This is a “make the interwebz go explody” kind of a post. I know a lot of people are not going to like this, but it is what it is.

I think the thing to remember here is the fact that the lay faithful did NOT receive Holy Communion daily until relatively recently. In fact, it was Pope St. Pius X who opened up the possibility of daily/frequent reception in ARSH 1905 in the document Sacra Tridentina. Before then, many Catholics made a Sacramental Communion at Eastertide (as is required), and then perhaps a few other times per year at a Major Feast, or perhaps on their “name day” – the feast of the saint they were named after, and usually with permission from their confessor or spiritual director. I just want to reiterate to the modern lay faithful: people did NOT go to Holy Communion every time they went to Mass as almost all practicing Catholics – Novus Ordo AND Trads and Byzantine Catholics – today do. So as you read the following, you HAVE to keep this in mind.

Hello Miss Barnhardt,

I hope this finds you well. I read your blog almost every day, and I must say that I was very inspired by the first discussion on the Eucharistic Fast that you started a while ago. This post is again very timely, and I also wanted to bring to your attention a point that I myself was unaware of until this year (and I am celebrating my 30th wedding anniversary this year). In the Roman Catechism (of the Council of Trent), in the section touching on the Eucharist, it specifically states that married couples must abstain from the marital embrace at least a few days (3) before the reception of Holy Communion. I was gobsmacked, to say the least. Think of the sheer number of Catholics who are unaware of this necessary preparation for the reception of the Blessed Sacrament. Just think how we can approach the Sacrament more worthily if we keep this command in mind, although it has been obscured and forgotten, just like the midnight fast.

Here is a link to a well-researched article.

https://isidore.co/misc/Physics%20papers%20and%20books/Zotero/storage/23YPBYRL/Slyke%20-%202016%20-%20Abstinence%20from%20Conjugal%20Relations%20Before%20Receptio.pdf

I think that you are in a position to help a lot of people in your audience by sharing this news. It is a very beautiful teaching.

God bless,

L

I’d encourage everyone to click over and read the whole document, and even print it off. I’ll put the key citations below. And I would like to request that if you read this and it makes you angry, PLEASE don’t email me because I really don’t want to have discussions with people about their sex lives. The only person you should EVER discuss your sex life with is your spouse, and if absolutely necessary a good priest, or with a doctor IF NECESSARY.

I’ll present the information, and then it is up to you to ponder it in your own heart, discuss it with your spouse OF COURSE, and discuss it with a good and holy priest. I can also tell you right now that you could walk into ANY Novus Ordo parish, go into the confessional, bring this up, and the priest will tell you, “Oh, NO. The Church doesn’t require that anymore….” In fact, I think many Trad priests would be taken aback by the question and probably say something non-committal. So “priest-shopping” on this question would be EXTREMELY easy to do. Obviously, I don’t think “priest-shopping” is a good idea in this or any other context.

So here we go. A few pull quotes and citations from “Abstinence from Conjugal Relations Before Reception of the Body of Christ: A Brief History” by Daniel G. Van Slyke:

This study addresses a traditional Christian ascetical and liturgical practice that has been largely obscured or forgotten in recent times—the custom of abstaining from sexual intercourse for a period of some days preceding the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ in Eucharistic Communion. This study focuses on abstinence from the conjugal act as a means of preparing for reception of Communion by married Christians who possess the moral and physical ability to lawfully engage in sexual intercourse.

….

To some it will seem quaint, outdated, or perhaps unbelievable that married Christians ever practiced sexual abstinence as a means of preparation for the reception of Communion. Certainly this is a topic that few clergy in the early twenty-first century would broach in a pastoral setting. The hesitation among clergy may stem in part from the influence of Karl Rahner over their seminary studies….

….

If silence on the topic may be considered evidence, the sig- nificance of pre-Communion sexual abstinence among the faithful has waned. Any suggestion that sex should be subjugated to other goods is likely to be received with little sympathy. But the subjugation of sex—a created good, but a material and passing good—to eternal goods has been ensconced in the Christian tradition from its inception, in part as an inheritance from ancient Hebrew practices. Ascetical practices bear witness to the preference of mind and heart that Christians should give to the Creator over any created good.

….

Thomas Aquinas summarizes what many ancient Hebrews as well as ancient Christians understood almost intuitively: “Just as certain places are holy because they are devoted to holy things, so are certain times holy for the same reason. But it is not lawful to demand the [conjugal] debt in a holy place. Therefore neither is it lawful at a holy time.”14
This attitude towards conjugal relations reappears in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians, Paul admonishes spouses: “Do not refuse one another except perhaps by agreement for a sea- son, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, lest Satan tempt you through lack of self-control” (1 Cor 7:5). This passage provides scriptural support for sexual abstinence for the sake of prayer in general and for participation in the sacraments in particular.

