www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Can my byzantine son be admitted to communion?

In the local Roman ritual Church if getting to a Greek Catholic parish proves to be difficult/impossible is it possible for me to have my newly baptised son receive communion? If so how should I approach the matter?

In Christ
Wheelbarrow

All Catholics can attend any Catholic church (Byzantine, Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Chaldean, Maronite or whatever) and receive Holy Communion.

However, please be aware that in the Latin Church, we do not normally admit infants or very young children to Holy Communion. Therefore, you should not just get into line and expect your son to receive Holy Communion. Rather, it is wise to approach the local Latin priest in a friendly way and explain to him that you are Byzantine Catholics and that your son is eligible to receive Holy Communion in the Byzantine Catholic tradition, and ask that since there is no Byzantine Catholic church nearby your son be admitted to Holy Communion in the Latin church instead. You should keep in mind that your local Latin/Roman Catholic priest may not be very familiar with the Eastern Catholic churches (and then again he might be), but that most Roman Catholics actually are generally quite favourable to Eastern Christian customs and traditions.

So, my advice is to be a little bit diplomatic, and hopefully all will be well. Also, since you are in Ireland, you may want to contact Father Archimandrite Serge Kelleher in Dublin (who is a member of this forum) and ask his advice if you get into any kind of trouble (or preferably before you do so). He should know what to do.

And even if the priest is familiar with the Byzantine traditions, and even if he knows that your infant son is a full communicant, he may still decline to give him communion, "so as not to scandalize my older parishioners who don't know about that." This was our experience some years ago. Deacon Nicholas and I walked out of the church ourselves, because we could not fathom participating in a liturgy and receiving the Holy Sacraments while denying them to our son.

Why I just don't go to Roman parishes anymore, even though my children are grown.

Thank you!!! I can understand.

It was actually Fr.Serge who baptised him :-)

I will ask when I next see him. I see it as my duty to ensure that he grows in the Greek Church and that he also receives communion every Sunday. But if all else fails I'm sure the Lord would understand.

Pax
Wheely

Your son can be communed and should be communed. Whether or not he will be is another question. But definitely contact the Latin rite priest before hand. I've never rarely had a problem when I contacted the priest a head of time. As Penthaetria mentioned, my wife and I would and have also walked out if our children were denied communion.

After a century or so, you would think that one could come up with a better excuse. I truly admire and respect the faith and strength of those who have remained Eastern Catholic and true to the Holy See in spite of it all. For many of us, that proved not be to possible. Sigh.

Slava Isusu Khrestu

"so as not to scandalize my older parishioners who don't know about that."

Have they ever tried to teach their people about this tradition? It is not rocket science!
Will they have problems when the new/old form of Mass is reintroduced? Or will they keep on doing what they are doing and not make any effort to change because, "so as not to scandalize my older parishioners who don't know about that."

Really!
Kolya

Wow. If you think ignorance of the Eastern Catholics is prominent in America/Canada you should come visit Ireland. We have only one parish and to be honest, if people are having problems in America ( where Eastern catholicism is well known ) approaching a latin rite priest about communion then it really does say a lot about my chances here. However one parish in our area is redemptorist so I dont think we will have a problem there if you know what I mean.

But I'll take your advice and ask first. Exhaust all efforts to ensure my son receives communion. But I would prefer we all be going EVERY Sunday to our UGCC parish in Dublin ( one hour away ) so we are working on getting a car. Although my dad ( retired ) has mentioned he would be willing to take us every now and then.

In Christ
Stephen

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the norm is to ask the adult if young children requesting Holy Communion should receive.

Of course, if the adult asks Holy Communion for an infant, the norm is to administer the sacrament.

In the case of infants, the problem becomes a logistics one, because Latin Communion practices really do not lend themselves to this scenario.

My recommendation: Talk to the pastor first and then to the bishop if necessary.

Having an infant receive Holy Communion according to his or her right as a member of an Eastern Church should not scandalize anyone. If this is the case, then someone is lacking some religious education, but that is not the infant's fault.

Thanks.

Shalom,
Memo

Oh, that's good. Perhaps you could convince the parents of Latin Catholic children to rebel against the fragmentation of the Rites of Initiation by presenting their children for Holy Communion as soon as they are baptized?

If so, the rebellion should include demanding that the children be confirmed immediately after baptism and before receiving Holy Communion.

Absolutely.

Are you talking about the unleavened host being problematic? I was wondering how that would work. There are even adults who have a difficult time swallowing an unleavened host.

I've always had the priest break off a small piece of the host for my kids, and then he gives the rest to me or my wife.