Answers to Common Questions Regarding the Eucharist

     As a pastor, I receive a lot of questions about the Eucharist, not deep theological and philosophical questions about Holy Communion, but practical etiquette questions about receiving Holy Communion.  The answers to these practical questions can be found in the Compendium Catechism, as well as in the Code of Canon Law, in the Ritual texts, in the Bible and on-line.

     Nevertheless, the most common questions I get about Holy Communion are:

1.     Father, can I receive Communion more than once in a   day? 

2.     Father, does a funeral Mass or a Wedding Mass on   Saturday count for Sunday Mass? 

3.     Father, am I allowed to chew gum before I receive Communion?

4.     Father, do I have to go to Confession before I receive Communion? 

5.     Father, are non-Catholic Christians allowed to receive Communion in the Catholic Church? 

6.     Father, are Catholics allowed to receive the communion offered in non-Catholic churches?

    The answers to these questions are hinged upon the aspect of Holy Eucharist that most people forget, the aspect of being in union with the Church, with other Catholics.  When we receive Holy Communion we may think or feel we are in union with God, but are we in union with our church, are we in union with our neighbour, are we in union with Catholic beliefs 

    Question # 1:  Can you receive Holy Communion more than once a day? 

     The answer is in Canon Law # 917.  Yes, but only during the Eucharistic celebration you are attending.  In other words, you must be at the whole Mass to receive Communion again, no dining and dashing, or coming in half way through Mass, receive Holy Communion, and then leave before the final Blessing.  If you are in union with the whole worshiping liturgy, you may receive a second time.

    Question # 2:  Does a Funeral Mass or a Wedding Mass on Saturday count for Sunday Mass? 

     No.  A funeral or wedding Mass is a particular celebration with specific bible readings and prayers for a funeral or wedding; they are not the bible readings or prayers for the Sunday Mass where we are in union with all Catholics throughout the world.  When we gather and pray on Sunday, or the Saturday Vigil, we are in union with the whole universal Catholic Church in our prayer.

     Question # 3:  Are you allowed to chew gum before Mass, or even during Mass? 

     Again, Canon Law provides us with the answer, # 919.  “Before receiving Holy Communion one should abstain for at least one hour from all food and drink except water and medicine.”  Gum, I don’t think is medicine.  Canon 919 continues to state, “Those who are advanced in age or suffer from some illness, as well as those who care for them, may receive the Holy Eucharist even if they have taken something during the preceding hour.”  The point of the Eucharistic fast is to prepare ourselves to receive the Lord with respect and humility.  The Eucharistic fast is to remind us that Holy Communion is special, sacred and holy.  We are to be in an appropriate disposition to participate in the unity with God and neighbour that is signified in the Communion we consume.

 Question # 4:  Do you have to go to Confession before you receive Communion?

  The Compendium of the Catechism in # 291 states, “To receive Holy Communion one must be fully incorporated into the Catholic Church and be in the state of grace, that is, not conscious of being in mortal sin.  Anyone who is conscious of having committed a grave sin must first receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before going to Communion.”  In other words, if you are not in union with the Church, if you are not in union with your neighbour, you are not to receive Communion because Communion celebrates our unity.  You are being hypocritical if you receive Eucharist and are not in unity with your neighbour.  Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 5, “So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”  The question we have to ask ourselves is: “Are we in a state of grave sin or not, are we guilty of mortal sin or not?”  I won’t answer that question; let your informed conscience be your guide.  We just spent the season of Lent addressing sin.

 Question # 5:  Are non-Catholic Christians allowed to receive Communion in the Catholic Church? 

The answer to this question is a bit complicated.  Generally, the answer is no because non-Catholics are not in union with the Catholic Church.  Remember what I said earlier, Eucharist is the sign of our unity with each other as a church in as much as the Eucharist is our grace from God.  However, with the Ecumenical Movement in the past 50 years, this general prohibition is relaxed at times.  The Compendium Catechism paragraph 293 states, and I paraphrase, “Catholic ministers may give Holy Communion licitly to members of the Oriental Churches (or Orthodox Christians) who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church whenever they ask for it of their own will and possess the required dispositions.  Catholic ministers may also licitly give Holy Communion to members of other ecclesial communities (or Protestant Christians) only if in grave necessity, if they ask for it of their own will, if they possess the required dispositions, and if they give evidence of holding the Catholic faith regarding the sacrament.” 

     I could spend a whole homily on this question, but for brevity sake, as Catholics on the one hand, we desire our separated brothers and sisters to be in union with us insofar as they want to be in union with us, but on the other hand we must not succumb to indifferentism and give the appearance that there is no real difference between churches and it does not matter to which church one belongs.  It does matter.

    Lastly, question # 6, are Catholics allowed to receive the communion offered in non-Catholic churches? 

Again, the general principle is no.  Why, because we are not in union with these churches, we cannot celebrate what we have not achieved, unity with each other.  As many of you know, most Protestant Churches don’t believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, they don’t believe in the same teaching about Holy Orders and the priesthood as we do, they don’t have apostolic succession, so their Eucharist is invalid for us. 

     The only Communion in a non-Catholic church that we can receive is the Holy Communion in the Orthodox Churches.  This decision is found in the Ecumenical Directory of May 1967 from the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity.  Although we are not in full union with the Orthodox Churches, they have kept the teaching of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, they have kept the sacrament of Holy Orders and the priesthood like we have, and they have kept apostolic succession.  We can receive their Holy Communion if we cannot find a Catholic Church to attend, and if they allow us to.  Remember, we’re not in full union with each other and we don’t have a right to their Eucharist.