….

Vauchez observes that advocacy of periodic abstinence became official and widespread during the Middle Ages if it was not already. One prominent example is found at the end of the rites of the nuptial Mass in the Missale Romanum revised after the Council of Trent. There the priest is instructed to advise the newlywed couple that they should remain continent in times of prayer and especially during fasts and solemnities. These times of prayer above all include occasions on which the couple might receive Communion. The Roman Catechism composed following the Council of Trent clearly states this in the section devoted to “preparation of the body” for receiving:

“The dignity of so great a Sacrament also demands that married persons abstain from the marriage debt for some days previous to Communion. This observance is recommended by the example of David, who, when about to receive the showbread from the hands of the priest, declared that he and his servants had been clean from women for three days.”

….

The same recommendation is found again in the Roman Catechism (Trent) at the end of the section on matrimony:

“But as every blessing is to be obtained from God by holy prayer, the faithful are also to be taught sometimes to abstain from the marriage debt, in order to devote themselves to prayer. Let the faithful understand that (this religious continence), according to the proper and holy injunction of our predecessors, is particularly to be observed for at least three days before Communion, and oftener during the solemn fast of Lent.”

….

CONCLUSION
This survey outlines a tradition of abstaining from conjugal relations in preparation for encounters with the divine and espe- cially for reception of the Body of Christ in Communion from Mount Sinai to the Roman Catechism of the sixteenth century. In more recent times, this tradition has fallen into obscurity and disuse among the faithful. Nonetheless, no teaching authority has rejected the longstanding practice of pre-Communion abstinence from conjugal relations and it remains proper to the general ab- stinence and penance encouraged by Pope Paul VI in Paenitemini and Pope John Paul II in Reconciliatio et Paenitentia. Although the practice may not have pertained to all Christians at all places and times, an initial outline of the evidence suggests that the practice of pre-Communion sexual abstinence was widespread and signifi- cant enough to the lives of the married faithful that it deserves more serious attention than it presently receives.

Again, I STRONGLY suggest reading and even printing off the whole paper – it is very clearly written and a fascinating read. I hope that this will help people to stop, remember and contemplate just exactly how big of a deal it is to make a Sacramental Communion.

Mrs. Sarah Grant was discovered to have a terrible, aggressive terminal cancer when she had to have a c-section to deliver her last child in October. The Grants have nine living minor children.

Servant of God Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria is being enjoined for a miraculous healing.

A fundraiser is HERE to defray home hospice costs which will give Mrs. Grant as much time at home with her husband and children as possible.

https://www.givesendgo.com/sarah-grant

I recommend this fundraiser for Lenten almsgiving, and I recommend praying for the intercession of Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria to ask God for a miraculous healing of Mrs. Grant.

Please spread the word.

Servant of God, Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria, pray for us.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.

(Originally penned and posted in June of ARSH 2018.)

I recently had a very thoughtful piece come across my transom regarding the Eucharistic Fast – that is, the amount of time one abstains from food before receiving Holy Communion.  This is a question that has always stuck in my craw, and after reading the text that was sent to me, I have resolved to only receive Holy Communion if I have fasted from the previous midnight.

The Eucharistic Fast from midnight was the perennial tradition of the Church going back to the very beginning.  Up until the middle of the twentieth century (RED FLAG!!!!), the three conditions for the faithful receiving Holy Communion as universally taught in every Catechism were:

1. Being in a state of grace (that is, not having sacramentally unconfessed mortal sin)
2. Fasting from midnight
3. Being aware of Whom you are to receive – Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity

Reception of Holy Communion by the faithful was relatively infrequent up until December of ARSH 1905, when Pope St. Pius X explicitly encouraged frequent and even daily Communion of the faithful in the document Sacra Tridentina.  Many people received Holy Communion once per year, and many saints such as St. Catherine of Siena received Holy Communion sacramentally only four to six times per year, and only with the permission of her spiritual director. The point here is that so very many great saints (who were not priests) did NOT sacramentally communicate daily, or even weekly. The vast majority of their Communions were spiritual.

At this point, I sadly realize that I must explain that priests, of course, receive Holy Communion every time they offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, precisely because the Sacrifice is NOT OFFERED unless the priest consummates the sacrifice by immolating the Body and Blood by consuming Them both.  The consecration causes the Sacred Species to be made present upon the altar, but the Holy Sacrifice is offered when the priest consumes the Body and Blood.  Whether or not anyone else receives Holy Communion is simply not germane to whether or not the Holy Sacrifice is offered, and this is why priests absolutely CAN offer the Mass privately.  And by “privately”, we of course mean that the only other beings present at said Mass are the entire Communion of Saints and the entire Angelic Host.  So, you know, only several quintillion rational intellects at minimum.  “Private”.

