Sacrament of Holy Communion

Sharing in the body and blood of the Lord at Mass (Eucharist) for the first time, what is often referred to as First Holy Communion, is the climax of the initiation process begun at Baptism. Eating and drinking with the rest of the community at the Table of the Lord is a sign of belonging fully to that community.

The three Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist – welcome the individual into a new life as a fully-initiated Catholic.

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Receiving Holy Communion at Mass

“The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. We Christians go to Sunday Mass to encounter the Risen Lord, or better still to allow ourselves to be encountered by him, to hear his Word, to nourish ourselves at his table, and thus to become the Church, that is, his mystical living Body in the world… Without Christ we are condemned to be dominated by everyday weariness, with its worries, and by fear of the future. The Sunday encounter with the Lord gives us the strength to experience the present with confidence and courage, and to go forth with hope. For this reason we Christians go to encounter the Lord on Sunday, in the Eucharistic celebration.”

- Pope Francis, Wednesday Audience of December 13, 2017

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The Holy Eucharist is the most important of the seven sacraments because, in this and in no other sacrament, we receive the very body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. Innumerable, precious graces come to us through the reception of Holy Communion.

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The Catholic Church sets out specific guidelines regarding how we should prepare ourselves to receive the Lord’s body and blood in Communion.

1. You must be in a state of grace. “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:27–28).​​

2. You must have been to confession since your last mortal sin. “But first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one” (Didache 14).

3. You must believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation. This means that the bread and wine are actually transformed into the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ, and only the appearances of bread and wine remain. “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor. 11:29).

4. You must observe the Eucharistic fast (with the exception of Elderly people, those who are ill, and their caretakers). “One who is to receive the most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion” (CIC 919 §1).

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