Third Way to Stymie Grace

There are four principal ways in which we can stymie the flow of grace that is available to use in the Eucharist. [This is the presentation of the third way and the last way will follow in the next article].

 Not Partaking of the Eucharist

The third way in which we stymie the action of grace is by simply not receiving Communion at all. In some cases, of course, it is physically impossible to receive Communion for some good reason. For example, a person might be hospitalized for an extended period of time and unable to receive Communion. Another example would be a person who is incarcerated in a prison where there is little or not opportunity to attend Mass or receive Communion. An even more common example would be the millions of people around the world who reside in mission territories that are not yet served by any priest.

Needless to say, God understands that these people do not have access to him in the Eucharist. Even though they cannot physically receive Communion, God attaches great importance ot their loving desire,which, if present, would provide for them, exceptionally, a “spiritual communion.” There are other cases too where people never receive Communion because of real ignorance. They simply lack the basic theological or spiritual knowledge needed to recognize the importance of regular reception of the Eucharist. But it is most frequently the case that people do now receive Communion because they simply are not interested in doing so. In these situations, God ultimately judges each person according to the degree of malice that is present in the situation. It is impossible to sin without malice, and there are different degrees of malice, as evidenced in this Scripture: “All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly” (1 Jn 5:17, NAB).

This excerpt is from the book The Healing Power of the Eucharist, by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Books, an imprint of St. Anthony Messenger Press. This and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.