|
CONGREGATION
FOR DIVINE WORSHIP
AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENT
INSTRUCTION
Redemptionis
Sacramentum
On
certain matters to be observed or to be avoided
regarding the Most Holy Eucharist
Chapter
IV
HOLY COMMUNION
1. Dispositions for the Reception of Holy Communion
[80.] The Eucharist
is to be offered to the faithful, among other reasons, “as an antidote,
by which we are freed from daily faults and preserved from mortal sins”,[160]as
is brought to light in various parts of the Mass. As for the Penitential
Act placed at the beginning of Mass, it has the purpose of preparing all
to be ready to celebrate the sacred mysteries;[161]even
so, “it lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance”,[162]
and cannot be regarded as a substitute for the Sacrament of Penance
in remission of graver sins. Pastors of souls should take care to ensure
diligent catechetical instruction, so that Christian doctrine is handed
on to Christ’s faithful in this matter.
[81.] The Church’s custom shows that it is necessary for each person
to examine himself at depth,[163] and that anyone
who is conscious of grave sin should not celebrate or receive the Body
of the Lord without prior sacramental confession, except for grave reason
when the possibility of confession is lacking; in this case he will remember
that he is bound by the obligation of making an act of perfect contrition,
which includes the intention to confess as soon as possible”.[164]
[82.] Moreover, “the Church has drawn up norms aimed at fostering
the frequent and fruitful access of the faithful to the Eucharistic table
and at determining the objective conditions under which Communion may
not be given”.[165]
[83.] It is certainly best that all who are participating in the celebration
of Holy Mass with the necessary dispositions should receive Communion.
Nevertheless, it sometimes happens that Christ’s faithful approach
the altar as a group indiscriminately. It pertains to the Pastors prudently
and firmly to correct such an abuse.
[84.] Furthermore when Holy Mass is celebrated for a large crowd - for
example, in large cities - care should be taken lest out of ignorance
non-Catholics or even non-Christians come forward for Holy Communion,
without taking into account the Church’s Magisterium in matters
pertaining to doctrine and discipline. It is the duty of Pastors at an
opportune moment to inform those present of the authenticity and the discipline
that are strictly to be observed.
[85.] Catholic ministers licitly administer the Sacraments only to the
Catholic faithful, who likewise receive them licitly only from Catholic
ministers, except for those situations for which provision is made in
can. 844 §§ 2,3, and 4, and can. 861 § 2.[166]
In addition, the conditions comprising can. 844 § 4, from which no
dispensation can be given,[167] cannot be separated;
thus, it is necessary that all of these conditions be present together.
[86.] The faithful should be led insistently to the practice whereby they
approach the Sacrament of Penance outside the celebration of Mass, especially
at the scheduled times, so that the Sacrament may be administered in a
manner that is tranquil and truly beneficial to them, so as not to be
prevented from active participation at Mass. Those who are accustomed
to receiving Communion often or daily should be instructed that they should
approach the Sacrament of Penance at appropriate intervals, in accordance
with the condition of each.[168]
[87.] The First Communion of children must always be preceded by sacramental
confession and absolution.[169] Moreover First Communion
should always be administered by a Priest and never outside the celebration
of Mass. Apart from exceptional cases, it is not particularly appropriate
for First Communion to be administered on Holy Thursday of the Lord’s
Supper. Another day should be chosen instead, such as a Sunday between
the Second and the Sixth Sunday of Easter, or the Solemnity of the Body
and Blood of Christ, or the Sundays of Ordinary Time, since Sunday is
rightly regarded as the day of the Eucharist.[170]
“Children who have not attained the age of reason, or those whom”
the Parish Priest “has determined to be insufficiently prepared”
should not come forward to receive the Holy Eucharist.[171]
Where it happens, however, that a child who is exceptionally mature for
his age is judged to be ready for receiving the Sacrament, the child must
not be denied First Communion provided he has received sufficient instruction.
2.
The distribution of Holy Communion
[88.] The faithful
should normally receive sacramental Communion of the Eucharist during
Mass itself, at the moment laid down by the rite of celebration, that
is to say, just after the Priest celebrant’s Communion.[172]
It is the Priest celebrant’s responsibility to minister Communion,
perhaps assisted by other Priests or Deacons; and he should not resume
the Mass until after the Communion of the faithful is concluded. Only
when there is a necessity may extraordinary ministers assist the Priest
celebrant in accordance with the norm of law.[173]
[89.] “So that even by means of the signs Communion may stand out
more clearly as a participation in the Sacrifice being celebrated”,[174]
it is preferable that the faithful be able to receive hosts consecrated
in the same Mass.[175]
[90.] “The faithful should receive Communion kneeling or standing,
as the Conference of Bishops will have determined”, with its acts
having received the recognitio of the Apostolic See. “However, if
they receive Communion standing, it is recommended that they give due
reverence before the reception of the Sacrament, as set forth in the same
norms”.[176]
[91.] In distributing Holy Communion it is to be remembered that “sacred
ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who seek them in a reasonable
manner, are rightly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving
them”.[177] Hence any baptized Catholic who
is not prevented by law must be admitted to Holy Communion. Therefore,
it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful
solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive
the Eucharist kneeling or standing.
[92.] Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy
Communion on the tongue, at his choice,[178] if
any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas
where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic
See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him
or her. However, special care should be taken to ensure that the host
is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that
no one goes away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand. If there
is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the
hand to the faithful.[179]
[93.] The Communion-plate for the Communion of the faithful should be
retained, so as to avoid the danger of the sacred host or some fragment
of it falling.[180]
[94.] It is not licit for the faithful “to take . . . by themselves
. . . and, still less, to hand . . . from one to another” the sacred
host or the sacred chalice.[181] Moreover, in this
regard, the abuse is to be set aside whereby spouses administer Holy Communion
to each other at a Nuptial Mass.
[95.] A lay member of Christ’s faithful “who has already received
the Most Holy Eucharist may receive it again on the same day only within
a Eucharistic Celebration in which he or she is participating, with due
regard for the prescriptions of can. 921 § 2.”[182]
[96.] The practice is reprobated whereby either unconsecrated hosts or
other edible or inedible things are distributed during the celebration
of Holy Mass or beforehand after the manner of Communion, contrary to
the prescriptions of the liturgical books. For such a practice in no way
accords with the tradition of the Roman Rite, and carries with it the
danger of causing confusion among Christ’s faithful concerning the
Eucharistic doctrine of the Church. Where there exists in certain places
by concession a particular custom of blessing bread after Mass for distribution,
proper catechesis should very carefully be given concerning this action.
In fact, no other similar practices should be introduced, nor should unconsecrated
hosts ever be used for this purpose.
3.
The Communion of Priests
[97.] A Priest
must communicate at the altar at the moment laid down by the Missal each
time he celebrates Holy Mass, and the concelebrants must communicate before
they proceed with the distribution of Holy Communion. The Priest celebrant
or a concelebrant is never to wait until the people’s Communion
is concluded before receiving Communion himself.[183]
[98.] The Communion of Priest concelebrants should proceed according to
the norms prescribed in the liturgical books, always using hosts consecrated
at the same Mass[184] and always with Communion
under both kinds being received by all of the concelebrants. It is to
be noted that if the Priest or Deacon hands the sacred host or chalice
to the concelebrants, he says nothing; that is to say, he does not pronounce
the words “The Body of Christ” or “The Blood of Christ”.
[99.] Communion under both kinds is always permitted “to Priests
who are not able to celebrate or concelebrate Mass”.[185]
4.
