The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist. [Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1322]

At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us. [Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1323]

The Eucharist, often called the Mass, is the highest form of prayer a person can pray. It is the source and summit of our Catholic faith and lives. It is the source of our faith and lives because we are fed with the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ with which Christ strengthens us and unites us with Jesus and with each other. It is the summit of our faith and lives because when we celebrate the Eucharist we join with Jesus in worshipping the Father. Worshipping God is the greatest act of love we can perform.

The third commandment tells us to keep holy the Sabbath and the main way we do that by gathering together to worship God. It is a serious sin for us to intentionally miss Mass on a Sunday or Holy day of obligation.

In the book of Genesis, both Cain and Abel offer their sacrifices to God. Abel’s gift was pleasing to God while Cain’s gift was not and was rejected by God. Cain did not offer to God the best of what he had. Instead he tried to give God a second rate gift. We are called to give to God the greatest gift we have to offer and that gift is Jesus Christ. The greatest act of love and adoration in the history of the world occurred when Jesus freely offered Himself up on the cross to the Father for the salvation of the world. When we celebrate the Mass, we re-present to God the Father the greatest gift in the world, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. When we celebrate the Mass together, we join with Jesus in worshipping the Father. We join our prayers with His prayers, our love with His love. That is infinitely greater than praying alone on top of a mountain.

Any baptized Catholic who has made their first Communion and is properly disposed may receive Communion. To be properly disposed a person must be free of all mortal sins and have fasted for one hour before receiving communion.

Any baptized Catholic who is seven years old or older may receive their first Communion. At Notre Dame Parish we have the parents prepare their own children for their First Communion and first Reconciliation. The parents know better than anyone else when their children are ready to receive this sacrament. Call the Religious Education office for information and material needed.

A person normally receives Communion once a day but they are allowed to receive Communion twice in one day if the second time they receive is at a full Mass. Thus, if someone receives communion in the morning at a Mass or communion service, they may receive it again in the evening if they attend a funeral or wedding Mass. Canon Law states that people are not required to receive Communion when they attend Mass, but they must receive it at least once a year and preferable during the Easter season. This is often referred to as the Easter obligation.

Unfortunately Protestants are not in full communion with the Catholic Church. When we receive communion we are entering into full communion with God but also we are entering into full communion with each other and with the Catholic Church. When the priest holds up the Host and says "The Body of Christ" and we respond "Amen" we are saying not only that we believe that the Host is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ (which most Protestants do not believe in the same way we do) but also that we believe in everything the Catholic Church teaches. Communion is a sacred relationship with God and His Church which should not be taken lightly or made trivial any more than the marriage relationship between a husband and wife should be taken lightly or "shared" with those whom they are not married to.

When we commit a mortal sin we separate ourselves from God. So we cannot enter into communion with God with whom we have separated ourselves from. It is a lie to try to do so. Worse, it is a sacrilege. St. Paul’s tells us that who ever eats or drinks from the cup unworthily eats and drinks condemnation on himself. By receiving communion in a state of mortal sin we commit an even greater sin. But God does not abandon us in our sin. He has given us the sacrament of Reconciliation in which He not only washes away our sins but also reconciles us to Himself and fills us with His sanctifying grace.

We shouldn’t go to Mass expecting to receive something out of it anymore than we should go to someone’s birthday party hoping that we will receive presents. We go to Mass first and foremost to worship God and to show God how much we love Him. But our God is a loving God and He returns to us in proportion to what we give to Him. Even if all we do is show up and sit in the back pew and never open our mouths and never pray, God still gives us grace. But the more we prepare for Mass, the more we participate in the Mass, the more of ourselves that we give to God the more God gives to us in return. Even if we go to the worst Mass ever said with the worst priest and the worst homily and the worst music, it is still far greater than any prayer or action we can offer on our own. God’s graces in the Mass are abundant but do not fall into the trap of thinking that God’s graces only work in you when you "feel" that you are getting something out of it.

From the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 11, 1996

As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive communion, participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive the body and blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (Canon 916). A frequent reception of the sacrament of penance is encouraged for all.

We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common Baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ’s prayer for us "that they may all be one" (Jn. 17:21). Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to holy communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (Canon 844.4). Members of the Orthodox churches, the Assyrian church of the East and the Polish National Catholic church are urged to respect the discipline of their own churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these churches (Canon 844.3). Reception of the Eucharist by Christians not fully united with us would imply a oneness which does not yet exist, and for which we must all pray.

All who are not receiving holy communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.

We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family.