In light of our recent changes to the reception of the Eucharist at our Masses here at Prince of Peace, I have decided to rerun an article that I wrote back in November of 2024; along with the necessary changes we implemented last weekend.
Recently, I have received several questions regarding different aspects of receiving the Eucharist at Mass, from the communion fast, to posture, to the number of times allowed in a day. So let's get to it!
First off, what we often refer to as the communion fast. The Code of Canon Law (the law of the Catholic Church) canon 919 dictates that “one who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion…Those who are advanced in age or who suffer from any infirmity, as well as those who take care of them, can receive the Most Holy Eucharist even if they have taken something during the previous hour.”
The law makes it fairly clear that we are not to consume anything other than water or medicine before receiving the Eucharist. Notice it is not the beginning of Mass (which is a great practice) but before receiving the Eucharist. The evaluation of gum is interesting: chewing the gum itself would not break the fast, but swallowing the juices and flavors would.
The posture of receiving the Eucharist is a debated topic in some places. The best thing to do is to follow what the Church tells us, not to impose our own personal preference on others. The USCCB (the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops) states that in the United States, “the body of Bishops has determined that ‘[t]he norm... is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling’ and that a bow is the act of reverence made by those receiving (no. 160). This norm is supported by an Instruction by the Holy See regarding the Eucharist: "In distributing Holy Communion it is to be remembered that 'sacred ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who seek them in a reasonable manner, are rightly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them' (Code of Canon Law, can. 843 § 1; cf. can. 915). Hence any baptized Catholic who is not prevented by law must be admitted to Holy Communion. Therefore, it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ's faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing (Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 91).”
In summary, the norm in the United States is to receive communion standing and in the hand, yet the universal norm for the Church is to receive communion while kneeling on the tongue. This means that it is allowable to receive the Eucharist standing and in the hand, standing on the tongue, kneeling in the hand, or kneeling on the tongue. All of these are valid options, one is not better than the other! It comes down to each individual person and the way they desire to receive the Eucharist. We cannot deny anyone the ability to receive the Eucharist as long as they receive it in one of these four ways.
Last, but not least, the amount of times we can receive the Eucharist. The Church permits those, who are in a state of grace, to receive the Eucharist twice in one day. The norm should be once and the second be when it is necessary. We cannot “multiply” our communions. Receiving the Eucharist more than once does not give us more grace. The Church also stipulates the reasons we would receive the Eucharist twice as it states that we may receive more than once “when necessary.” An example of this would be that you attended a wedding on a Saturday afternoon and then went to Mass that night for your Sunday obligation, thus twice in one day. In this situation you would be able to receive the Eucharist twice. There is no need to go to Mass twice every day or all 3 morning Masses on a Sunday. Attending Mass is not a hobby, but rather a prayer that we enter into. If we do attend a second Mass that day, and it’s not akin to the example above, there is not a necessity to receive the Eucharist a second time. We should ordinarily receive the Eucharist once per day.
Updated Communion Guidelines here at Prince of Peace
In the wake of the terrible satanic event recently at our state capital where it was claimed at first that a Sacred Host was stolen from a Catholic Church…the Archdiocese has issued an advisory on Communion practices necessitating us to make some changes here at our parish. Fr. Greg has asked that we now do the following three changes:
- On Receiving Holy Communion: When you receive Holy Communion on the hand, immediately consume the Eucharist. Do not move or take a step away with the Sacred Host. We realize many were trained to take a step sidewise, so it will take some time to break this habit, but please do try.
- Bringing communion to homebound with a pyx: You will have to acquire hosts after Mass from the deacon, or in absence of a deacon, from the priest. We will no longer be giving out extra hosts in the communion line.
- The Tabernacle key will be better secured and has been moved. Those who need to know where it is will know.
If you have questions or needs regarding this, please let us know. Thank you for your love of the Eucharist and if we all keep these rules, it will greatly help prevent any possible abuses of the Eucharist.
Why are we doing this? The Eucharist is the greatest treasure of our Church and we must safeguard it to the best of our ability. The Archdiocese has asked that we tighten things up a bit during this time to avoid possible profanation and theft. It's not that we don't trust you, our faithful people. We do! But we never know the intentions of others who are coming in and want to eliminate, to the best of our ability, something happening that could have been avoided.
Thank you for all that you do out of love for our Eucharistic Lord.
-Fr. Andrew