Questions about Communion / Lord's Supper

[Josh]

My understanding was that one was only required to take communion, following confession of course, once within the period between Easter and Pentecost, one’s so called “Easter Duty.”

If I remember correctly, since the Mass is a “sacrifice” one cannot have a Mass without communion.

Since the 4th century weekly Mass has been an obligation. There have been periods when that was relaxed due to availability, pandemics, and other rationales. But the obligation itself was never abrogated.

What, exactly, does an “obligation” mean?

[Judas Maccabeus]

My understanding was that one was only required to take communion, following confession of course, once within the period between Easter and Pentecost, one’s so called “Easter Duty.”

If I remember correctly, since the Mass is a “sacrifice” one cannot have a Mass without communion.

Since the 4th century weekly Mass has been an obligation. There have been periods when that was relaxed due to availability, pandemics, and other rationales. But the obligation itself was never abrogated.

Easter duty refers to the obligation to receive communion between certain dates around Easter:

""Bishop Thomas J. Tobin-Diocese of Rhode Island

Older Catholics will certainly be familiar with the concept of “Easter duty,” a phrase that describes the obligation of Catholics to receive Holy Communion at least once a year, specifically during the Easter Season.

Easter duty seemed to have more relevance years ago when Catholics didn’t receive Holy Communion as often (or as casually) as they do today. The purpose was to maintain some minimal contact with the Church by receiving Holy Communion at least during Easter Season when the Church was celebrating its primary feast, the Resurrection of Christ. It was even a practice in some parishes that individuals making their Easter duty would present a kind of census card at the communion rail, a card that certified them as practicing Catholics for another year.

Although the sacramental practices in the Church have changed somewhat over the years, (for better or worse depending on your point of view) the fulfillment of Easter duty remains one of the primary precepts of the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “The third precept, (You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least once during the Easter season) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feast, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.” (#2042)''""

SO one is not obligated to receive communion, except once a year around Easter. While one is obligated to attend, one is not obligated to receive communion weekly. I would have expected you to be familiar with this concept.

https://thericatholic.com/stories/easte ... r%20Season.

[ohio jones]

MaxPC, weekly communion wasn’t instituted until fairly recently, mostly due to pressure from Protestants doing it. I believe Pope Leo made the change in the early 1900s.

The obligation to attend Sunday Mass and take Holy Communion weekly became Church law in the 4th century.

This blog seems to say that weekly attendance at Mass (presumably including participating in communion) was a requirement originated by regional councils that became universal practice, but was not explicitly made a universal requirement until 1917.

[MaxPC]

MaxPC, weekly communion wasn’t instituted until fairly recently, mostly due to pressure from Protestants doing it. I believe Pope Leo made the change in the early 1900s.

The obligation to attend Sunday Mass and take Holy Communion weekly became Church law in the 4th century.

This blog seems to say that weekly attendance at Mass (presumably including participating in communion) was a requirement originated by regional councils that became universal practice, but was not explicitly made a universal requirement until 1917.

OJ, I know that you are an intelligent person from some of your serious commentaries. Within that context, I shall offer the following: the main concern regarding this blog can be found in the writer’s own words:

about this site

Catholic Sensibility is a personal blog by a Catholic layperson with comments and occasional other writings by Catholics and non-Catholics. We make no particular claims to have the completeness of a Roman Catholic expression of Christianity. It contains opinion, interpretation, and personal musings. That’s it. Nothing official or authoritatively connected to the Magisterium.


Unless any blog that discusses RCC teaching has the stamp of authority from the Magisterium, it cannot be considered official teaching. I give the writer credit for highlighting this fact and writing the disclaimer to that authority. Unless a blog is a designated teaching arm of the Magisterium, out of due conscience any information is to be considered opinion.

[Josh]

Max,

Could you please point us to official information about just when and how often Catholics are supposed to go to Mass, then?

[MaxPC]

The obligation to attend Sunday Mass and take Holy Communion weekly became Church law in the 4th century.

This blog seems to say that weekly attendance at Mass (presumably including participating in communion) was a requirement originated by regional councils that became universal practice, but was not explicitly made a universal requirement until 1917.

OJ, I know that you are an intelligent person from some of your serious commentaries. Within that context, I shall offer the following: the main concern regarding this blog can be found in the writer’s own words:

about this site

Catholic Sensibility is a personal blog by a Catholic layperson with comments and occasional other writings by Catholics and non-Catholics. We make no particular claims to have the completeness of a Roman Catholic expression of Christianity. It contains opinion, interpretation, and personal musings. That’s it. Nothing official or authoritatively connected to the Magisterium.


