There has been much discussion recently about the reception of holy Communion. 

 

The specific question is: Are there circumstances under which some persons should not be presenting themselves for the reception of holy Communion? 

 

Or, alternatively: Is reception of holy Communion a strictly personal decision that each man, woman or child decides for themselves about whether to receive on the basis of consulting their own conscience? 

 

This is not a new question in the life of the Church. Still, we do well to remind ourselves of the constant teaching and faith of the Church in this regard.

 

Jesus, of course, taught His followers that the Eucharist is not simply a symbol but truly is His Body and Blood that is received under the signs of bread and wine. We know that people understood this even in Jesus’ own time because many of His followers abandoned Him after hearing this teaching (Jn 6:66). Even as they walked away, Jesus did not change His teaching or somehow suggest that His followers had not understood Him correctly.

 

Since the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday night, the faith of the Church has been unchanged right up to our day. Even while our senses of sight and taste detect only bread and wine, the mystery of the Eucharist is that the Son of God truly allows us, lowly and sinful creatures that we are, to receive His person and Divine majesty in holy Communion.

 

And because this is not merely ordinary bread and wine, the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has reflected on what is necessary to approach this gift worthily.

 

St. Paul, writing to the members of the Church in Corinth corrected them for abuses that were occurring in the celebration of the Mass as early as the year 56 A.D. He famously wrote to them, “… whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Cor 11: 27 -29). 

 

Clearly St. Paul is stating that along with the Lord’s promise of the gift of His life for those who receive His body and blood worthily, there is also a danger at the same time. That is the possibility of condemnation for those who are not rightly disposed to receive such a gift.

 

We find a further development in the Church’s faith as early as about 150 A.D. St. Justin the Martyr wrote at that time, “This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us.”

 

In short, St. Justin records that the faith and practice of the Church is that receiving the Eucharist is recognized as a sign of professing unity with the Church. That unity extends even to the practice of the life of the one receiving Communion.

 

A unity of faith and a unity of practice are necessary conditions for worthy reception of the Eucharist. This only makes sense when we reflect that in the Eucharist we have contact with Christ Himself in such a specific and earthly way.

 

On this basis we understand why the Church teaches that those who are conscious of being in a state of mortal sin should not approach the Eucharist without first reconciling with the Christ and the Church in the sacrament of confession. Further, those who do not believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist should not receive Communion as if it were, for example, a merely social or cordial thing to do.

 

In a time of weakening faith and sometimes inadequate understanding of basic catechesis, it is necessary to get back to fundamentals. One such basic pillar of faith is reverence and awe for the gift of the Eucharist. We need to stir up our own faith in the meaning of coming to Communion. Then for the good of the salvation of souls we need to remind ourselves and others of the obligation of being properly prepared to receive Christ in the Eucharist.