With regard to Pope St. Pius X encouraging frequent Communion by the faithful, I have always assumed that this had to do with the fact that, as Pope Leo XIII was made aware, the world was under escalated satanic attack, as reiterated by Our Lady of Fatima, and confirmed by the events of the past 100+ years.  Given this, Our Lord desired that the remnant faithful be able to receive Holy Communion sacramentally with greater frequency, precisely because it would be needed in this time of war.  Obviously, what goes without saying is that the faithful would need to be properly disposed to receive Holy Communion sacramentally – absolutely NO relaxation of any standards of preparation were countenanced.

Sadly, what did happen was a relaxation of the Eucharistic Fast from the perennial (and common-sensical) MIDNIGHT, to a mere three hours.  This was done by Pope Pius XII in ARSH 1957.  Folks, the war in the Church began long before the conclave of ARSH 1958.  Very bad things had already started to happen, particularly under Pius XII, with the top three being the mangling of the Holy Week Liturgies, the introduction of the so-called Bea Psalter in the Breviary, and the relaxation of the Eucharistic fast to three hours. These were three massive blows to Holy Mother Church – and yes, Pius XII was responsible for them.  The only excuse that can be postulated was the fact that Pius XII was in very poor health in the late 1950s.  We will all find out exactly what happened at the General Judgment.

But back to the point of this piece – the Eucharistic Fast.  Pope Pius XII reduced the fast from midnight to three hours, which is what opened the door to Mass in the evening (along with electrification and the ability to illuminate churches at night).  The fast was further reduced in ARSH 1964 by Paul VI to one hour, something that I have never taken seriously.  One hour is NOT a fast.  The very notion is ridiculous, and defies common sense.  At a high (sung) Mass, one could literally sit in the back of the nave with a Super Value Meal, start eating it when the Mass begins, and as long as you’re done by the Gospel, you could licitly receive Holy Communion, having… “fasted.”

With regards to the three hour fast, this has always stuck in my craw as well.  I’m going to get graphic here, so be warned.  Have you ever gotten sick and thown up three hours after eating?  I have.  Most cases of food poisoning have a several hour delay.  Folks, the contents of the stomach after three hours are halfway between hydrochloric acid and sewage.  Now the question we have to ask ourselves is, if we really, truly believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, is it really considerate to Him to receive Him into a stomach filled with a slurry of acidic, half digested food?  Remember, He reposes physically in our bodies for approximately fifteen minutes.  Is it really too much to ask that we prepare not only spiritually to receive Him, but also physically by the simple courtesy of having an empty stomach?  Don’t decent people clean their houses when company is coming?  Doesn’t a loving wife take joy in providing a clean home for her husband?  If realizing this, we freely choose to revert to the perennial discipline of the Church of the midnight Eucharistic Fast, which the Church IN NO WAY DISCOURAGES, isn’t it possible that this action, done out of love for Our Eucharistic Lord, might result in even greater graces received from Sacramental Communion, and from any Spiritual Communions that we make at Mass in observance of the midnight Fast?

Secondarily, as I have mentioned before, I usually eat one meal per day, and have been on this general schedule for quite some time now.  On days that I eat two meals, it is almost always due to some sort of social commitment – and I always feel stuffed like the Christmas goose afterwards.  When left to my own devices, one meal is all I want or need these days.  I think food intake and satiation is largely a function of habit.  So, given this, there really is no reason whatsoever that a person of my age (46), in good health, and on the eating schedule that I am already on should NOT observe the Eucharistic Fast from midnight.  If one goes to Mass in the morning (as is best), observing the Eucharistic Fast from midnight really isn’t asking much at all.

I hope that this helps to open up the question to discussion, and ultimately to help people make BETTER Holy Communions, which I think pondering the Eucharistic Fast in a common sense way with regards to the Real Presence and the literal contents of one’s stomach, can do.  We are all so blessed to be able to receive Holy Communion so frequently that we must be all the more vigilant to NOT abuse the privilege, or to address the question for a purely legalistic perspective.  I don’t want to love Our Lord according to the bare minimums of the 1983 Code of Canon Law.  I want to do the best that I can for Him, and in those areas in which I could do more for Him, I want to do more for Him.  I think the Eucharistic Fast from midnight is a great place to start.

I hope this helps.

“He feeds me lest I faint, or fall, or die, with Food from Heaven.  He, His own Self, in wondrous mystery, to me has given.”

It’s all laid out in this Guardian piece from ARSH 2019. A few screen caps below for the record.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/02/pentagon-balloons-surveillance-midwest

They’re dragging UFO’s into the conversation because Boobus Effeminatus Americanus is, for the fist time, collectively stupid enough en masse to actually believe not only in space aliens, but space aliens IN BALLOONS.