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36. Invisible communion, though by its nature
always growing, presupposes the life of grace, by which we become
“partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4), and the
practice of the virtues of faith, hope and love. Only in this way
do we have true communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Nor is faith sufficient; we must persevere in sanctifying
grace and love, remaining within the Church “bodily” as well as
“in our heart”; 72 what is required, in the words of
Saint Paul, is “faith working through love” (Gal 5:6).
Keeping these invisible bonds intact is a specific
moral duty incumbent upon Christians who wish to participate fully
in the Eucharist by receiving the body and blood of Christ. The
Apostle Paul appeals to this duty when he warns: “Let a man
examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1
Cor 11:28). Saint John Chrysostom, with his stirring
eloquence, exhorted the faithful: “I too raise my voice, I
beseech, beg and implore that no one draw near to this sacred
table with a sullied and corrupt conscience. Such an act, in fact,
can never be called 'communion', not even were we to touch the
Lord's body a thousand times over, but 'condemnation', 'torment'
and 'increase of punishment'”.73
Along these same lines, the Catechism of the
Catholic Church rightly stipulates that “anyone conscious of a
grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before
coming to communion”.74 I therefore desire to reaffirm
that in the Church there remains in force, now and in the future,
the rule by which the Council of Trent gave concrete expression to
the Apostle Paul's stern warning when it affirmed that, in order
to receive the Eucharist in a worthy manner, “one must first
confess one's sins, when one is aware of mortal sin”.75
37. The two sacraments of the Eucharist and
Penance are very closely connected. Because the Eucharist makes
present the redeeming sacrifice of the Cross, perpetuating it
sacramentally, it naturally gives rise to a continuous need for
conversion, for a personal response to the appeal made by Saint
Paul to the Christians of Corinth: “We beseech you on behalf of
Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). If a
Christian's conscience is burdened by serious sin, then the path
of penance through the sacrament of Reconciliation becomes
necessary for full participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
The judgment of one's state of grace obviously
belongs only to the person involved, since it is a question of
examining one's conscience. However, in cases of outward conduct
which is seriously, clearly and steadfastly contrary to the moral
norm, the Church, in her pastoral concern for the good order of
the community and out of respect for the sacrament, cannot fail to
feel directly involved. The Code of Canon Law refers to
this situation of a manifest lack of proper moral disposition when
it states that those who “obstinately persist in manifest grave
sin” are not to be admitted to Eucharistic communion.76 |