Friday, August 10, 2012
291. What is required to receive Holy Communion? (part 1)
(Comp 291) 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. Also important for those receiving
Holy Communion are a spirit of recollection and prayer, observance of the fast
prescribed by the Church, and an appropriate disposition of the body (gestures
and dress) as a sign of respect for Christ.
“In
brief”
(CCC 1415)
Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the
state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive
communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 1384)
The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the
sacrament of the Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (Jn 6:53).
(CCC 1385) To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges
us to examine our conscience: "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. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning
the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself" (1 Cor 11:27-29). Anyone
conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before
coming to communion.
On
reflection
(CCC 1386)
Before so great a sacrament, the faithful can only echo humbly and with ardent
faith the words of the Centurion: "Domine,
non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur
anima mea" ("Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my
roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed.") (Roman Missal, response to the invitation
to communion; cf. Mt 8:8) and in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom the
faithful pray in the same spirit: O Son of God, bring me into communion today
with your mystical supper. I shall not tell your enemies the secret, nor kiss
you with Judas' kiss. But like the good thief I cry, "Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom."
[IT CONTINUES]
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment