn't receive communion

[pawiseguys]

If you feel as though you should not receive communion because you are in a state of sin, should you still attend mass? I would think you should, but if you attend that church regularly and are active and people really know you, then I feel like there will be questions about why you did not receive communion and I feel like a lot of people would judge. Any suggestions? Would reading the readings for the day be alright until you can make it to confession?

 

[paperwight66]

The obligation is to attend Mass. There is no obligation to receive Holy Communion. Many people in the past went months without receiving, because of the old fast.

 

[aimee]

The obligation is to attend Mass. There is no obligation to receive Holy Communion. Many people in the past went months without receiving, because of the old fast.

something all should remember…thank you for posting

 

[genevieve2K]

You must attend Mass, it is a mortal sin to miss Sunday Mass. It’s nobody’s business whether or not you receive Communion, and no one should judge. Sit in the back if you want fewer people to see you. You could also show up early and try to get in for Confession before Mass.

 

[pawiseguys]

I did sit much further in the back today and I did not go up for communion. I did have a few people ask me about it, but it was not too bad. Thank you for the replies, I am glad I didn’t miss mass today.

 

[Joan_M]

I did sit much further in the back today and I did not go up for communion. I did have a few people ask me about it, but it was not too bad. Thank you for the replies, I am glad I didn’t miss mass today.

Absolutely no one should ask why you did not go to Communion! It is none of their business! If such a thing should happen to me, I would stop, look directly at the person and say “Excuse me? What did you ask me? That is not a question you should ask anyone!” If that was not enough to make them shamefacedly creep away (!) I would tell them they had better never ask that anyone that question ever again! And they should mention their questioning me in their next confession!

 

[dee_burk]

WHA??? People actually asked you why you didnt go up for communion…Sorry, thats between you and God, completely none of their business and i would have responded politely so.

 

[oldgraymare2]

Hi pawiseguys,

I am really sorry that people were questioning you as to why you didn’t go up for communion. As the others have said, that is no one else’s business.

That used to happen to me too though, where people who knew me would ask me.

For me, I would tend to get ill frequently, where I would not feel well for a long time afterwards, and I would have a lingering cough, too. I just did not want to go up during cold and flu season.

As Catholics, we are only required to receive the Eucharist once a year, and that is during the Easter Season.

 

[AllieT]

You do have to go to Church on Sundays either way. I admire those Catholics who sit Communion out when they have a sin on their conscience, and in our Church, people sit it out all the time. (not that I’m cheering on “sinning,” but cheering on those who are aware they’re not in a state of grace and respect Jesus enough to wait until they’ve confessed) How incredibly rude it would be for anyone to ask about it, but if someone asked me, I would tell them it’s because I need to go to Confession and then let their imaginations run wild. Based on our parish priests constantly reminding people to not receive if they’ve missed Mass or if they have committed another mortal sin and not confessed, I suspect quite a few go up to receive when they shouldn’t. Our Pastor has talked about how relaxed the attitude has become toward Communion and that back in his day, people were always crawling over those in the pews sitting it out. You don’t see as much of that these days…either people have become incredibly virtuous and attend Confession regularly…or they just don’t get it.

 

[pawiseguys]

I figured before I went that someone would ask me, but I didn’t know what to say when they actually did. I just kind of stuttered a little bit and led the conversation in a different direction. AllieT, I have always been taught about how important Communion is, but it is very easy to take it for granted and to not really think about what is happening. I know a lot of people who either do not believe that the Eucharist is the true body and blood of Christ, or do not care all that much. I am only 21 but I was life teen core team member for a while and one of the main things I always tried to stress was reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. It sounds like your church has a lot of people who know what they are doing and who respect the Eucharist as it is supposed to be respected! This was just hard for me because I knew that I should not take it before going to confession but I have never gone a week without receiving it before.

 

[TimothyH]

If you feel as though you should not receive communion because you are in a state of sin, should you still attend mass? I would think you should, but if you attend that church regularly and are active and people really know you, then I feel like there will be questions about why you did not receive communion and I feel like a lot of people would judge. Any suggestions? Would reading the readings for the day be alright until you can make it to confession?

Go to Mass.

You could say that you had a late breakfast and didn’t keep the fast, or that you don’t feel well. Or you could just tell them to mind their own business.

The real solution is to get to Church one half hour early, knock on the vestry door and ask the priest to hear your confession. I know what kind of cars my priests drive and I know if they are there when I pull into the parking lot.

