Eucharistic discipline

Eucharistic discipline is the term applied to the regulations and practices associated with an individual preparing for the reception of the Eucharist. Different traditions require varying degrees of preparation, which may include a period of fasting, prayer, repentance, and confession.

Sufficient spiritual preparation must be made by each Roman Catholic prior to receiving Holy Communion. A Catholic in a state of mortal sin should first make a sacramental confession: otherwise that person commits a sacrilege. A sacrilege is the unworthy treatment of sacred things. Deliberate and irreverent treatment of the Eucharist is the worst of all sacrileges, as this quote from the Council of Trent shows:

"As of all the sacred mysteries ...none can compare with the ...Eucharist, so likewise for no crime is there heavier punishment to be feared from God than for the unholy or irreligious use by the faithful of that which...contains the very Author and Source of holiness." (De Euch., v.i).

The above applies to both Latin and Eastern rite Catholics. In addition, they abstain from food and drink (except water and medicine) for at least one hour before receiving, and believe truly in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The discipline for Eastern Catholics generally requires a longer period of fasting and some Latin Catholics observe the earlier (pre-1955) discipline of fasting from the previous midnight.

The canonical discipline of the Latin Church is found in Book IV, Part I, Title III, Chapter I, Article 2 (Participation in the Holy Eucharist) of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. The particular applications of Canon 915 have been quite controversial in recent years, while canons 916 and 919 have not stirred as much controversy:

The Oriental canon law of the Eastern Catholic Churches has exactly the same rule regarding the obligation to receiving the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation before taking Communion, while the rules regarding fasting, prayer and other works of piety vary somewhat in accordance with the tradition of each Eastern Church. The rules of the Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine tradition correspond to those of the Orthodox Church, as detailed in the next section.

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