Unless any blog that discusses RCC teaching has the stamp of authority from the Magisterium, it cannot be considered official teaching. I give the writer credit for highlighting this fact and writing the disclaimer to that authority. Unless a blog is a designated teaching arm of the Magisterium, out of due conscience any information is to be considered opinion.

OJ, here is the teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church which is an official teaching document of the Magisterium. I excised the relevant bits but I would also caution that this excerpt is also a part of a larger section and should be read in the context of the whole which is far too long to post here. You can find the rest of Part III: Life in Christ at the Vatican website.

PART THREE
LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

CHAPTER ONE
"YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND"

ARTICLE 3
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work.90
The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.91

* I. THE SABBATH DAY

2168 The third commandment of the Decalogue recalls the holiness of the sabbath: "The seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD."92

2169 In speaking of the sabbath Scripture recalls creation: "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."93

2170 Scripture also reveals in the Lord's day a memorial of Israel's liberation from bondage in Egypt: "You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with mighty hand and outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day."94

2171 God entrusted the sabbath to Israel to keep as a sign of the irrevocable covenant.95 The sabbath is for the Lord, holy and set apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on behalf of Israel.

2172 God's action is the model for human action. If God "rested and was refreshed" on the seventh day, man too ought to "rest" and should let others, especially the poor, "be refreshed."96 The sabbath brings everyday work to a halt and provides a respite. It is a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money.97

2173 The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of this day.98 He gives this law its authentic and authoritative interpretation: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath."99 With compassion, Christ declares the sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing.100 The sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God.101 "The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."102

II. THE LORD'S DAY

This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.103
The day of the Resurrection: the new creation

2174 Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week."104 Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath,105 it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:

We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.106
Sunday - fulfillment of the sabbath

2175 Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish sabbath and announces man's eternal rest in God. For worship under the Law prepared for the mystery of Christ, and what was done there prefigured some aspects of Christ:107

Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the sabbath, but the Lord's Day, in which our life is blessed by him and by his death.108
2176 The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship "as a sign of his universal beneficence to all."109 Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.

The Sunday Eucharist

2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life. "Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church."110

"Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints."111

2178 This practice of the Christian assembly dates from the beginnings of the apostolic age.112 The Letter to the Hebrews reminds the faithful "not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but to encourage one another."113

Tradition preserves the memory of an ever-timely exhortation: Come to Church early, approach the Lord, and confess your sins, repent in prayer. . . . Be present at the sacred and divine liturgy, conclude its prayer and do not leave before the dismissal. . . . We have often said: "This day is given to you for prayer and rest. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."114
2179 "A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop."115 It is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration; it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love:

You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.116
The Sunday obligation

2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: "On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass."117 "The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day."118

2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.

2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God's holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2183 "If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is specially recommended that the faithful take part in the Liturgy of the Word if it is celebrated in the parish church or in another sacred place according to the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer for an appropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in groups of families."120

[ohio jones]

OJ, here is the teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church which is an official teaching document of the Magisterium. I excised the relevant bits but I would also caution that this excerpt is also a part of a larger section and should be read in the context of the whole which is far too long to post here. You can find the rest of Part III: Life in Christ at the Vatican website.

You could have included the link to that, you know.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7N.HTM

But my question was a historical one concerning when the universal requirement was instituted. The catechism does not appear to address that.

[MaxPC]

OJ, here is the teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church which is an official teaching document of the Magisterium. I excised the relevant bits but I would also caution that this excerpt is also a part of a larger section and should be read in the context of the whole which is far too long to post here. You can find the rest of Part III: Life in Christ at the Vatican website.

You could have included the link to that, you know.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7N.HTM

But my question was a historical one concerning when the universal requirement was instituted. The catechism does not appear to address that.

Elementary, my dear Watson. Follow the footnotes.
Happy Easter.

[Josh]

OJ, here is the teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church which is an official teaching document of the Magisterium. I excised the relevant bits but I would also caution that this excerpt is also a part of a larger section and should be read in the context of the whole which is far too long to post here. You can find the rest of Part III: Life in Christ at the Vatican website.

You could have included the link to that, you know.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7N.HTM

But my question was a historical one concerning when the universal requirement was instituted. The catechism does not appear to address that.

Elementary, my dear Watson. Follow the footnotes.
Happy Easter.

Would you mind sharing the details with us?

[Judas Maccabeus]

You have avoided discussion of the issue of Easter Duty. Could you explain it, or maybe I will.