This article
is indented for Catholics who do not regularly attend Mass, but will be
attending the Christmas Masses with family or friends in the coming days.
First,
WELCOME! There is nothing better you could do on Christmas than attend the Holy
Mass in which Christ comes to be among us in his own body which he assumed from
the most pure Virgin Mary! You are most welcome indeed to join with us in
worship of our merciful God and Savior.
Second, there
is nothing better you can do on Christmas than attend Mass; but there is
nothing worse you can do on Christmas than make a sacrilegious Communion by
receiving the Eucharist after having committed serious sin and before going to
Confession. God welcomes you and receives your good will in coming to the Mass,
but if you are conscious of any mortal sin which you have not confessed (for
example, skipping Sunday Mass) there would be no surer way to ruin Christmas
than to receive Holy Communion.
Give thanks
to God for the gift of attending Mass on Christmas, and let this worship in the
Mass be your gift to the Most High who has come among us as Emmanuel. But do
not ruin your Christmas by receiving Communion without going to Confession if
you are conscious of having committed any serious sins.
The article below
explains this teaching further.
When Confession is needed before
receiving Communion
There is a very popular saying about
love, which goes like this: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
My brothers and sisters, that is a lie.
Love is not opposed to apologizing. Anyone who is married knows from concrete
experience that love often requires us to say “Sorry”.
In fact, true sorrow can only come from true love; and perfect sorrow comes
from perfect love. Sorrow is an expression
of love. True sorrow heals and restores true love.
How well this is expressed by the
parable of the prodigal son. It is love which leads the wayward son to have the
confidence to return to his father and to ask for mercy. The son realizes that
he does love his father and that he is heartily sorry for having offended him;
what is more, the son also knows that his father truly loves him and will
forgive him.
Even before the son has reached the
house, the father runs out to meet him and welcomes his son with the embrace of
love. The father has loved his son even when he was astray, now his love is
complete as he forgives his son and draws him back into the family.
This is a very beautiful and
encouraging parable – it teaches us so much about God’s forgiveness and mercy –
but I would like to focus on one specific aspect of the story. Notice that the
boy, when returning, is first greeted by his father and forgiven, and only then
does he enter the house. First he
receives forgiveness, then he enters for the feast.
Consider how inappropriate it would
have been if the prodigal son would have simply come into the house without
having apologized to his father, without first receiving forgiveness. It would
have been terrible!
It is very clear: First forgiveness,
then the feast. First confession, then
communion.
This is why, at Mass, we begin with the
penitential rite – conscious of our sinfulness and our need for God’s
forgiveness, we say, “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.”
We recognize the need to say “Lord, I am sorry, have mercy on me, forgive me.”
We must be reconciled with God; we must first receive his forgiveness, then we
come to the feast of heaven.
However, we must also recognize that
for serious sins, the Lord has given us a special sacrament which we must make
use of before coming to Communion. I am referring to the sacrament of
Confession. After committing serious
sins, the Church requires that we go to Confession before coming to Communion.
It is just like in the parable – first Confession, then Communion.
Now
I know that this has not been preached about very much, and perhaps this is
the first time some of you have heard this teaching. I don’t know why so few
priests are speaking about it, but the
Catechism is very clear on this point, paragraph 1385 states: “Anyone
conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before
coming to Communion.” Even the music books (Breaking
Bread, OCP) in the pews state this in equally strong language on the inside
of the front cover, under the “Guidelines for the reception of Communion, for
Catholics.”
After
committing a serious sin, we cannot receive Communion without having first gone
to Confession. Instead, we must either remain in the pew or, if staying in
the pew would be too difficult, we may come up and cross our arms to receive a
blessing – but we must not take
Communion when we have serious sin on our souls.
Now some will say, “But I have asked
God for forgiveness in my heart, isn’t that enough?” Perhaps God has forgiven
you, in your heart. However, if we have made only a “spiritual confession”, we
are able only to make a “spiritual communion”; forgiveness in the heart can
only lead to communion in the heart – thus, I would recommend offering special
prayers to Jesus and professing your love for him, but one must not receive him
in Sacramental Communion without Sacramental Confession.
If
we want to receive Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we must first
receive his forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession. If we desire to take
Communion from the hands of the priest at Mass, we must first receive
forgiveness from the hands of the priest in Confession.
My brothers and sisters, nothing is more effective in leading us to
holiness and union with Christ than a good and worthy Communion. Nothing is
more valuable before God than receiving the Eucharist in the state of grace and
in a worthy manner.
On
the other hand, nothing will destroy
our union with Christ more than an unworthy Communion. Nothing is more
effective in separating us from Christ and plunging us into the depths of hell
than taking Communion after having committed serious sin and not having gone to
Confession.
Let us make no mistake, a good and
worthy Communion is everything! Everything
relies upon the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar!
But let’s get real practical. I would like to list three serious sins,
sins which are very common and which must be confessed before we come to
Communion. Certainly, there are many other sins, and there are even many other
worse sins, but I mention these three because they are so common and so often
misunderstood. Everything I say here is from the Catechism; it is not my
opinion, it is the clear teaching of Christ and his Church.
First,
skipping Sunday Mass. To skip Mass on Sunday, without a
grave reason, is a very serious sin. If
we skip Sunday Mass, we must not come to Communion until after first going to
Confession.
Second,
any sin against the 6th Commandment; that is, any external
sexual sin either alone or with another person – I think you all know what sort
of sins I am referring to here. Sins against chastity are very serious. We must
confess any external sin against chastity before we come to Communion. (this
would include the use of contraceptives or sterilization)
Finally,
drunkenness and drug abuse. By drunkenness, I do not mean simply
being a bit tipsy or loopy; I am talking about real intoxication, a loss of
reason. To intentionally get drunk or abuse drugs is a serious sin, it must be
confessed before coming to Communion.
Additionally,
any who are married outside the Church must have the marriage blessed before
being permitted to receive holy Communion.
I do not say this to be hard or
difficult. This is a teaching of love!
It is all about forgiveness and communion. But we must come to Christ in the
proper order – we must approach God in a worthy and holy manner. Be sure of
this: The good and worthy Communions we make in this life will bring us all to
the glory of life everlasting.
