mass

[ThomasPeter]

im back! and you thought you got rid of me, haha...
so here is my question, as i understand it the mass is made valid when the priest receves the hosts. and that the validity o fthe mass is not comprmised based on the priests state of soul (if he has mortal sin etc). so, if we can not take the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin, what happens the the Priest does? is the mass still valid? thanks!
tom

[Adeodatus]

The validity of the consecration of the Eucharist during the Mass does not depend on the priest's reception of the sacrament itself.

For strict validity, the priest must intend what the Church intends in celebrating this Sacrament. And he must follow the form of this Sacrament (i.e. the words: 'this is my body', 'this is my blood'), and use valid matter: wheaten bread and wine from grapes.

Once the Sacrament is confected (i.e. the consecration has taken place), that's it. You have the real Body and Blood of Christ present sacramentally. Whether the priest then receives or not is irrelevant to the validity of the consecration itself.

If a priest who is conscious of mortal sin does receive the Eucharist, then it's the same as with anyone else. He is commiting a sacrilege. But what he may do is make an act of contrition, and firmly resolve to go to confession as soon as he can. In this case I am assuming that his congregation expects him to celebrate Mass on a Sunday, and for whatever reason there is no other priest around for him to go to confession to. And let's also assume that he commits this hypothetical mortal sin half an hour before Mass is due to start!