Discerning the Lord's Body the Reception of Holy Communion
by Catholic Bishops of Connecticut
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As the second millennium draws to a close, we note that in the 20th century there has been a remarkable increase in the frequency with which our faithful receive the Holy Eucharist. Pope St. Pius X especially encouraged frequent, even daily Communion. We hope that ever greater numbers of the Catholic faithful will participate in Mass often, receiving our Eucharistic Lord, the Bread of Life.
To this end we desire with this present instruction to remind the Catholic faithful how to receive Holy Communion properly. We know that no one is truly worthy to receive this Sacrament of the Body, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. However, we must be correctly prepared and disposed in order to "recognize our Lord's body," as St. Paul teaches (1 Cor. 11:29).
Necessary Conditions to Receive Communion
The Sunday eucharistic celebration, the sacrificial memorial banquet of the Lord's Supper, is the central act of the week for people of faith because the Eucharist feeds and forms the church as well as the individuals who participate, says Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter "The Lord's Day" (32). During the Mass the faithful enter into a union with Christ, the head of the body, which is His Church, and with one another as we listen to God's word in the sacred Scriptures, experience the profound mystery by which bread and wine, through the ministry of the priest, become the Body and Blood of the Lord, receive Holy Communion and go forth energized anew to transform our families and our very world.
Thus faith is required for those who celebrate the Eucharist with the ordained priest. We must accept and believe what the Catholic Church teaches in general and specifically about the Eucharist. For this reason, on Sundays and solemnities, we recite the creed during the Mass. In particular, we must profess the common Catholic faith regarding the Holy Eucharist. During the Mass, at the Eucharistic prayer, by the words of our Lord spoken by the priest and the invocation of the Holy Spirit to sanctify these offerings, the bread and wine which have been offered for this purpose become the very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ. The appearances of bread and wine remain, but the substances of bread and wine are no longer present. What appears to be bread and wine is in truth the Body and Blood of the Christ, the Real Presence. This is a fundamental teaching of the Catholic faith; anyone who does not believe this teaching may not receive Holy Communion.
Our Catholic faith in the Real Presence is not only expressed in words. At the Mass the priest genuflects to adore the Eucharistic Lord after the elevation of the sacred host and the chalice.
After Mass the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle in the church for the devotion of the faithful, and for Communion for the sick and shut-ins, and the dying who request Holy viaticum. Each time we enter or leave the church building, Catholics of the Latin tradition genuflect before the tabernacle to adore our Lord. Catholics of the Eastern churches express this same adoration with a profound bow and sign of the cross, or even with a complete prostration in penitential seasons. These acts of adoration can help deepen our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
Before being able to receive Holy Communion, one must be baptized. Baptism is the first of the Sacraments and the doorway to the others; anyone who has not yet been baptized cannot receive any other Christian Sacrament.
Catechumens and those in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults do not receive Holy Communion until after their baptism. Writing around the year 150 A.D., St. Justin Martyr states, "We call this food Eucharist, and no one may take part in it unless he believes that what we teach is true, has received Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth, and lives in keeping with what Christ taught."
In order to receive Holy Communion, we must repent of all serious sins, and we are called to seek pardon for lesser sins. Jesus Christ is the physician, the healer of our souls. St. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, warns that each person should examine his or her own conscience before partaking of the body and blood of our Lord (1 Cor. 11:28).
The Mass offers several opportunities to do this. The first is the penitential rite, which serves as an opportunity to acknowledge our unworthiness, though it does not replace sacramental confession, required when mortal sins have occurred. Here we admit that we have sinned against God and against our neighbor. This is further emphasized in the sign of peace. Those to whom we offer it include everyone whom we have knowingly or unknowingly offended.
Those who examine their consciences in preparation for Holy Communion are sometimes moved to seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Our Holy Father Pope John Paul II teaches: "The practice of the virtue of penance and the Sacrament of Penance are essential for sustaining in us and continually deepening that spirit of veneration which we owe to God himself and to his love so marvellously revealed." The Catholic Church does not insist that we should go to confession each time we receive Holy Communion, but the Church does teach that we should go to confession frequently for the good of our souls. If we are aware of having committed a serious sin, we should go to confession as soon as possible to seek and receive God's forgiveness. Prior to this confession we may not, in ordinary circumstances, partake of the Eucharist. Those who receive Holy Communion less frequently should make a special effort to go to confession as part of their preparation. At the very least, everyone should confess their sins during Lent as part of the preparation for Easter.
