Deacon's Corner: Can we receive Holy Communion every time we attend Mass?
February 5, 2023, 12:00 PM
We are obligated to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, and it would be proper to receive Holy Communion. In fact, the Church encourages frequent reception of Holy Communion. The Church teaches that we attend Mass to praise and worship God, to hear His Word, to receive many blessings, and to receive His Body and Blood worthily. That is the key - to receive Holy Communion worthily. St Paul warns us, “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 … For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). This tells us that if a person discerns he or she is in a state of mortal sin or is in ongoing dissent from Church teachings, that person is still required to attend Mass, but must not receive Holy Communion. For some people, their union with the Lord is broken by mortal sin or by dissent from the teachings of the Church and cannot receive Holy Communion worthily. The full meaning of the “Amen” we say when receiving Holy Communion is, “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and professes to be revealed by God.” Therefore, belief in the Church teachings (abortion, divorced and remarried with no annulment, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, etc.) and a proper living of those beliefs, free of mortal sin, are all necessary to receive Holy Communion worthily. We must be truthful with ourselves and with God when we say “Amen” for the reception of Holy Communion. If not, we receive His Body and Blood unworthily. Now you know!