The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life,” containing “the whole spiritual good of the church, namely Christ himself (no. 1324).”
Perhaps it’s not surprising the church earnestly looks for effective ways to promote this teaching and to counter those who ignore or work against it.
Exacerbating this complex issue is that an increasing number of Catholics are living outside the sacrament of matrimony and many others reject the church’s teachings on moral issues such as capital punishment and the need to protect the environment; many do not see the need to worship together at Sunday Mass, to pray daily, or to lead lives of real, generous charity.
Additionally, an increasing number of Catholics do not believe the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ but some other kind of representation of the Lord’s presence.
Mindful of these recent trends, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Nov. 17 approved a formal statement on “The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church,” as well as an immediate three-year initiative highlighting the sacrament. The USCCB also announced this effort will culminate in a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in 2024.
The bishops appear to want to heighten peoples’ awareness of the importance of celebrating the Eucharist, and doing so worthily, so that ultimately each believer’s personal union with Jesus that comes about in holy Communion will grow stronger.
Ultimately, the responsibility for determining if someone is in good graces and free from sin to receive Communion rests within the person, Father Paul Counce, judicial vicar for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, said, citing canon 916 of the Code of Canon Law.
“You have to be aware of not being in the state of mortal sin,” Father Counce said. “The burden falls primarily upon you because you are the only one who knows your conscience and motives, knows what you have done.”
“Who determines the gravity of sin?” he added. “The individual person in the privacy of their conscience. They are supposed to have an informed conscience and they are supposed to talk it over with their confessor and receive the guidance of the church.
“If no one knows you committed a mortal sin, but you do, you should not go to Communion until you go to confession.
Father Counce said another canon says that those “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin” may be refused holy Communion. But he noted it is “very difficult’ for priests to determine that someone is in persistent, manifest grave sin. He explained persistence means over time, manifest means external or obvious, and grave sin is a sin that is objectively mortal.
“If one is notoriously unworthy, the church has the power to deny access to the sacraments in various ways (but) the primary responsibility is on the person themselves,” Father Counce said.
As an example, he said couples living together outside of the sacrament of matrimony are living in a state of serious grave sinfulness but added he has “no idea” if the couple has been to confession since they last sinned.
“I’m presuming, and if they are leading a life of faith, they are honest in their business dealings, they are generous in their charitable efforts, they volunteer, as good parents they’re raising kids to be moral and upright., I’m not going to presume that someone who is doing all of this good is intending to do something evil and separate themselves from God,” Father Counce said. “It would be illogical to conclude that from them.”
He acknowledged there is a minority of bishops and others who prefer to deny the Eucharist to those who are in a public state of mortal sin, but said that is not the approach of Pope Francis nor the approach of the church over the past 60 years.
“We are supposed to be looking for ways of bringing Communion to the people; we are supposed to be evangelizing and gathering the Lord’s sheep, not running them off,” Father Counce said. “Proper evangelization is merciful and personal. The pope has said to accompany people where they are, point out the error of their ways, don’t make it public, don’t shame them.”
Dina Dow, director of the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, stressed that those going to Communion should be in good graces and the ordinary way to achieve that is through the sacrament of reconciliation. She likened receiving Communion while in a state of sin to taking a mud bath and then attending a “really exquisite banquet while you are filthy.”
“With sin we are dirty,” Dow said. “What the sacrament of reconciliation does is like taking a really good hot shower and taking away our sins. We need to be spotless and clean before the Lord.
“The sacrament of reconciliation wipes away the stain of sin so that we are in a state of grace.”
Dow passionately emphasized the Eucharist is not just a representation of the Lord but a living sacrifice. She said Jesus presented the Eucharist through his words and the words of God are everlasting.
“Jesus said it is his body and blood and that is what we believe and what we confess to believe each weekend,” she said. “By words and signs we come together to form what God has promised us, which we can tangibly receive in the bread of life, that of which has come down to save us from our sins. It is a supernatural food for the body and the soul.”
Dow said the Eucharist strengthens individuals and is fortification from mortal sin but countered that receiving Communion in a state of mortal sin will have no effect because sin is blocking the graces.
“It’s not like God is not trying to pour the graces on you,” she said. “You are not receiving the graces because you are sinning. There’s no friendship with God when you sin. The conversation has ended.”
Father Counce and Dow agree that public figures, such as politicians, must be cautious of the examples they are setting with their public stances on critical issues. Father Counce said he does not know a single priest who would tell a person that abortion is the right position to hold.
“I would be blunt and say (to that person) you are giving a bad example,” Father Counce said. “All of the good you may want to do in so many other ways is compromised by this one very obvious mistake. It is true you are not causing or (performing an) abortion, but you are allowing them in a way.”
Father Counce recalled “some pretty strong language” Jesus used about those leading others into sin: they should “have a millstone hung around their neck and dropped into the sea” (Lk 17:2).
“Jesus did not minimize the evil effects of setting a bad example and leading others into sin,” Father Counce said. “The United States has two political parties and while both parties have some good policies both parties have questionable – in fact, wrong – policies, when you evaluate them according to Catholic teaching.”
Dow said each person ought to perform a daily examination of conscience and determine if there are areas of their lives that need to be cleansed. She said politicians are obligated to fully research each issue and understand why the church teaches what it teaches and act accordingly.
“If those involved in civil authority know where their authority is from, I believe there would be more unity,” she said. “Jesus wasn’t worried about votes.”
Dow pointed out receiving the Eucharist minimizes the desire to commit sin, rendering the temptation unappealing.
“Interiorly we change with the Eucharist,” she said. “Why would we not want an intimate union with Christ Jesus?”