Where is truth found?/Daily Communion

Q  Are all of the truths, all that we need to believe in, found in the Scriptures?
A  No, we need to believe more than just what is revealed to us in the Scriptures.  We also need to believe what has been passed down to us by sacred tradition.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in paragraph 76, “In keeping with the Lord’s command, the Gospel was handed on in two ways:
“- orally ‘by the apostles who handed on, by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the institutions they established, what they themselves had received – whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they had learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit’ (this is sacred tradition);
“– in writing ‘by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing.”
All that Jesus did, all that he taught, was not recorded in the Gospels.  St. John states this in his Gospel, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written” (Jn 21: 25).  And St. Paul in his Second Letter to the Thessalonians, states, “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by oral statement or by a letter of ours” (2 Thes 2:15).  
We also need to remember the first Gospel was not written until about 70 A.D.  Before that, many of the teachings of Jesus were taught by word-of-mouth.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church continues in paragraph 80, “sacred tradition and sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal.  Each of them makes present and fruitful in the church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own ‘always, to the close of the age.’ ”

Q  Can I receive Communion more than once a day?

A In most instances, you can receive Communion twice a day, as long as the second time is at a Mass.  Canon Law paragraph 917 states, “A person who has already received the most holy Eucharist can receive it a second time on the same day only within the eucharistic celebration in which the person participates, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 921, §2”  (Can. 921, §2 states those in danger of death are urged to receive Communion even if they had received holy Communion earlier in the day).  
Paragraph 917 was a change from the 1917 Code of Canon Law that forbade the reception of Communion more than once except in danger of death.
A “second time” means only twice.  The New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law states, “In 1984 the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the Canons of the Code of Canon Law issued an authentic interpretation of this canon to clarify that the word iterum (again) as used here means ‘a second time,’ not ‘again and again’ as often as one participates in the Eucharist.  Only as Viaticum (holy Communion to be received by a dying person), or in the case of the priest who has permission to trinate (to celebrate three Masses on one day), may anyone receive Communion a third time in one day.  The purpose of this law is twofold: on the one hand, to promote active participation in the Eucharist including full sacramental sharing in the Lord’s body and blood; on the other hand, to prevent the abuse of receiving multiple Communions out of superstition, ignorance, or misguided devotion.”
So, yes, you may receive Communion twice a day as mentioned above.  There could be several reasons for this, including attending a second Mass to help a young parent with their children at Mass, or attending a funeral Mass or a wedding Mass.  Feel free to receive holy Communion in these cases, as long as you are in the state of grace and have observed the fasting requirements.   
Deacon Hooper is a deacon assistant at Immaculate Conception Church in Denham Springs. He can be reached at ghooper@diobr.org.