Communion under Both Kinds
[100.] So that
the fullness of the sign may be made more clearly evident to the faithful
in the course of the Eucharistic banquet, lay members of Christ’s
faithful, too, are admitted to Communion under both kinds, in the cases
set forth in the liturgical books, preceded and continually accompanied
by proper catechesis regarding the dogmatic principles on this matter
laid down by the Ecumenical Council of Trent.[186]
[101.] In order for Holy Communion under both kinds to be administered
to the lay members of Christ’s faithful, due consideration should
be given to the circumstances, as judged first of all by the diocesan
Bishop. It is to be completely excluded where even a small danger exists
of the sacred species being profaned.[187] With
a view to wider co-ordination, the Bishops’ Conferences should issue
norms, once their decisions have received the recognitio of the Apostolic
See through the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of
the Sacraments, especially as regards “the manner of distributing
Holy Communion to the faithful under both kinds, and the faculty for its
extension”.[188]
[102.] The chalice should not be ministered to lay members of Christ’s
faithful where there is such a large number of communicants[189]that
it is difficult to gauge the amount of wine for the Eucharist and there
is a danger that “more than a reasonable quantity of the Blood of
Christ remain to be consumed at the end of the celebration”.[190]
The same is true wherever access to the chalice would be difficult to
arrange, or where such a large amount of wine would be required that its
certain provenance and quality could only be known with difficulty, or
wherever there is not an adequate number of sacred ministers or extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion with proper formation, or where a notable
part of the people continues to prefer not to approach the chalice for
various reasons, so that the sign of unity would in some sense be negated.
[103.] The norms of the Roman Missal admit the principle that in cases
where Communion is administered under both kinds, “the Blood of
the Lord may be received either by drinking from the chalice directly,
or by intinction, or by means of a tube or a spoon”.[191]
As regards the administering of Communion to lay members of Christ’s
faithful, the Bishops may exclude Communion with the tube or the spoon
where this is not the local custom, though the option of administering
Communion by intinction always remains. If this modality is employed,
however, hosts should be used which are neither too thin nor too small,
and the communicant should receive the Sacrament from the Priest only
on the tongue.[192]
[104.] The communicant must not be permitted to intinct the host himself
in the chalice, nor to receive the intincted host in the hand. As for
the host to be used for the intinction, it should be made of valid matter,
also consecrated; it is altogether forbidden to use non-consecrated bread
or other matter.
[105.] If one chalice is not sufficient for Communion to be distributed
under both kinds to the Priest concelebrants or Christ’s faithful,
there is no reason why the Priest celebrant should not use several chalices.[193]
For it is to be remembered that all Priests in celebrating Holy Mass are
bound to receive Communion under both kinds. It is praiseworthy, by reason
of the sign value, to use a main chalice of larger dimensions, together
with smaller chalices.
[106.] However, the pouring of the Blood of Christ after the consecration
from one vessel to another is completely to be avoided, lest anything
should happen that would be to the detriment of so great a mystery. Never
to be used for containing the Blood of the Lord are flagons, bowls, or
other vessels that are not fully in accord with the established norms.
[107.] In accordance with what is laid down by the canons, “one
who throws away the consecrated species or takes them away or keeps them
for a sacrilegious purpose, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication
reserved to the Apostolic See; a cleric, moreover, may be punished by
another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state”.[194]
To be regarded as pertaining to this case is any action that is voluntarily
and gravely disrespectful of the sacred species. Anyone, therefore, who
acts contrary to these norms, for example casting the sacred species into
the sacrarium or in an unworthy place or on the ground, incurs the penalties
laid down.[195] Furthermore all will remember that
once the distribution of Holy Communion during the celebration of Mass
has been completed, the prescriptions of the Roman Missal are to be observed,
and in particular, whatever may remain of the Blood of Christ must be
entirely and immediately consumed by the Priest or by another minister,
according to the norms, while the consecrated hosts that are left are
to be consumed by the Priest at the altar or carried to the place for
the reservation of the Eucharist.[196]
Notes
[160] Ecumenical Council of Trent, Session XIII, 11 October
1551, Decree on the Most Holy Eucharist, Chapter 2: DS 1638; cf. Session
XXII, 17 September 1562, On the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Chapters
1-2: DS 1740, 1743; S. Congregation of Rites, Instruction, Eucharisticum
mysterium, n. 35: AAS 59 (1967) p. 560.
[161] Cf. Missale Romanum, Ordo Missae, n. 4, p. 505.
