Working 12 hours can I accept communion?

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heidigirl943

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Hi there,

So I am an ER nurse an made a mistake on my schedule and was unable to find coverage for my 12 hour shift today 7a-730p. Also, I worked 3p-1130pm last night. The point is that I am wondering if I can accept holy communion from a eucharistic minister at the Catholic hospital that I work at b/c I will be at work all day or should I attempt to find a night mass? Thanks and God bless everyone!
 
You should find a mass to attend. Reception of holy communion outside of mass does not fulfill the Sunday obligation.
 
heidigirl943 said:
Hi there,

So I am an ER nurse an made a mistake on my schedule and was unable to find coverage for my 12 hour shift today 7a-730p. Also, I worked 3p-1130pm last night. The point is that I am wondering if I can accept holy communion from a eucharistic minister at the Catholic hospital that I work at b/c I will be at work all day or should I attempt to find a night mass? Thanks and God bless everyone!
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Yeh, I’m with you there…wish I COULD find a Mass to attend today…working 12 hrs (hosp) also…there is a chapel but not sure if Mass is offered…will pray the rosary
 
I heard that if you preform an important civil service (like working at a hospital) then you don’t have a Sunday obligation if you’re working. I would double check with someone though
 
subject97 said:
I heard that if you preform an important civil service (like working at a hospital) then you don’t have a Sunday obligation if you’re working. I would double check with someone though
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That general dispensation refers to the obligation of rest from work, not from the obligation to attend mass.
 
You might call and ask the priest–he’ll probably know if there are any late Masses in the area. That said, I think that you could receive Communion at work, but you should try to find a later Mass to attend, as well.

You made an honest mistake, and tried to correct it by attempting to find someone else to cover for you. To be a mortal sin, these three conditions must ALL be met: that it is grave matter (it is), that you had knowledge that it’s wrong/sinful (you do), and that you gave consent of the will (you didn’t, as noted above). If you had purposely made your schedule like that, or had just said, “Oops, oh well,” and made no effort to fix it when you had time to do so, then Confession would most likely be necessary before receiving the Eucharist. But from what you said, that’s not the case here.

I would definitely suggest being more careful about scheduling in the future, however. Take this and learn from it. 😉

This site may be helpful (though it’s not always up-to-date): masstimes.org/

HTH!
 
Thank you for your helpful responses. I will definitely be more careful about my schedule in the future. Also, I am in luck! There is a 9pm mass that I will be able to make if I get out of work at 730! Please pray for me my brothers and sisters!

Peace,
Heidi
 
heidigirl943 said:
Thank you for your helpful responses. I will definitely be more careful about my schedule in the future. Also, I am in luck! There is a 9pm mass that I will be able to make if I get out of work at 730! Please pray for me my brothers and sisters!

Peace,
Heidi
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Prayers offered. :gopray2: If it doesn’t work out, remember that your missing Mass was an accident and you had no intention to miss Mass. 🙂
 
heidigirl943 said:
Hi there,

So I am an ER nurse an made a mistake on my schedule and was unable to find coverage for my 12 hour shift today 7a-730p. Also, I worked 3p-1130pm last night. The point is that I am wondering if I can accept holy communion from a eucharistic minister at the Catholic hospital that I work at b/c I will be at work all day or should I attempt to find a night mass? Thanks and God bless everyone!
Click to expand...
God bless you! I am a nurse also and used to work 12 hour shifts, but not only did you do that, you doubled back from the evening shift. Which means, in essence, you probably got home about midnight, and was back at work for 12 hours by 7AM–which means you probably didn’t get more than 5 1/2 hours sleep. Then after this long 12 hour shift you are going to go to Mass at 9pm.

I don’t think some of the enthusiastic readers caught on to the hours you actually worked and slept, or they would not have been so quick to tell you to find a night Mass. Now it is your decision alone to do this, and that I respect, but is this in the best interest of yourself and your patients? How does sleep deprivation affect you? (I know that it is an individual response, but studies show it is a serious problem in the medical profession). Do you have to be back at work Mon. morning at 7:00? Can you safely drive with that little sleep?

At my hospital, we do not double back people like that. It was dangerous and people and patients were being affected. Accidents were occurring and mistakes were being made. There is a minimum if 10 hours between shifts, even voluntarily, unless it is a disaster situation. Personally, I do not want my nurse not to have obtained adequate rest.

I would have told you to take Communion and go home to bed, which is the sensible and safe thing to do, as God does not want us to put ourselves and others in danger. Sometimes we don’t realize how burning the candle at both ends can affect our physical and mental states. But if you can honestly safely do it, God bless you. And I think the readers need to be a little more careful when they evaluate what a person has posted, so bad advice is not given.
 