-Tim-

 

[genevieve2K]

Go to Mass.

You could say that you had a late breakfast and didn’t keep the fast, or that you don’t feel well. Or you could just tell them to mind their own business.

The real solution is to get to Church one half hour early, knock on the vestry door and ask the priest to hear your confession. I know what kind of cars my priests drive and I know if they are there when I pull into the parking lot.

-Tim-

This :yup:. NEVER put off going to Confession when you have a mortal sin on your soul.

 

[Phemie]

I grew up in the 60s when for many of us Confession once a month was the norm. If we didn’t go with our class we went with Mom & Dad to whichever parish offered Confessions on Saturday afternoon. We usually received Communion for the next two Sundays and then would likely sit out Communion until our next confession. Nobody questioned why you didn’t receive and so many people remained in the pews back then that nobody ‘stood out’ for doing so.

The only time I remember paying attention to who was in the Communion line was at Midnight Mass and that wasn’t about who received but about finding out who was back home for Christmas.

A lot more people remained in the pews when the fast was from midnight to Communion.

 

[agnes_therese]

You could say that you had a late breakfast and didn’t keep the fast, or that you don’t feel well. **Or you could just tell them to mind their own business. **

Really. I can’t imagine anyone being that rude. I think I’d just give them the Miss Manners look for a moment and then walk off without replying.

 

[twf]

I did sit much further in the back today and I did not go up for communion. I did have a few people ask me about it, but it was not too bad. Thank you for the replies, I am glad I didn’t miss mass today.

People really asked you about it? In my opinion that was incredibly rude of them. Sadly, due to various struggles, I have been at dozens if not hundreds of masses over the years where I was not able to receive. Not once has anyone ever questioned me on it. For much of Church history it was the norm for the majority of the congregation NOT to receive. Today we see everyone going up for communion but in many parishes short confession lines…

 

[billvelek]

If someone asked me, I’d probably give a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ answer like: “I went crazy last week and now I have a whole bunch of mortal sins on my soul … but I never thought anyone would be rude enough to ask me about it.”

Your brother in Christ,

Bill Velek

 

[ProVobis]

It won’t suit everyone, but I suggest attendance at a Spanish Mass. They don’t seem to take not receiving so personally.

 

[grasscutter]

If someone asked me, I’d probably give a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ answer like: “I went crazy last week and now I have a whole bunch of mortal sins on my soul … but I never thought anyone would be rude enough to ask me about it.”

Your brother in Christ,

Bill Velek

Actually, I really like this! It sends the message in a way that, while not being unkind, lets the questioner know that this sort of question is inappropriate. Plus it’s funny…

 

[RocketRM]

I did sit much further in the back today and I did not go up for communion. I did have a few people ask me about it, but it was not too bad. Thank you for the replies, I am glad I didn’t miss mass today.

I’m guessing it wasn’t rudeness on the part of those who asked you but rather ignorance. Sadly most people are not catechized properly these days. They probably asked because they believe only non-Catholics do no get up and receive communion.

But that being said this is an opportunity to evangelize to your fellow parishioners. Explain to them that “there is no obligation to receive the Holy Eucharist at each mass (only once a year and traditionally at the Easter period) and as Catholics we should strive to only receive communion in a State of Grace”.

I believe those who remain during communion due to even the hint of sin on their souls truly become more aware of the awesome mystery of the True Presence.

God Bless!

 

[Lormar]

I grew up in the 60s when for many of us Confession once a month was the norm. If we didn’t go with our class we went with Mom & Dad to whichever parish offered Confessions on Saturday afternoon. We usually received Communion for the next two Sundays and then would likely sit out Communion until our next confession. Nobody questioned why you didn’t receive and so many people remained in the pews back then that nobody ‘stood out’ for doing so.

The only time I remember paying attention to who was in the Communion line was at Midnight Mass and that wasn’t about who received but about finding out who was back home for Christmas.

A lot more people remained in the pews when the fast was from midnight to Communion.

I will back you up. That is exactly what it was like for me too. It is true that most people didn’t receive Holy Communion back then for whatever reason. No one would have dared asked anyone why either. And it is also true that we would receive Holy Communion usually on the Sunday after we went to confessioin; sometimes we might even go the following week, but anything after that, if you knew your soul wasn’t “squeaky clean”, we usually refrained from receiving until we could get to confession again.