Can. 916 Anyone who is conscious of grave sin may not celebrate Mass or receive the Body of the Lord without previously having been to sacramental confession, unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, which includes the resolve to go to confession as soon as possible.
This appears in the front cover of the OCP hymnal "Breaking Bread" (which I had my first introduction to last week on vacation). It is a Canon I am familiar with, and one that I have seen people misinterpret to mean they can receive Communion in a state of (grave/mortal) sin as long as they go to confession right after Mass. I know people in my own church who follow this practice of receiving Communion and going to confession right after Mass, using this Canon as their rationale for doing so.
An act of perfect contrition (which is required in this case) is being sorry for offending God with your sins because you love Him above all things, and an act of imperfect contrition (which isn't enough in this case) is being sorry for your sins because you dread the pains of hell.
Canon 916 requires a grave reason to exist for the application of receiving Communion without confession. What I see people using as grave reason are 1) not having confession scheduled prior to Mass, and 2) arriving at Mass too late to ask the priest hear your confession. My gut feeling on this is that neither of these qualify as grave reasons to receive Holy Communion as outlined by Canon 916 if you are conscious of mortal sin.
It takes a certain degree of humility to stay in your seat and abstain from Communion when everyone else is receiving Communion. Maybe I'm being scrupulous here, but neither of the two situations I outlined above seem to be qualify as grave matter. What would you do?
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- paramedicgirl
- A paramedic who loves her job, but first and foremost, a traditional Catholic who recognizes the tremendous grace and privilege of belonging to the Catholic faith. And yes, I use Canadian spelling. Humour, centre, colour and such. If you think it's spelled wrong, it's just the Canadian way!
In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph
Prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas for thanksgiving after Holy Communion
Workman's prayer to St. Joseph
Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in a spirit of penance for the expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my inclinations; to work with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, moderation and patience, without ever recoiling before weariness or difficulties; to work, above all, with purity of intention, and with detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after your example, O Patriarch Joseph. Such shall be my watchword in life and in death. Amen.
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O gentlest Heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed Sacrament, ever consumed with burning love for the poor captive souls in Purgatory, have mercy on the soul of your departed servant Joe. Be not severe in your judgement, but let some drops of Your Precious Blood fall upon him, and send, O merciful Savior, Your angels to conduct him to a place of refreshment, light and peace. Amen.
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Consecrated Hands
"Because out of reverence towards this sacrament, nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this sacrament." - ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Summa Theologica
4 comments:
mortal sin is a very serious. no one should go to holy communion with the stain of mortal sin on their soul. father mentioned one time during frank's catechism lesson that it is sacriligous to go to receive holy communion with the stain of mortal sin on your soul. one must go to confession and confess the mortal sin/s on their soul, only then after receiving absolution can one receive holy communion. a partial confession does not relieve the stain of mortal sin. only a good confession does, and that is a complete confession with absolute sincerity for having grieved our Lord and offending Him.
We go to confession before Mass. I would never receive communion if I was aware of grave sin on my soul even if I could attend confession straight after Mass.
I make it a point to get to confession before Mass. If I miss confession an know I am in mortal sin I do not recieve.
I have no problem with sitting in my seat while others go to recieve...no one is paying attention to me anyway, all eyes and thoughts are elsewhere, as they should be!
I don't receive Communion even if my sins were not mortal. I don't worry about what other people think, just that my sins have offended God. So I sit miserably in my seat while others file happily up to receive our precious Lord.(sigh.) This happened to me last Sunday, so I am going to confession ASAP!
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