By Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
Receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion is neither a reward, a right, nor a prize for being present in the Holy Mass. Our Lord wants us to have a genuine respect and reverence towards Him in the Holy Eucharist by making sure that we are in the state of grace before receiving Him in the Holy Communion.
During the Last Supper, Jesus already indicated the necessity of being clean and purified so as to take part with Him before the institution of the Holy Eucharist upon replying to Peter’s insistence not to be washed by Him.
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.”
Jn 13; 8
When our Lord speaks about the Apostles being clean, now, just before the institution of the Blessed Eucharist, he is referring to the need for the soul to be free from sin if it is to receive this Sacrament.
St Paul repeats this teaching when he says:
“Whoever 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” (1 Cor 11:27).
On the basis of these teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, the Church lays down that anyone who is conscious of having committed a grave sin, or who has any positive doubt on that score, must go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion.
If one has not gone to confession first, one must NOT receive Holy Communion if HE OR SHE IS GUILTY of having committed the following MORTAL sins, KNOWING that they are GRAVE and in spite of that, FREELY CHOSE to do it:
- Having MISSED a SUNDAY or HOLY DAY MASS WITHOUT a valid reason (i. e., out of laziness, giving priority to sports, shopping, parties etc.)
- Having SEX OUTSIDE of marriage, with ONE’S SELF (masturbation) or with SOMEONE else (either opposite or same sex); having voluntarily indulged in pornography.
- COHABITING with someone WITHOUT BEING MARRIED IN THE CHURCH and LIVING as if they were spouses (either with opposite or same sex)
- Having DESECRATED the Holy Eucharist or committed the sin of SACRILEGE (by receiving Holy Communion without being in the state of grace, i.e., free of any mortal sins)
- Having used CONTRACEPTIVES (pills, condoms, IUD’s, patches)
- Having committed ABORTION, encouraged someone to abort, or participated in the abortion
- Having committed MURDER or participated in the destruction of lives, including embryos and mercy-killing or euthanasia. Having committed acts of violence, physical, verbal, psychological abuse against other persons and their integrity.
- Having committed GRAVE INJUSTICE towards one’s subordinates or co-employees etc. or in the exercise of one’s profession (for example, unjust wages, retainment of wages, unjust accusation, false testimony, defamation, calumnies, unjust firing of employees, kickbacks, corruption)
- Refusing to ACKNOWLEDGE or PAY ONE’S DEBTS when one is already capable of doing so.
- Having STOLEN VALUABLE GOODS OR MONEY from someone.
- HARBORING HATRED OR deep-seated ANGER towards someone.
- HAVING COMMITTED GRAVE SINS OF PRIDE, GREED, LAZINESS, ENVY… etc.
If we have committed any mortal sin, let us go first and receive God’s mercy and pardon in the Sacrament of Confession before receiving Him in Holy Communion; by not doing so, and proceeding to Communion in the state of mortal sin, one would commit another sin, which is the sin of sacrilege.
Dear brethren in Christ, let us show our love and reverence to Jesus truly and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist, making sure that we have the proper dispositions to receive Him in the Holy Communion.
A Blessed week ahead!
