Admittance to the Lords Table

I am writing this brief blog post to either educate or re-educate my fellow Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ about the requirements for admittance to the Supper of the Lord, the Most Holy and Divine Sacred Mystery, that Sacrament of Sacraments we call the Eucharist or Holy Communion. 

I have spoken with several Catholics who do not know the five prerequisites for admittance to the Supper of the Lord.  You MUST meet all five, or you should not come forward to receieve.  There are many times I attend Mass where I will remain kneeling because I do not meet one of the requirements (usually either the fast or being conscious of grave sin which I have not been absolved of yet).  I know it's wrong to judge my brothers and sisters, but I get an awful, sinking feeling in my gut when there are 200 people in the Cathedral for Mass, and 99% of them go up to receive.  I can't help but feel that at least some of these, my brothers and sisters, are eating and drinking condemnation unto themselves, not blessing.  So, let's go over what the Catholic Church teaches, through the use of the Code of Canon Law and Holy Scripture, about admittance to the Lords Supper.

#1) You MUST be in a state of grace.  "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Cor. 11:27–28). This is a non-negotiable requirement. If you take the Eucharist while being conscious of mortal sin, you are not eating and drinking forgiveness of sins, blessing and eternal life to yourself.  No, on the contrary, you are eating and drinking cursing and eternal death, and committing the sin of sacrilege.  God forbid my brothers and sisters!  Please!  Check yourself!

Please, do NOT think people around you will judge you if you do not go forward.  I guarantee, people will respect a penitent more than somebody taking the Body of Blood of Christ in a wanton manner.  An early Christian teaching document, the Didache, which was written between 50 and 100 A.D., states: "Whosoever is holy [i.e., in a state of sanctifying grace], let him approach. Whosoever is not, let him repent" (Didache 10).

The second part of #1, is you must have been to confession since your last mortal sin.  The Catholic Code of Canon Law states: "A person who is conscious of a grave sin is not to . . . receive the body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of confessing; in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible" (CIC 916).

And again from the Didache: "But first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one" (Didache 14).

This requirement (#1 A/B) can be dispensed of for several reasons, including:  (1) there must be a grave reason to receive Communion (for example, danger of death), (2) it must be physically or morally impossible to go to confession first, (3) the person must already be in a state of grace through perfect contrition, and (4) he must resolve to go to confession as soon as possible.

#2) You must believe in the established Dogmas of the Church, most especially (and obviously) the Eucharistic dogmas:  Transubstantiation, Real Presence.  "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself" (1 Cor. 11:29).  If you do not believe in the Real Presence, if you do not believe the Lords Words "my flesh is real food, my blood real drink", if you only believe in "symbolic presence" - do NOT approach!  You must ascent to the Catholic dogma or risk not discerning the Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our dearly beloved Lord Jesus Christ.

#3) You must have observed the minimum Eucharistic Fast:  "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" (CIC 919 §1). Elderly folks, people who are very ill, and their caretakers are excused from the Eucharistic fast (CIC 191 §3). Priests and deacons may not dispense one obligated by the Eucharistic fast unless the bishop has expressly granted such power to them (cf. CIC 89). 

#4) You must not be under any sort of ban, censure, or excommunication.  "Those who are excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion" (CIC 915).

#5) The final requirement, and the most obvious one:  You must be a validly baptized Catholic.  If you do not have a valid Catholic baptism, do NOT approach for Communion in a Catholic Church.
(CIC 912) Any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion.

So, a quick recap.  In order to approach the Lords Body and Blood, you must be a baptized Catholic, in a state of grace and made recent confession since your past mortal sin, have a correct belief / faith in the dogmas of the Church, especially the Real Presence / Transubstantiation, in good standing with the Church - not under any sort of ban, censure, or excomunication, and finally, have observed the minimum one hour eucharistic fast.

Dear brothers and sisters, keeping the Most Holy Sacrament Holy is of the utmost importance.  Please make an inventory of yourself before Communion.

God bless us all,
Yours in Christ,
Jason Michael Prewara
IC XC NIKA