[162]Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 51.
[163] Cf. 1 Cor 11: 28.
[164]Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 916; cf. Ecumenical Council of Trent,
Session XIII, 11 October 1551, Decree on the Most Holy Eucharist, Chapter
7: DS 1646-1647; Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia,
n. 36: AAS 95 (2003) pp. 457-458; S. Congregation of Rites, Instruction,
Eucharisticum mysterium, n. 35: AAS 59 (1967) p. 561.
[165] Cf. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia,
n. 42: AAS 95 (2003) p. 461.
[166] Cf. Code of Canon Law, n. 844 § 1; Pope John Paul II, Encyclical
Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, nn. 45-46: AAS 95 (2003) pp. 463-464;
cf. also Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Directory
for the application of the principles and norms on ecumenism, La recherche
de l’unité, nn. 130-131: AAS 85 (1993) 1039-1119, here p.
1089.
[167] Cf. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia,
n. 46: AAS 95 (2003) pp. 463-464.
[168] Cf. S. Congregation of Rites, Instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium,
n. 35: AAS 59 (1967) p. 561.
[169] Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 914; S. Congregation for the Discipline
of the Sacraments, Declaration, Sanctus Pontifex, diei 24 maii 1973: AAS
65 (1973) p. 410; S. Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship
and S. Congregation for the Clergy, Letter to the Presidents of the Bishops’
Conferences. Episcoporum, In quibusdam, 31 March 1977: Enchiridion Documentorum
Instaurationis Liturgicae, II, pp. 142-144; S. Congregation for the Sacraments
and Divine Worship and S. Congregation for the Clergy, Response to dubium,
20 May 1977: AAS 69 (1977) p. 427.
[170] Cf. Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter, Dies Domini, 31 May 1998,
nn. 31-34: AAS 90 (1998) pp. 713-766, here pp. 731-734.
[172] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 55.
[173] Cf. S. Congregation of Rites, Instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium,
n. 31: AAS 59 (1967) p. 558; Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation
of the Code of Canon Law, Response to dubium, 1 June 1988: AAS 80 (1988)
p. 1373.
[174]Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 85.
[175] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 55; S. Congregation of Rites, Instruction,
Eucharisticum mysterium, n. 31: AAS 59 (1967) p. 558; Missale Romanum,
Institutio Generalis, nn. 85, 157, 243.
[176] Cf. Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 160.
[177]Code of Canon Law, can. 843 § 1; cf. can. 915.
[178] Cf. Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 161.
[179]Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,
Dubium: Notitiae 35 (1999) pp. 160-161.
[180]Cf. Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 118.
[181]Ibidem, n. 160.
[182] Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 917; Pontifical Commission for the Authentic
Interpretation of the Code of Canon Law, Response to Dubium, 11 July 1984:
AAS 76 (1984) p. 746.
[183] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 55; Missale Romanum, General Instruction,
nn. 158-160, 243-244, 246.
[184] Cf. Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, nn. 237-249; cf. also
nn. 85, 157.
[185] Cf. ibidem, n. 283a.
[186] Cf. Ecumenical Council of Trent, Session XXI, 16 July 1562, Decree
on Eucharistic Communion, Chapters 1-3: DS 1725-1729; Second Vatican Ecumenical
Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n.
55; Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, nn. 282-283.
[187] Cf. Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 283.
[188] Cf. ibidem.
[189] Cf. S. Congregation for Divine Worship,Instruction, Sacramentali
Communione, 29 June 1970: AAS 62 (1970) p. 665;Instruction, Liturgicae
instaurationes, n. 6a: AAS 62 (1970) p. 699.
[190]Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, n. 285a.
[191]Ibidem, n. 245.
[192] Cf. ibidem, nn. 285b and 287.
[193]Cf. ibidem, nn. 207 and 285a.
[194] Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 1367.
[195] Cf. Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts,
Response to dubium, 3 July 1999: AAS 91 (1999) p. 918.
[196]Cf. Missale Romanum, Institutio Generalis, nn. 163, 284.
Previous Page • TOC
• Next Page
|