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Reader Question: Our Sunday Duty and Holy Communion

2009-07-03T11:33:07Z

Today's reader question was submitted through our new submission form, Readers Respond: Do You Have a Question About Catholicism? It's a frequently asked question:

At what stage in the Mass when you come in can you not take Holy Communion?

The short answer is "Once Communion is no longer being distributed." In other words, even if you walk into Mass during the distribution of Communion, and you are the last person in the Communion line, you can receive Communion (provided, of course, that you are properly disposed to receive the sacrament). The reception of Holy Communion is in no way conditioned on your participation in the Mass.

But I suspect that the reader, like most Catholics who ask this question, has confused the ability to receive Communion with the fulfillment of our Sunday Duty.The Sunday Duty is one of the Precepts of the Church, and it says that "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor."

The Sunday Duty is a fulfillment of the Third Commandment: "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day." It is binding under pain of mortal sin, so if we deliberately do not fulfill it, we cannot receive Communion again until we have gone to Confession. However, this is a separate question from whether we can receive Communion without participating in a Mass.

If you come into Mass on Sunday or a holy day of obligation at the time that Communion is being distributed, you may receive Communion, but you have not fulfilled your Sunday Duty. To fulfill your Sunday Duty, you need to attend the entire Mass. If, through no fault of your own, you arrive late, or important circumstances require you to leave early, you've still fulfilled your Sunday Duty. But if you leave early to get a better seat at the buffet, or you arrive late because you decided to sleep in, then you haven't fulfilled your Sunday Duty.

You do not have to have fulfilled your Sunday Duty in order to receive Communion. But the flipside is that receiving Communion, in and of itself, does not fulfill your Sunday Duty. And, as I noted above, if you deliberately fail to fulfill your Sunday Duty, you cannot receive Communion in the future until you have gone to Confession.

So the long answer to the reader's question is this: If you come in late to Mass on a Sunday or holy day, through your own fault, you can still receive Communion. But you will need to attend another Mass, in full, that day in order to fulfill your Sunday Duty.

One other thing to note: On days when you are not required to attend Mass (for instance, any weekday that isn't a holy day), you can receive Communion whenever it is distributed without having taken part in the Mass. In fact, it used to be common practice in many parishes to distribute Communion before weekday Mass, during the Mass itself, and after Mass, so that those who could not attend the entire Mass could still receive Communion daily.

Readers continue to ask interesting questions through our new submission form; so far, 17 questions have been submitted. I won't necessarily answer them in the order in which they were submitted, but I will eventually answer each one. And if the pace keeps up, I may expand the Reader Questions series to twice per week.

If you have a question that you would like to have featured in our Reader Questions series, please use the "Ask Your Question!" link in the "Readers Respond" section of the Reader Questions page. If you would like the question answered privately, please send me an e-mail at catholicism.guide@about.com. Be sure to put "QUESTION" in the subject line, and please note whether you'd like me to address it privately or on the Catholicism blog.

Pope Benedict's Third Encyclical To Be Released July 7

2009-07-02T10:31:30Z

The Vatican announced yesterday that Caritas in veritate ("Charity in truth"), Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, was signed by the Holy Father on June 29, 2009, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and will be released to the public on Tuesday, July 7. The long-awaited document will be Pope Benedict's first social encyclical, addressing the current economic crisis and, more broadly, the proper ordering of the economy and society in the modern world.

The Holy Father himself has said that the encyclical addresses "themes contained Populorum progressio," a social encyclical released by Pope Paul VI in 1967 and widely seen as more liberal and supportive of international institutions than the more famous social encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII (Rerum novarum) and Pope Pius XI (Quadragesimo anno). This may indicate that capitalism, which previous pontiffs have seen as the sister of socialism, may come in for greater criticism than some supporters of Pope Benedict would like to see.

From the standpoint of Leo XIII and Pius XI, capitalism shares with socialism a common lineage, as both are descended from the liberalism of the 18th and 19th centuries. That liberalism tends to place the material above the spiritual, a trend that Pope Benedict himself has criticized throughout his pontificate, even when not speaking in economic terms.

These are important historical points to keep in mind as we prepare for the release of Caritas in veritate. Defenders of both capitalism and of socialist critiques of capitalism will be tempted to "spin" the encyclical to their own ends. But the Church has no vested interest in any particular economic system, and it would be a mistake to read the social encyclicals of the past, or Caritas in veritate, as anything other than an attempt to apply Christian principles to economic and social institutions that have their roots outside of, and often in opposition to, Christianity.

