Praised be Jesus Christ! Well, a new school year is about to begin and the kids are chomping at the bit. Fittingly, this column will be dubbed a back to school special and will demand that you put on your thinking cap. Are you ready? A classmate sent me the following canonical conundrum a month ago: Canon 916 states that “A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess. In this case, the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.” What does this mean in layman’s parlance? Well, let’s say a Dad is with his family at Mass and the kids know that their Dad has not broken the one-hour fast. If all of them go to Communion and their Dad hangs back the kids might wonder “what did Dad do that he can’t even receive Holy Communion?” They would surmise that Dad must have done something really bad. Now you probably already know that the Church’s teaching is that one is not obliged to reveal publicly the state of his soul because doing so might have grave implications. In other words, nobody has a right to know whether or not a person is in the state of sanctifying grace or not. If the Dad knows his children will be fully aware that he has not received Communion and that this will cause them a real crisis in faith, he is allowed to receive the Lord (but only if he intends to go to confession as soon as possible so that the grave sin can be forgiven and forgotten by God). I share this anecdote here because I remember as a kid sometimes trying to get to confession before Mass but the line was too long for me to succeed. I was correctly taught that I could receive but that I must promise to get to confession as soon as possible. Nowadays there is also the possibility of coming up for a blessing – this is another way of loving Jesus enough not to receive Him when we’re ill-prepared. Again, this respects the state of our conscience but does not disclose to others that we need to go to confession before receiving the Lord. While I’m not exactly sure this will make sense as it’s written, it also gives me an opportunity to share my philosophy about sin and conversion. Some priests do not allow couples living together to get married in the Catholic Church (or they do not allow them to have a Mass, only a ceremony). I think this is a valid approach. Just the same, my take is to try to bring the couple to a place of conversion. In other words, I allow them to get married, but make it clear that they cannot receive Holy Communion without making a good confession. My hope is that such an approach will give the Holy Spirit room to move in their hearts and help them to recognize that sin only brings sadness and discouragement in the long run. Please hear what I’m saying: 1) Living together before marriage is morally dangerous – it’s sinful if the marital act is engaged; 2) God wills that all sinners find the path that leads to true happiness and love; 3) conversion is the process that results in the aforementioned happiness and love – and this conversion, an act of God, is best fostered with patience, truth, and charity. I would say that around half of the couples getting married in our parishes are living together before their wedding. More and more couples see the disillusionment that cohabitation entails and are choosing a narrower but more rewarding path. But for those who are living together, the Church opens her heart and invites them to taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Does this approach foster a higher rate of conversion than others? I suspect we’ll only know the answer to that on the other side. For now we trust the Lord best when we spend time with Him in Adoration, receive Him devoutly in Holy Communion, and confide in Him wholeheartedly in confession.
May God bless all students, teachers, and parents as we embark on a new school year! Your friend in Christ, Father Martin
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Monday - Thursday: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Friday: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM Stay Connected with Our ParishWelcome from Our PastorWelcome to Christ the King Catholic Church! Ever since 1938 this parish has been assisting souls in their quest for deeper union with God. Our mission statement is essentially found in the stained glass window above the main altar: “For Christ our King.” Insofar as God made us and we belong to Him, we have come to... Read More
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