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Do you have questions about parts
of the Mass,
There will be a new section in the bulletin where Father Gillis will
answer questions submitted via the collection basket. One question and
answer will appear weekly.prayer, Catholic celebrations or any part of the Catholic Faith? (A special thank
you to one of our parish
families for this idea.)
Source |
| 1 | Is it ok for a parent to “share”
the Eucharist with their child who has
not yet received first communion? I recently saw a parent
taking the
Eucharist after receiving from the Priest and upon returning to their
seat they broke off a piece of the Sacred Host and gave it to their
child; what should one do when they see this type of behavior? January
10, 2010
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| 2 | |
| 1 | This question
requires several distinctions to answer it
properly.
First is that the only one who should “break” a
host is the Priest or
the Extraordinary Minister of Communion in the rare case that there is
insufficient consecrated hosts for the people present. This
is rarely
done as the normal procedure is to stop giving communion once all is
gone and there is no reserve in the tabernacle. Fragmenting a
consecrated host to “share” with others would be
wrong at any time. The next part of the question deals with a person who is not of age or has not been prepared to receive communion. The Church recognizes the age of seven as an age at which one is able to comprehend the mystery of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Age alone is not the criteria as one must be instructed to understand the great gift given to us in the Eucharist and prepared by first receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Where there are Catholic schools this is usually accomplished by co-operation between the parish and the school and instruction is part of the class lesson plan. One must remember that Sacraments come from the Church and when a school has students from a number of parishes children are encouraged to receive in their home parish. The same is true for children who attend public school with the exception that they must arrange for instruction that is coordinated by the parish in which they are registered. This instruction is often given by the parents at home. To give communion to one who has reached the age of reason may seem kind, however it diminishes the ability for the child to be instructed on the normal way and age of receiving communion and for this reason alone should never be done. The next part of this answer has to deal with responsibility of adults in this situation. First, the parent must realize the error of their action and should seek counsel from their parish Priest as to whether or not they have desecrated the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist and have need of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Any person who has witnessed such an event should approach the person and ask them to speak to the parish Priest, this is true of any act against the Eucharist. Finally it is possible for children of the Eastern rite who are in communion with the Catholic Church to receive communion from the time they are Baptized, in fact they are also Confirmed at this same time. An example of this is the Ukrainian Catholic Church, usually the children do not receive on Sundays outside of their own communities without first arranging this with the local pastor. In Flinton a family would come for vacation each year and this was the case although it was surprising for parishioners to see these young people receive communion. If you are ever in doubt
regarding your child’s ability to receive Holy
Communion, please speak to Fr. Gillis.
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