It is helpful but not necessary to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with one particular priest just as we go regularly to the same physician. A confessor may tell us how often we should receive the Sacrament of Penance. We should accept this instruction with an open spirit.
Before we receive Holy Communion we should fast completely from food and drink (other than water) for at least an hour. The reason for the eucharistic fast is to remind ourselves that the Body and Blood of our Lord is our primary nourishment. During the past 50 years the Catholic Church has mitigated this obligation of the eucharistic fast because of the conditions under which we live, particularly in urban societies. In permitting this lighter discipline, however, the church continues to urge us to accept a greater personal responsibility, specifically to prepare adequately by fasting. It would be inconsistent and disrespectful to the Lord to eat a full meal or drink a significant quantity of alcoholic beverages before receiving him.
In preparing for the eucharistic celebration we should pray, making a serious effort at such prayer before and after reception of Holy Communion, to stir up within ourselves an awareness of the one whom we receive.
Normally we receive Communion during Holy Mass. For certain unusual situations the church permits the distribution of Holy Communion outside of Mass. But that is an exception. When we come to Mass to receive Holy Communion, we should do our best to be on time, to be recollected and to participate in the Mass with our full attention.
The Communion rite should provide us quiet time to commune with our Lord present within us. For this reason we recommend time for quiet reflection after Communion. Throughout the day we should retain our awareness of the Lord's presence.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
In recent times, as society has become increasingly secularized, we have not availed ourselves generally of devotions such as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament or Forty Hours. We encourage priests to offer such devotions to the faithful from time to time.
Today the faithful commonly receive Communion in the hand. In doing so, however, we must take every precaution to avoid a lack of respect toward the Eucharist and must always receive our Lord with profound reverence and devotion. Those who prefer to continue the practice of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue have the right to do so.
In Eastern churches it has long been normal for the faithful to receive Holy Communion standing, and in recent decades this has also become the custom in the Latin Church. The communicant who thus approaches Holy Communion should make a suitable act of reverence, such as a bow of the head, the sign of the cross or both.
Intercommunion a Painful Problem
We are often asked whether non-Catholics may receive Holy Communion in Catholic churches and whether Catholics may communicate in other churches. The faithful of any Catholic church may receive Communion in any other Catholic church. In Connecticut, this includes Roman, Maronite and Byzantine (Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Melkite and Romanian) and Catholic churches.
The Eastern churches (commonly called "Orthodox") which are not in full Communion with the Catholic Church nevertheless agree completely with the Eucharistic teaching of the Catholic Church. For that reason the faithful of these churches may receive Communion in the Catholic Church if they spontaneously request it and are properly disposed. They will not normally ask to receive Communion in the Catholic Church, but this does sometimes occur, especially when their own churches are at a distance.
The Polish National Catholic Church in the United States, separated from the Catholic Church just over 100 years ago, maintains the faith of Catholics concerning the Eucharist. Recently there has been important progress toward healing this division. Thus the faithful of the Polish National Catholic Church are permitted to receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church by papal decree and under the same conditions as the Orthodox.
Sadly, the situation with regard to the Protestant churches is different. Catholics and Protestants have serious disagreements on the teachings about the Holy Eucharist and "for this reason eucharistic intercommunion with these bodies is not possible for the Catholic Church" (Canon 1400). We pray that by God's grace and assistance these difficulties may be resolved. We refer our Protestant friends to the norms usually found in the missalettes in our churches.
For our part, in principle the Catholic Church permits the Catholic faithful to receive Holy Communion in Eastern Orthodox churches if no Catholic church is accessible. In practice this does not often occur because the Eastern Orthodox hierarchy does not permit it.
Conclusion
Dear sisters and brothers, we join with our priests and deacons in the hope that these ideas, many already known to you, may help you appreciate even more the beauty of the eucharistic sacrifice and the love with which Christ gives himself to us in Holy Communion. May we be open to that love and express it in our daily lives so that we may say with St. Paul, "I live, now not so much I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20).
Sincerely yours in Christ,
The Catholic Bishops of Connecticut are Archbishop Daniel Cronin of Hartford, Bishops Edward Egan of Bridgeport and Daniel Hart of Norwich, Bishop Basil Losten of the Ukrainian Diocese of Stamford, and Hartford Auxiliary Bishops Peter Rosazza and Christie Macaluso.
This item 1332 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
