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A priest at another parish said that if an Orthodox Christian receives Holy Communion at the Holy Saturday morning Divine Liturgy of St. Basil (usually served at 9 or 10:00 AM) then he/she could not receive Holy Communion at the Paschal Divine Liturgy which is celebrated at 12:30 AM on Easter Sunday. So last April, almost no one received Holy Communion at the Holy Saturday Divine Liturgy.

This is the first time I have ever heard this.

I'm a little confused about this as well. Growing up in my hometown, I was an altar boy and served DL six days a week. Wednesday morning was the only day there was no DL. There were two DL's on Sunday--I believe it was 8:30am and then again at 11am. The starting times changed over the years as I recall. There were times I was at both DL's Sunday and always received communion at both. We had one priest--and he did both Sunday Dl's as well. We had a priest helping him on most Sundays, for various reasons, but the parish priest was at both DL's. This was in the sixties and seventies. Does this mean we were all wrong and committed a sin of some kind? Why would the priest knowingly do this if if is wrong? I'm not slamming anyone or anything, merely asking questions.

Thanks.

Tim

Dear Tim,

In my opinion, no one was committing a sin. What you remember, I would assume, (being an outsider to your Church), was a loosening of tradition, or changing it to be more in line with what was going on in the Latin Church and other Churches at the time.

Those years were years where strict adherence to rubrics and traditions were abandoned in many faith traditions everywhere. As the saying goes: "it was a sign of the times".

Just my observation--from the outside,
Alice

And those 'signs of the times' were called those dreaded latinizations. Now, many latinizations have been replaced with Eastern Traditions, but not without controversy. When I was in the Melkite Church, those western style confessionals (another latinization) were being changed into janitor rooms and storage rooms. Holy water fonts had to go too. Some churches had those Stations of the Cross which people loved or hated. Those also were removed and replaced with icons.

Change is always painful.

Thanks. That's what I thought. My home church was indeed latinized. Gone now are the stations of the cross and the confessional boxes. Returned was the iconstatis and the murals and mosaics. I was just following that thread and wondered. But I'm not sure how it words now. I know of a priest that has DL Saturday afternoon in one parish (approx 4pm) then drives thirty miles for another DL at 7pm on a Saturday and then has another DL Sunday morning. And then another one later that Sunday, I believe. That's three or four DL's within twenty four hours.

Tim

I used to attend a nine o'clock liturgy and an eleven o'clock liturgy at one Latin rite parish, and then a three o'clock liturgy at a Byzanine mission parish every Sunday and I kept that practice, for good reason, for four years.

I received communion at the 11 o'clock and at the three o'clock. I broke the fast at five am with dry toast and coffee with a teaspoon of sugar and again at noon with a bit of bread and water. I ate after the mission liturgy. I don't think that, in any of it, I "sinned" in any way. The regimen was approved by my spiritual father, and by the mission pastor.

There are no rules that prempt the reason for the rules in the first place. Many practices that appear to bend the rules are well within reason.

Mary

Again I ask: Why? What does receiving twice in a day do for someone? Do people feel that time is wasted if they attend a Mass/Liturgy and not receive? Due to singing as a cantor and chorister there have been times when I've attended two, even three, Divine Liturgies in a single morning. The thought of receiving at each never crossed my mind...

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ا ربي يسوع المسيح،يا ابن الله،ارحمنا نحن الخطأة

As to the question of an Orthodox priest celebrating more than one Divine Liturgy on a Sunday, I have heard of priests serving a priestless mission receiving a special episcopal blessing to celebrate a second DL, but it was understood this was unusual.

Others in the Slavic tradition have told me of cases where a priest was allowed to celebrate more than one DL in a day, but he had to celebrate on a separate altar in the same church.

It's understood Orthodox Christians only commune once in a day, but they may attend at more than one church if that is possible in their area.

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Western Orthodoxy Blog [westernorthodox.blogspot.com]

I am only speaking for one, you understand.

When I was attending multiple liturgies I was preparing people for Christian initiation at 9am. I would then go to 11am liturgy with my son and we would receive communion together with my ordinary parish family.

Then I would go to a Byzantine Mission liturgy and receive communion with my Byzantine mission family.

I was not prohibited from doing so. I saw no majickal benefits. I never spoke of being more "filled up" with Christ than I would be otherwise; never thought such things.

I partook fully with each liturgical family. I could not do so with the catechumen, of course, because we were dismissed before the liturgy of the eucharist, and I would leave with them to spend time with them teaching.

Now I attend an Orthodox liturgy and receive a commuion of desire, for I am forbidden any other means.

There are many paths one may follow in a spiritual life that is centered on Christ and not the strengths or weaknesses of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Mary

I play for 4 RC masses on Sunday, then go to Byzantine Divine Liturgy in the afternoon, and find that receiving once a week is enough. Of course, I receive again if there is a holy day in the middle of the week. Now my Latin friends want to receive everytime they are near a church. They tell me they are accumulating extra graces by doing so and that the graces from communion are infinite. I usually tell them that if the graces are infinite, then one who could receive only once in a lifetime would have receieved enough. I think it's just a different mindset and we don't see it the same way.

Not all Catholics are as you describe.

So it is clearly not a "Latin mindset" but is a mindset adopted by some Latins, whether it is judicious and well thought out or not. It is clearly a mind set discouraged by the Church!!

Mary

But Mary

You said
Since RCs are permitted to Receive Communion twice in the same day - providing the second time is at a Celebration of Mass , then I really can't see how you say this is a mindset discouraged by the Church

Exactly. If I remember correctly, St. Pius X wanted to encourage Catholics - many who only received communion once a year - to receive more often. Well of course there is nothing wrong with that. However, I think some well-meaning folks have concluded that more often means as much as you can. Perhaps a classic example of good intentions causing an opposite extreme. Perhaps these days it would be a good thing to stress proper preparation and reflection before receiving communion, instead of just doing it automatically.

The Church can allow one to receive more than once in a day without explicitly fostering the mindset that frequent reception of communion is some sort of magikal means of gettin' something a little "extra".

In fact, I was taught, and I have taught, and I have heard others teach that reception of Eucharist twice in one day should be as a result of exceptional circumstances and should be done with permission when it is possible to get permission.

If you are traveling and end up with family for some reason at more than one liturgy in a day, then there would be no harm in receiving twice without permission.

And there are exceptions to the "twice a day" allowance.

There were years when I received permission to receive communion with the newly illuminated Catholics at Easter Vigil, at divine liturgy the next day in the Byzantine Church early in the morning, and again in the Latin rite parish with my son and the rest of my family later in the morning.

The real problem is in the abuse of that allowance, where people do attach a degree of some sort of exceptional "holiness" to the allowance. When frequent reception leads to vain glory then it must be forbidden.

Too often, those outside the tradition, evaluate the tradition based on the abuses rather than the good that is done in a practice.

I must say, I tire of that approach, so it is difficult for me not to be a bit abrupt when confronted with yet again another exemplar. I make it a practice to try not to do that to Orothodoxy or to eastern Catholics and always pray that my brothers and sisters take note and do likewise.

Mary

There seems to be a recurring theme: I was at a second Mass/Liturgy (maybe with 'family' of some sort) so I received a second time.

Is there peer pressure? Do people feel that since they've sat/stood through a service they they must, or are entitled to, receive again? Do people feel that if they attend a Mass/Liturgy and don't receive they have wasted their time?

Personally speaking, I do go to church to 'get something out of it', but that doesn't necessarily mean receiving Holy Communion.

Maybe this is part of the reason non-Eucharistic services aren't popular � one spends all that time and effort but one doesn't 'get' something for it.