Answer to: When shouldn't I receive Communion?
Hey everyone, thanks for reading : )
Today's topic deals with Communion, a branch off the topic I wrote about a couple days ago, transubstantiation.
Today's topic is when one should receive Communion.
Many churches believe that the "bread and wine" is a symbol of Christ.
In the Catholic faith, we believe that it IS Christ.
Therefore, we also believe that in order to take part and receive Jesus' body and blood, you must be baptized in the Catholic faith.
Why?
Because if you receive the Eucharist (aka Communion, Jesus' body and blood) and do not believe that it is really Jesus, when it actually is, you are demoralizing God.
For example, if you are someone that believes that the body and blood is a symbol of Christ, but not actually Him, and you wish to receive Him in Catholic Eucharist, either:
a. You are not being true to your own faith/beliefs
b. You are leaning more towards Catholic beliefs and should get into a program like RCIA to become Catholic
c. You are not receiving Communion in the way that is intended
That's the explanation behind why other faiths are not supposed to take part in Communion during a Catholic mass.
There is also another time you are not supposed to receive Communion: when you have committed a mortal sin.
"Now, mortal sin... has three components and all three have to present in order for a mortal sin to occur. One, it has to be of a “grievous matter.” That means it has to be a big deal, like taking somebody’s life or doing something that can never be changed. Two, there has to have been “sufficient reflection.” That means you had to have thought about it, it doesn’t just happen. You don’t just wake up one morning and say, “Oh my goodness! I’ve created a mortal sin.” The third is that there has to have been “full consent of the will.” This means that you really have to choose to do it. Again, this is the idea that you don’t accidentally fall in to mortal sin."
-Quote from Fr. J at:
http://www.lifeteen.com/default.aspx?PageID=FJQADETAIL&__DocumentId=615
Thanks Fr. J for helping me with explaining this concept!
So how does one fix a mortal sin? By going to reconciliation, one of the many awesome things about the Catholic faith. And, ha, that's the topic of my next note.
So, again, please post any questions you have about anything remotely related to Catholicism, and I will do my best to answer them.
Really, please post something. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you have read what I wrote and taken the time to respond. It also helps me out too with new topics/helping others.
Also, I LOVE doing this. Really, I do. It helps me get out of the daily grind and take time to research and grow more in my faith. So please comment!
Today's topic is when one should receive Communion.
Many churches believe that the "bread and wine" is a symbol of Christ.
In the Catholic faith, we believe that it IS Christ.
Therefore, we also believe that in order to take part and receive Jesus' body and blood, you must be baptized in the Catholic faith.
Why?
Because if you receive the Eucharist (aka Communion, Jesus' body and blood) and do not believe that it is really Jesus, when it actually is, you are demoralizing God.
For example, if you are someone that believes that the body and blood is a symbol of Christ, but not actually Him, and you wish to receive Him in Catholic Eucharist, either:
a. You are not being true to your own faith/beliefs
b. You are leaning more towards Catholic beliefs and should get into a program like RCIA to become Catholic
c. You are not receiving Communion in the way that is intended
That's the explanation behind why other faiths are not supposed to take part in Communion during a Catholic mass.
There is also another time you are not supposed to receive Communion: when you have committed a mortal sin.
"Now, mortal sin... has three components and all three have to present in order for a mortal sin to occur. One, it has to be of a “grievous matter.” That means it has to be a big deal, like taking somebody’s life or doing something that can never be changed. Two, there has to have been “sufficient reflection.” That means you had to have thought about it, it doesn’t just happen. You don’t just wake up one morning and say, “Oh my goodness! I’ve created a mortal sin.” The third is that there has to have been “full consent of the will.” This means that you really have to choose to do it. Again, this is the idea that you don’t accidentally fall in to mortal sin."
-Quote from Fr. J at:
http://www.lifeteen.com/default.aspx?PageID=FJQADETAIL&__DocumentId=615
Thanks Fr. J for helping me with explaining this concept!
So how does one fix a mortal sin? By going to reconciliation, one of the many awesome things about the Catholic faith. And, ha, that's the topic of my next note.
So, again, please post any questions you have about anything remotely related to Catholicism, and I will do my best to answer them.
Really, please post something. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you have read what I wrote and taken the time to respond. It also helps me out too with new topics/helping others.
Also, I LOVE doing this. Really, I do. It helps me get out of the daily grind and take time to research and grow more in my faith. So please comment!
2 comments
Maybe this is something you are going to cover in depth in your next topic, and so maybe this is not appropriate to ask at this time, but I wanted to get it down before I forgot.
By any chance can you give a couple more examples of what a mortal sin is? Is breaking one of the 10 commandments considered a mortal sin? Or is it not as simple as a specific list. Let me give for example:
Consider the ever so common example of telling a younger child that the TV is broken and so we can\'t watch it now, when in fact the child is just not allowed to watch any more TV. In this example whoever is telling the child that the TV is broken is clearly lying. But what kind of sin is that?
Thanks for taking all the time for this!
Ya, so that example would definitely be a venial sin. There are two types. But I will write another note about this. That one does not qualify under the first qualification, the \"grievous matter\" one.