Eucharist

[rhetoricfemme]

I also posted this over in Open Mic, I hope that's okay.

Who first established the rule that only Catholics and Orthodox (Anglicans, too?) may receive the Holy Communion? And the concept that one should have been to confession before receiving (right?) ?

Also, are there any spots in the Bible that discuss this?

Edited November 22, 2009 by rhetoricfemme

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Only a faith that believes in the Eucharist would be able to confect the Eucharist (assuming other conditions are taken care of). Other conditions include a valid priesthood (because only priests may confect the Eucharist), which depends on apostolic succession. The Church of England had this until they made significant enough changes that their ordination is now invalid. As far as why, say, Lutherans could not receive the Eucharist, this is because they do not believe in it (which would make it a sacrilege to receive) and because they do not share the common faith of the Church, which is the sign of unity. To receive Comm[i]union[/i] without the union of faith would be a lie and a sin.

Regarding those in a state of mortal sin, they have declared themselves opposed to God by their sins; receiving God could only be an act of duplicity in such a state.

Try 1 Corinthians 11:26-30.

[cappie]

[quote name='rhetoricfemme' date='23 November 2009 - 09:33 AM' timestamp='1258932799' post='2007524']
I also posted this over in Open Mic, I hope that's okay.

Who first established the rule that only Catholics and Orthodox (Anglicans, too?) may receive the Holy Communion? And the concept that one should have been to confession before receiving (right?) ?

Also, are there any spots in the Bible that discuss this?
[/quote]

The Church has the teaching authority to order it's sacraments as well as the other facets of the church, this is found generally in the Code of Canon Law, Pope John Paul II explained when he signed the 1983 Code into law, canon law "is in no way intended as a substitute for faith, grace, charisms, and especially charity in the life of the Church and of the faithful. On the contrary, its purpose is rather to create such an order in the ecclesial society that, while assigning the primacy love, grace, and charisms, it at the same time renders their organic development easier in the life of both the ecclesial society and the individual persons who belong to it." See ap. con. Sacrae disciplinae leges, para.16.

The Church sets out specific guidelines regarding how we should prepare ourselves to receive the Lord’s body and blood in Communion. To receive Communion worthily, you must be in a state of grace, have made a good confession since your last mortal sin, believe in transubstantiation, observe the Eucharistic fast, and, finally, not be under an ecclesiastical censure such as excommunication.

First, you must be in a state of grace. "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. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (1 Cor. 11:27–28). This is an absolute requirement which can never be dispensed. To receive the Eucharist without sanctifying grace in your soul profanes the Eucharist in the most grievous manner.

A mortal sin is any sin whose matter is grave and which has been committed willfully and with knowledge of its seriousness. Grave matter includes, but is not limited to, murder, receiving or participating in an abortion, homosexual acts, having sexual intercourse outside of marriage or in an invalid marriage, and deliberately engaging in impure thoughts (Matt. 5:28–29). Scripture contains lists of mortal sins (for example, 1 Cor. 6:9–10 and Gal. 5:19–21). For further information on what constitutes a mortal sin, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Out of habit and out of fear of what those around them will think if they do not receive Communion, some Catholics, in a state of mortal sin, choose to go forward and offend God rather than stay in the pew while others receive the Eucharist. The Church’s ancient teaching on this particular matter is expressed in the Didache, an early Christian document written around A.D. 70, which states: "Whosoever is holy [i.e., in a state of sanctifying grace], let him approach. Whosoever is not, let him repent" (Didache 10).

Second, you must have been to confession since your last mortal sin. The Didache witnesses to this practice of the early Church. "But first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one" (Didache 14).

The 1983 Code of Canon Law indicates that the same requirement applies today. "A person who is conscious of a grave sin is not to . . . receive the body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession unless a grave reason is present and there is no opportunity of confessing; in this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible" (CIC 916).

The requirement for sacramental confession can be dispensed if four conditions are fulfilled: (1) there must be a grave reason to receive Communion (for example, danger of death), (2) it must be physically or morally impossible to go to confession first, (3) the person must already be in a state of grace through perfect contrition, and (4) he must resolve to go to confession as soon as possible.

Third, you must believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation. "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself" (1 Cor. 11:29). Transubstantiation means more than the Real Presence. According to transubstantiation, the bread and wine are actually transformed into the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ, with only the appearances of bread and wine remaining. This is why, at the Last Supper, Jesus held what appeared to be bread and wine, yet said: "This is my body. . . . This is my blood" (Mark 14:22-24, cf. Luke 22:14-20). If Christ were merely present along side bread and wine, he would have said "This contains my body. . . . This contains my blood," which he did not say.

Provided they are in a state of grace and have met the above requirements, Catholics should receive the Eucharist frequently (cic 898).