(Grace MacKinnon is a syndicated columnist and public speaker on Catholic doctrine. Readers are welcome to submit questions about the Catholic faith to: Grace MacKinnon, 1234 Russell Drive #103, Brownsville, Texas 78520. Questions also may be sent by e-mail to: grace@deargrace.com. You may visit Grace online at www.DearGrace.com.)
Only Grave Sin Cuts Us Off
Thank you for writing. I sense your great concern over this matter. Let me begin by saying that Canon law states the following: “All the faithful, after they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, are bound by the obligation of receiving Communion at least once a year” (Canon 920). It is, therefore, not a sin to not receive Communion every Sunday.
But it also tells us that, “The faithful are to hold the Eucharist in highest honor, taking part in the celebration of the Most August Sacrifice, receiving the sacrament devoutly and frequently, and worshiping it with supreme adoration” (Canon 898), and that it is those who are “conscious of grave sin” who should not receive the Body of the Lord at Mass (Canon 916).
So you see, venial sin should not keep us from receiving the Holy Eucharist. This would be the kind of sin that is not grave. Serious or grave sin, on the other hand, is the type that cuts off our communion with God. When we commit that kind of sin, then we must approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation and ask forgiveness of God so that our communion and relationship with Him may be restored.
Talk to Your Confessor
You say that you are having bad thoughts over something that is causing turmoil in your life. It is good that your conscience is leading you to question your actions. Generally speaking, thoughts alone do not constitute grave sin, but we need to be careful with this too. To engage in bad thoughts deliberately without any attempt to avoid them could most definitely – if they go unchecked – lead one to commit a serious sin. But if the thoughts just come as a result of being emotionally upset over a situation that is troubling us, then normally they are not to keep us from receiving Holy Communion. Remember also that the Eucharist itself has the power to wash away all venial sin.
The best thing to do is to have a talk with your confessor. Sometimes people are uncomfortable doing this, as you yourself expressed in your letter, but we should try our best not to be. The priest is there to help us; he wants to offer us the healing power of Jesus. The Eucharist is the very Body and Blood of Christ. It is the “food” we need in this journey called life. That is why Jesus gave Himself to us in this way, so that we would always be united with Him until He returns.
The Food We Need to Live
Imagine what would happen to our body if we did not give it food every day. It would eventually die. When we deprive our soul of the food that it needs in the Eucharist, then we are starving it. I understand that you are trying to be very careful and not do something wrong, but when we allow anything to keep us from being united to the Lord in Holy Communion, we are denying ourselves the “food” which we need to truly live.