Check back here on July 7, after the text of the encyclical is released, for full coverage of Caritas in veritate.

Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for July 2009

2009-07-01T09:03:32Z

Each month, Pope Benedict XVI announces his special prayer intentions—particular things that he wishes all Catholics to pray for that month. (When, for instance, we pray the rosary and say the prayers at the end for the intentions of the Holy Father, these are the intentions for which we're praying.)

Pope Benedict offers two intentions every month, one general, and one for a particular Catholic missionary activity. His general prayer intention for July 2009 is "That the Christians of the Middle East may live their faith in full freedom and be an instrument of peace and reconciliation." The situation of the Christians in the Middle East is more precarious than it has been for centuries. Yet in the birthplace of Christianity, the best hope for peace is through the revival of Christian communities, living the Christian life.

Pope Benedict's mission intention is "That the Church may be the seed and nucleus of a humanity reconciled and reunited in God's one and only family, thanks to the testimony of all the faithful in every country of the world." We think of missionary activity as taking place somewhere else. Yet all Christians are called to witness to their fellow men, wherever they may be. Our missionary activity includes living our lives as Christians among our families, friends, and neighbors, so that they may see the truth of Christianity reflected in our actions.

(Photo by Maurizio Brambatti-Pool/Getty Images)

Novena of the Week: In Honor of Saint Paul

2009-06-30T11:14:19Z

While the Year of Saint Paul has officially ended, the lessons that we can learn from the Apostle to the Gentiles are boundless. And so, as we reflect back on the past year, I have chosen a prayer in honor of Saint Paul as our novena this week.

This prayer is drawn from the ancient liturgy of the Coptic Church, the original Christian Church of Egypt. Recalling God's conversion of Saint Paul from a persecutor of Christianity to one of the greatest evangelists of the Christian Faith, the prayer asks God to confirm us in our own faith and to make us true witnesses of the Gospel.

What better way to honor Saint Paul than to become a witness to the Truth for which he gave his own life? O holy Apostle Paul, pray for us!

A Fitting End to the Year of Saint Paul

2009-06-30T11:07:07Z

On Sunday, June 28, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated vespers at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome to mark the end of the Year of Saint Paul. The year-long celebration of the Apostle to the Gentiles had begun on June 29, 2008, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. June 29, A.D. 67, is the date traditionally ascribed to the apostles' martyrdom—Saint Peter, on the hill where Saint Peter's Basilica sits today, and Saint Paul near the location of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

In recent years, archeological evidence seems to have confirmed that Saint Peter is indeed buried beneath the high altar of Saint Peter's, and at the vesper service, the Holy Father announced that similar evidence now indicates that Saint Paul is indeed buried beneath the high altar of St. Paul's Outside the Walls. As the Catholic News Service reports:

Vatican officials announced in December 2006 that several feet below the basilica's main altar and behind a smaller altar, they had found a roughly cut marble sarcophagus beneath an inscription that reads: "Paul Apostle Martyr."

Because part of the sarcophagus is buried beneath building material, Vatican officials determined they could not dig it out to open and examine the contents. Initially they tried to X-ray it to see what was inside, but the marble was too thick.

A hole was drilled into the sarcophagus, and bone fragments (along with cloth) were removed:

The bone fragments "underwent a carbon-14 analysis carried out by experts who did not know their place of origin," the pope said, adding that the results "indicate they belong to a person who lived between the first and second century."

For Christians, of course, this should come as no surprise. Neither St. Peter's nor St. Paul's was built at random; the current churches on each spot were built where others had been, and those were built because the Christian community in Rome revered the spots as the places of martyrdom of the founders of the Church at Rome. The unbroken tradition is no less compelling than that which tells us where Christ walked and where He died.

Still, the announcement of the archeological findings is a fitting end to this year honoring Saint Paul.

Sunday School: On Extreme Unction and Holy Orders

2009-06-27T12:27:44Z

Our discussion of the sacraments is drawing to a close, and in Lesson Twenty-Fifth of the Baltimore Catechism No. 2, we look at two of the less familiar sacraments. The first, Extreme Unction (more commonly known today as the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick), is one that we should all receive, when necessary; the second, Holy Orders, is one that few people (and then only men) will ever receive.

