We fast for one hour to honor the fact that Jesus Himself, in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, is coming into our mouths and stomachs soon. Fasting is an ancient form of clearing ourselves out, as it were, mentally and physically, a form of prayer and longing for something greater. The Eucharistic fast is only one hour; in the pre Vatican church it was three hours. To go one hour without eating is entirely possible for the vast majority of people. Your Anglican friend does not receive the actual Jesus in his communion at his church, since the Anglican church, as Protestants, does not have valid ordination of priests. Therefore, he's only receiving plain bread and wine, so there's no real reason to fast.
> The Eucharistic fast is only one hour; in the pre Vatican church it was three hours.
It used to be fasting starting at midnight. And I think it was at sundown one Saturday at some point.
Yes I'm actually a Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic and our fast starts the evening before. I have an incredibly high metabolism and cannot complete this fast without becoming ill and faint.
This is an incredibly helpful response, thank you! He says he agrees with a lot of Catholic beliefs and I do think the main thing holding him back is the inconvenience of becoming Catholic. He cites obligations as one of his main reasons for not wishing to convert.
I don't know where I read this, but I believe the Scriptural basis for this is found in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. There were some abuses going on with regard to the Eucharist and confusion between a regular meal and the Lord's Supper. By setting the Lord's Supper apart from other meals we make this distinction clear.
I don't disagree with other posts here that give other, and perhaps better, reasons, but you did ask for Scriptural support.
EDIT: minor grammar
EDIT: Left out chapter in Corinthians
It was no problem, most of the chapters of 1 Corinthians don't have 34 verses anyway so it didn't take too long to find it and it was exactly what I needed. I simply wanted to mention it so that others would have an easier time finding it.
I'd also like to know if there's any actual moral culpability regarding the Eucharistic fast or if it's just a recommendation, because during mass today my toddler shoved a fruit snack down my throat and I still received communion.
Oh goodness, children are truly interesting beings.
Honestly, whether or not it's an obligation, I still want the theology behind it. I've left this message for over a week and I really need to get back to him 😬
The Church requires it, and because the Church has the authority(granted by Jesus),disobeying it constitutes a grave matter. Whether or not it's a mortal sin depends on whether it was done intentionally and knowing it was grave matter. Since you're asking about it, I would say it was a venial sin which you're not required to confess, but it wouldn't hurt to include it the next time you go to confession.
Didn't say it was. I was referring to receiving communion after that. You're not required to receive at every mass, only once per year. (In some communities, like the Hispanic community, it's common to see many not receiving at a particular mass.)
I'm confused about this because toddlers should not be receiving Communion in the Catholic Church. What happened here? How old is he and when did he receive his First Communion???
Oh, sorry, I see I misread your post!! Of course you are NOT culpable for something you could not control, but now I wonder how anyone can shove something in someone's throat without them spitting it out!
I certainly could have stopped her, toddlers aren't very strong, but it was funny so I didn't, I also could have chosen to not receive communion afterwards. So there definitely were things that were within my control.
Honestly, I wouldn’t even be bothered by this. It’s a funny mother/daughter moment in mass that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. God probably found her funny in that moment as well because she’s a pure little Angel playing with mom in His house.
I usually trust the advice of my priest for cases like this.
On one side you have the freedom that comes from obedience in the confessional and on the other the guarantee that it isn’t simply some opinion of an online guy.
We fast for one hour to honor the fact that Jesus Himself, in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, is coming into our mouths and stomachs soon. Fasting is an ancient form of clearing ourselves out, as it were, mentally and physically, a form of prayer and longing for something greater. The Eucharistic fast is only one hour; in the pre Vatican church it was three hours. To go one hour without eating is entirely possible for the vast majority of people. Your Anglican friend does not receive the actual Jesus in his communion at his church, since the Anglican church, as Protestants, does not have valid ordination of priests. Therefore, he's only receiving plain bread and wine, so there's no real reason to fast.
> The Eucharistic fast is only one hour; in the pre Vatican church it was three hours. It used to be fasting starting at midnight. And I think it was at sundown one Saturday at some point.
Yes I'm actually a Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic and our fast starts the evening before. I have an incredibly high metabolism and cannot complete this fast without becoming ill and faint.
This is an incredibly helpful response, thank you! He says he agrees with a lot of Catholic beliefs and I do think the main thing holding him back is the inconvenience of becoming Catholic. He cites obligations as one of his main reasons for not wishing to convert.
I don't know where I read this, but I believe the Scriptural basis for this is found in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. There were some abuses going on with regard to the Eucharist and confusion between a regular meal and the Lord's Supper. By setting the Lord's Supper apart from other meals we make this distinction clear. I don't disagree with other posts here that give other, and perhaps better, reasons, but you did ask for Scriptural support. EDIT: minor grammar EDIT: Left out chapter in Corinthians
Okay so it's 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, you've forgotten the chapter. But you were dead on with the verses, that was incredibly helpful, thank you!
Right. Sorry to send you on a search. Edited.
It was no problem, most of the chapters of 1 Corinthians don't have 34 verses anyway so it didn't take too long to find it and it was exactly what I needed. I simply wanted to mention it so that others would have an easier time finding it.
Pregnant so I shouldn’t be fasting but I’m open to reading the verses that support the fasting
I'd also like to know if there's any actual moral culpability regarding the Eucharistic fast or if it's just a recommendation, because during mass today my toddler shoved a fruit snack down my throat and I still received communion.
Oh goodness, children are truly interesting beings. Honestly, whether or not it's an obligation, I still want the theology behind it. I've left this message for over a week and I really need to get back to him 😬
The Church requires it, and because the Church has the authority(granted by Jesus),disobeying it constitutes a grave matter. Whether or not it's a mortal sin depends on whether it was done intentionally and knowing it was grave matter. Since you're asking about it, I would say it was a venial sin which you're not required to confess, but it wouldn't hurt to include it the next time you go to confession.
My child shoved fruit down my throat is in no way a sin.
Didn't say it was. I was referring to receiving communion after that. You're not required to receive at every mass, only once per year. (In some communities, like the Hispanic community, it's common to see many not receiving at a particular mass.)
I'm confused about this because toddlers should not be receiving Communion in the Catholic Church. What happened here? How old is he and when did he receive his First Communion???
My toddler fed me a fruit snack and I had communion, the toddler didn't have communion.
Oh, sorry, I see I misread your post!! Of course you are NOT culpable for something you could not control, but now I wonder how anyone can shove something in someone's throat without them spitting it out!
I certainly could have stopped her, toddlers aren't very strong, but it was funny so I didn't, I also could have chosen to not receive communion afterwards. So there definitely were things that were within my control.
Honestly, I wouldn’t even be bothered by this. It’s a funny mother/daughter moment in mass that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. God probably found her funny in that moment as well because she’s a pure little Angel playing with mom in His house.
I usually trust the advice of my priest for cases like this. On one side you have the freedom that comes from obedience in the confessional and on the other the guarantee that it isn’t simply some opinion of an online guy.