Who Can Receive Communion?

It is certain that Catholics can receive the Eucharist. But, in order for a Catholic to be able to receive Communion, he/she must be in a state of grace. What does it mean to be in a state of grace? Well, in order to be in a state of grace, one must have had a good confession since his/her last mortal sin, believe in transubstantiation, observe the Eucharist, fast, and not be under an ecclesiastical censure such as excommunication. You have to be in a state of grace because you have to receive sanctifying grace when you receive the Eucharist. And, by not being in a state of grace when receiving the Eucharist, you are committing a sacrilege, which is very serious because you do not receive the sanctifying grace that is supposed to come along with the Eucharist. Believing in the doctrine of transubstantiation means that you must believe that the bread and wine that are consecrated during Mass are actually the Body and Blood of Christ. Along with his Body and Blood, Christ’s soul and divinity are present in what appears to be bread and wine. When I mentioned that a Catholic should fast in order to be able to receive the Eucharist, I was referring to the Eucharistic fast. This means that you should not have put any food or drink into your body, in exception of water and medicine, one hour before you receive Communion. So, really, this means that you should not eat anything after about fifteen minutes before the Mass commences.

Non-Catholic Christians are welcome to celebrate in the Eucharist with us as our brothers and sisters. We, as Catholics, invite our fellow Christians to celebrate the Eucharist  in order to bring us closer to one another. Participating in the celebration of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the highest sign of Christian unity. But, according to the provisions of canon law,  non-Catholics have to have permission from the bishop in order to be able to receive the Eucharist. Also, someone who does not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist should not receive Communion, for it is very dangerous according to Sacred Scripture. Eastern Orthodox Christians can receive Communion because they have the same faith concerning the nature of the Sacraments. Christians should respect their church’s guidelines when discerning whether or not to receive Communion. If a non-Catholic is near death, maybe he/she is suffering from a car accident and only has a few hours to live, he/she can have a minister administer the Sacrament to them if they ask for it. When non-Catholics do have the opportunity to receive the Eucharist, they still have to fulfill the same requirements that apply to Catholics.

For non-Christians, some of the same guidelines apply. Like non-Catholics, they are welcome to join the celebration of the Eucharist while they are still not eligible to receive Communion. We still seek unity among the entire human race. But, there are no special circumstances when a non-Christian can receive the Eucharist, except in occasions of emergency after they receive the Sacrament of Baptism. For example, a Muslim, or anyone of another non-Christian faith is about to die, he/she can be baptized on the spot, and the baptism does not have to be performed by a priest. Then an he/she can have an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion bring him/her Communion as Viaticum.