Unction is the act of anointing someone with oil; extreme refers to the circumstances in which the sacrament performed. Extreme Unction prepares our soul for death, by giving us the strength to face the end of our life in faith and hope, but it also offers healing to the body. We should receive the sacrament whenever there is the danger of death—for instance, when we are gravely ill or when we are about to undergo major surgery.

In recent decades, the Church has broadened the use of the sacrament, in recognition of its healing powers, both physically and spiritually. Those with chronic illnesses which may not be life-threatening can now more easily receive the sacrament, which can help them to bear their illness with fortitude and grace.

Holy Orders is the sacrament through which deacons, priests, and bishops are ordained to God's service. The minister of the sacrament is the bishop, who receives his authority through apostolic succession. Like Baptism and Confirmation, Holy Orders indelibly marks the soul of a man who receives the sacrament. While a priest may ask to be laicized (to no longer practice his ministry), he remains a priest forever, just as we cannot be "unbaptized" or "unconfirmed."

Lesson Twenty-Fifth from the Confirmation Catechism has 11 questions. Note that the lesson begins with Question 271, continuing with the numbering from Lesson Twenty-Fourth.

The parallel lesson this week in the First Communion Catechism is Lesson Twenty-First. It includes 3 questions drawn from Lesson Twenty-Fifth of the Confirmation Catechism.

Check out this week's lesson, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or ask them in the Catholicism Forum!

Previous Lessons in Sunday School:

Forum Friday: Iranian Elections

2009-06-26T12:11:18Z

There have been some interesting and even heated discussions in the Catholicism Forum this week, regarding homosexual "marriage," salvation for Protestants (a longstanding discussion), and what it means to be "born again."

But I'd like to draw your attention to a thread on the Iranian elections, started by forum member "ytb," who asks, "What, and how strong of a message should the church, other nations, and Christians everywhere be giving?" Our moderator, Steven Hepburn, provides a response that I think is spot on. Check it out, and offer your own thoughts in the forum!

Reader Question: Baptizing Children of an Unmarried Mother

2009-06-25T09:34:47Z

Last week, I introduced a new submission form to make it easier for you to take part in our Reader Questions series. The response so far has been enthusiastic; you can see the questions that readers asked at Readers Respond: Do You Have a Question About Catholicism?

Our question this week is the first drawn from the submission form. Janet writes:

Would I be able to have my two children baptized, as I am not married? I am a Catholic, and my son attends a Catholic school, and I would like them both to be brought up in the Catholic faith.

It's an excellent question, and the short answer is yes.In fact, since Baptism is necessary for salvation, you should not delay having your children baptized. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes (para. 1250), "The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth."

Janet's question seems to stem from a concern that the Church might withhold the sacrament because of her own circumstances. That is not the case. All that is necessary for a child to receive Baptism is the desire and willingness of the parents (or parent) to bring the child up in the Faith of Christ.

Going beyond the question that Janet asked, her concerns over her own unmarried status should be addressed in discussion with her parish priest. I do not know the details of her situation, but if (for instance) she is avoiding Communion because she is an unmarried mother, then she is depriving herself of graces that she needs. Since she refers to herself as "unmarried" rather than "divorced," making a contrite Confession and resolving to amend her life would likely be enough to restore her to the sacraments.

Wordless Wednesday: Saint John the Forerunner

2009-06-24T07:36:08Z

(Photo by flickr user KLMircea; licensed under Creative Commons-Some rights reserved)

Gallery of Previous Wordless Wednesday Images

Wordless Wednesday on About.com

More Wordless Wednesday

Novena of the Week: For Vocations to the Priestly Life

2009-06-23T11:30:22Z

What better way to begin the Jubilee Year for Priests than to pray for an increase in vocations? As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his letter to priests inaugurating this year of celebration, St. John Mary Vianney once told his parishioners:

Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put Him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest. ... After God, the priest is everything! ... Only in heaven will he fully realise what he is.

Vocations worldwide have been on the increase in recent decades, but vocations in the United States and much of Europe have not risen as much as elsewhere. The faithful are the source of vocations, not only because new vocations come from the laity, but because our prayers and support help awaken young men to their calling.

So this week, I have chosen for our novena of the week a Prayer for Vocations to the Priestly and Religious Life.