Communion Twice a Day?

[Caedmon]

I'm thinking about attending two masses on Ash Wednesday, once in the morning and once with a friend that night.

Is it OK for me to go to mass and receive communion twice in one day?

 

[Anhelyna]

Put simply - yes

But just going to Mass does not mean you have to Receive at each Mass you attend .

Is there a really good reason to Receive twice on Ash Wednesday ? Going with another friend to a second Mass , and wishing to Receive with him - is that an adequate reason ?

Why not go with him , explain that you have already Received Our Lord God and Saviour at Mass earlier that day and so will not go forward for Communion at the same time as him ? Or of course you could just not go to Mass in the morning and go with your friend at night .

 

[princess_ballet]

We were always told that you could not receive twice in one day.

 

[AllForJesus]

why not?!?!

 

[Dark_Lite]

Actually I'm pretty sure the defined limit is twice a day.

 

[AllForJesus]

Once i was serving at a mass and a lot of blessed Body and Blood remained and the bishop gave communion to me another time!

 

[DesertSky]

Since there are two masses involved, yes, you can receive twice.

 

[KatherineS]

The former discipline prohibited from receiving more than once a day. That was to guard against pious but misguided types who felt that a mere numerical increase in reception somehow added grace in strict mathematical proportion. The Church has since decided that few Catholics hold this misunderstanding of the nature of the Eucharist, so with good reason Catholics are allowed to receive more than once in a day.

Anhelyna might enlighten us on the practice of the Eastern churches in which the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated during Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent.

There is a legitimate spiritual practice in both the West and East of "fasting" from the Eucharist during Lent and instead availing oneself to the Divine Office (Divine Praises).

Catholic history has waxed and waned about the frequency of reception. When I was young, monthly was commonplace, particularly among the very devout. Long in the past, reception was so infrequent that the Church applied the discipline of Easter Duty to insure the faithful received annually.

 

[AMDG]

From what I have heard, at one time people would go from church to church just to receive the Lord in Communion--they wouldn't even stay for the Mass. They acted superstitiously under the impression that the more Communions received the better. To stop this there was a limit imposed of only one Communion allowed a day. Now canon law has the limit at two a day with each being received inside of Mass. (I'm pretty sure that viaticum can always be received additionally if necessary, but that isn't the question.)

 

[Caedmon]

Thanks guys. My friend isn't Catholic. They don't want to convert, they just want to see how it works. I wanted to go to the early mass to wear the ashes as a testimony throughout the day, but I also wanted to go with my friend, who can't make it that early.

 

[Anhelyna]

The former discipline prohibited from receiving more than once a day. That was to guard against pious but misguided types who felt that a mere numerical increase in reception somehow added grace in strict mathematical proportion. The Church has since decided that few Catholics hold this misunderstanding of the nature of the Eucharist, so with good reason Catholics are allowed to receive more than once in a day.

Anhelyna might enlighten us on the practice of the Eastern churches in which the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated during Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent.

There is a legitimate spiritual practice in both the West and East of "fasting" from the Eucharist during Lent and instead availing oneself to the Divine Office (Divine Praises).

Catholic history has waxed and waned about the frequency of reception. When I was young, monthly was commonplace, particularly among the very devout. Long in the past, reception was so infrequent that the Church applied the discipline of Easter Duty to insure the faithful received annually.

I've highlighted the bit that Katherine wanted more on.

Now - what I will say is what should be the practise - but it does vary from Church to Church and parish to parish .

Strictly speaking during the Great Fast the Divine Liturgy [ of St Basil not St John during the Fast ] is not served at all during the week - but on Wednesdays and Fridays the Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts is served . On Sundays enough of the Particles , which are prepared and Consecrated at that time , are reserved in the Tabernacle for the Liturgies on Wednesday and Friday. Many Parishes will have Divine Liturgy on Monday Tuesday and Thursday as well as Pre-Sanctified on Wednesday and Friday. Since the weekends are not included in the Fast, Divine Liturgy is served as usual [ if it is the practice in that parish ] on Saturday .

I'll now admit that my parish never has the Pre-sanctified Liturgy [ historical reasons ] and on Saturday we have DL as usual followed by a Panakhyda [ memorial service ] for our deceased relatives and friends and this is then followed by the Stations of the Cross . And before anyone else says it - we have Stations for historical reasons . I'll admit it and say that if I were there [ and I won't be since it's a 6-7 hour day for me to get to my Parish and back home ] I would leave after the Panachyda .

Please remember I'm really taking about the UGCC here and not any of the other Eastern Catholic Churches .

Perhaps our Melkite sister would care to come in on this ?

 

[AllForJesus]

During Great Lent, there is no morning mass on the days of the week

There is on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday there is the great night prayer

on Wednesday we have the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy of the Body and Blood of Sunday

and on Friday we have or the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy but more generaly we have the Akathis of the Mother of God


The Pre-Scantifed Liturgy is magnificent! it is sad that not everyone knows it!
I have never seen the Station of the Cross, we don't do it in our tradition.

But during normal times we don't keep and Scanctified Body and Blood, this is what i know (i might be mistaken) but it is all consumed after mass and there is a new one the next day

and thank you Kathlenine, i know understand why not more then one .

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Generally it use to be that you could only receive Holy Communion once for the Mass of the day. However, if you attended Mass in the morning and received, but then attended a wedding in the evening where there was a Mass, you could then receive twice in the same day.

There are no weddings during Lent and especially not on Ash Wednesday, so you wouldn't be able to receive twice.

Not sure if this still hold true for today, but unless otherwise corrected, I believe it does.

Jim

 

[DesertSky]

You may receive Holy Communion when:

1. You attend your two separate celebrations of the Holy Mass on the same day. [Canon Law # 917; C.C.C. # 1388]

2. You attend a regular daily Holy Mass and a funeral during which there is a Eucharistic celebration.

3. You attend a regular daily Holy Mass and a wedding during which there is a Eucharistic celebration.

4. You attend a regular daily Holy Mass and receive the Last Rites (Anointing of the Sick).

5. You attend a regular daily Holy Mass and a Vigil Holy Mass on the same day.

.

 

[Fantine]

As a member of a praise and worship band and a sometimes organist for a period of about 4 years, I frequently went to two Sunday Masses. The leader of the band preferred that everyone receive Communion even if they had been to a previous Mass because it set a good example for the teens.

And he and the priests and deacons said that it was permissible to receive twice a day.

 

[Memento Mori]

My RCIA director talked about this previously. She said you can receive two times in two Masses as long as you participate in the whole Mass.

 

[Michie]

I'm thinking about attending two masses on Ash Wednesday, once in the morning and once with a friend that night.

Is it OK for me to go to mass and receive communion twice in one day?

Yep.

But no more than that.