Wait, wait, wait.

So… if a police officer has a turn-around shift on the weekend because that’s his or her rotation for that period of three months, they’ll be in mortal sin every single week that they can’t attend?
 
You are in an important ministry in the Church. You should receive communion as often as possible. Because your work schedule and the schedules of Extraordinary Ministers of Eucharist do not normally permit planning for the one hour fast, you may be exempted from the fast. You should check with your pastor.
As already recommended, look for a Sunday or Vigil Mass that will fit with your work schedule. It may not be possible every week. You are probably eligible for an automatic exemption, but, again, check with your pastor.
God bless the work.

Reb Levi
 
The catechism talks about people who work in public safety – fire, police, medical personnel, etc…in relation to the Sunday obligation. Review this and talk to your parish priest about it when you have a chance. I work in public safety, and face your same situation. I talked to my parish priest who will not give me a dispensation because he believes a person living in this area can always find a Mass that fulfills the Sunday obligation. Unfortunately, with my shift hours, and local Mass times it was not possible. I then was missing a lot of Mass because of it and when I went to confession about it. The priest told me to go to Mass even if I lost sleep and God would grant me grace to get through the next shift. Because my job is important – and alertness VERY important in my job, I do worry about it though. I had another priest who is NOT my parish pastor (and therefore according to the Catechism not able to give me dispensation from Sunday obligation) tell me that if I miss Sunday obligation to be sure to go to a Mass on the first day off I have during the week. He also said for me to read the missal readings on Sunday, and to pray.

Right now what I am doing is getting off work, going home, sleeping a couple of hours, going to Mass, then going back home and sleeping a couple more hours before going back to work…it is going to be very hard especially the next few months, (and hard on my partner who is with me during the shift), but I’m praying for God’s grace to sustain me.

God bless you for the work you do, and I hope your parish pastor is understanding and grants you a dispensation.
 
NoWings said:
Wait, wait, wait.

So… if a police officer has a turn-around shift on the weekend because that’s his or her rotation for that period of three months, they’ll be in mortal sin every single week that they can’t attend?
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No. I think you misunderstood. Please refer to my post regarding mortal sin, further up in this thread.

If a person is unable to attend Mass through no fault of their own, then it is not a mortal sin.

HTH. 🙂
 
God knows that you want to be at Mass rather than work.

Shift workers have it tough. 12 hour shifts, bouncing back and forth between working days and nights, quick turn arounds, working weekends.

I figure that God appreciates your efforts.
 
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CB_Catholic said:
I don’t think some of the enthusiastic readers caught on to the hours you actually worked and slept, or they would not have been so quick to tell you to find a night Mass.

I would have told you to take Communion and go home to bed, which is the sensible and safe thing to do, as God does not want us to put ourselves and others in danger. Sometimes we don’t realize how burning the candle at both ends can affect our physical and mental states. But if you can honestly safely do it, God bless you. And I think the readers need to be a little more careful when they evaluate what a person has posted, so bad advice is not given.
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This would have been my answer as well. I don’t think most people understand how exhausting, both physically and mentally, working in an ER can be - especially with so little sleep.

Then again, my last two priest have given me “standing dispositions” for missing Mass when I’ve finished a 24 shift on the ambulance (or even a 12-hour shift if it’s my third night in a row in the ER) and don’t feel safe/am falling asleep while driving home. My current priest told me he would rather have me alive and not kill someone than to put myself and/or others in harm’s way because of driving tired (which studies have shown to be just as dangerous - if not more so - than driving under the influence or drugs / alcohol). Talk to your priest and see what he has to say about it, and confess it if he says you should confess it.
 
Catholic Wife…your priests are very wise…we had a gal who worked the midnight shift then got off duty early one Sunday morning, went straight to Church, and a couple hours later on the way home from church fell asleep while driving and went through a red light, and was in a collision and did not survive… (they think she fell asleep but of course they don’t know because she did not make it) but it is something for all shift workers to be aware of…
 
heidigirl943 said:
Hi there,

So I am an ER nurse an made a mistake on my schedule and was unable to find coverage for my 12 hour shift today 7a-730p. Also, I worked 3p-1130pm last night. The point is that I am wondering if I can accept holy communion from a eucharistic minister at the Catholic hospital that I work at b/c I will be at work all day or should I attempt to find a night mass? Thanks and God bless everyone!
Click to expand...
I would say if you intend to find a night Mass, you could even accept (love your word) twice. But you have to try. I wouldn’t hold it against you if you didn’t stay for the entire Mass, however. It’s a relief to leave after 12 hours; I’ve been there a few times myself.
 
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