Instruction on Eucharistic Worship - Sacred Congregation of Rites 1967 - Pt.15

36. Communion in Circumstances of Particular Solemnity

It is very fitting that, whenever the faithful are setting out on a new state of life or a new way of working in the vineyard of the Lord, they should take part in the Sacrifice through sacramental Communion in order to dedicate themselves again to God and to renew their covenant with him.

This can well be done, for example: by the assembly of the faithful, when they renew their baptismal vows at the Easter Vigil; by young people, when they do the same in the presence of the Church, in a manner in keeping with their age; by bride and bridegroom, when they are united in the sacrament of marriage; by those who dedicate themselves to God, when they take vows or make their solemn commitment; and by the faithful, when they are to devote themselves to apostolic tasks.

37. Frequent and Daily Communion

Since "it is clear that the frequent or daily reception of the Blessed Eucharist increases union with Christ, nourishes the spiritual life more abundantly, strengthens the soul in virtue and gives the communicant a stronger pledge of eternal happiness, parish priests, confessors and preachers will frequently and zealously exhort the Christian people to this holy and salutary practice."91

38. Private Prayer After Communion

On those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ, the gift of the Spirit is poured out abundantly like living water (cf. John 7: 37-39), provided that this Body and Blood have been received sacramentally and spiritually, namely, by that faith which operates through charity.92

But union with Christ, to which the sacrament itself is directed, is not to be limited to the duration of the celebration of the Eucharist; it is to be prolonged into the entire Christian life, in such a way that the Christian faithful, contemplating unceasingly the gift they have received, may make their life a continual thanksgiving under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and may produce fruits of greater charity.

In order to remain more easily in this thanksgiving which is offered to God in an eminent way in the Mass, those who have been nourished by holy Communion should be encouraged to remain for a while in prayer.93

Instruction on Eucharistic Worship - Sacred Congregation of Rites 1967 - Pt.14

33. Communion outside Mass

a) It is necessary to accustom the faithful to receive Communion during the actual celebration of the Eucharist. Even outside Mass, however, priests will not refuse to distribute Communion to those who have good reason to ask for it.86 By permission of the bishop of the place, according to the norm of the motu proprio <Pastorale Munus>, no. 4,87 or by permission of the supreme moderator of a religious institute according to—the rescript <Cum admotae>, art. 1, no. 1, Communion may be distributed even during the afternoon.

b) When, at the prescribed times, Communion is distributed outside Mass, if it is judged suitable, a short Bible service may precede it, in accordance with the Instruction <Inter Oecumenici>, nos. 37 and 39.

c) If Mass cannot be celebrated because of a lack of priests and Communion is distributed by a minister who has the faculty to do this by indult from the Apostolic See, the rite laid down by the competent authority is to be followed.

34. The Way of Receiving Communion

a) In accordance with the custom of the Church, Communion may be received by the faithful either kneeling or standing. One or the other way is to be chosen, according to the decision of the episcopal conference, bearing in mind all the circumstances, above all the number of the faithful and the arrangement of the churches. The faithful should willingly adopt the method indicated by their pastors, so that Communion may truly be a sign of the brotherly union of all those who share in the same table of the Lord.

b) When the faithful communicate kneeling, no other sign of reverence toward the Blessed Sacrament is required, since kneeling is itself a sign of adoration.

When they receive Communion standing, it is strongly recommended that, coming up in procession, they should make a sign of reverence before receiving the Blessed Sacrament. This should be done at the right time and place, so that the order of people going to and from Communion may not be disrupted.

35. Communion and the Sacrament of PenanceThe Eucharist should also be presented to the faithful "as a medicine, by which we are freed from our daily faults and preserved from mortal sin";88 they should be shown how to make use of the penitential parts of the liturgy of the Mass.

"The precept 'let a man examine himself' (I Cor. 11: 28) should be called to mind for those who wish to receive Communion. The custom of the Church declares this to be necessary so that no one who is conscious of having committed mortal sin, even if he believes himself to be contrite, should approach the holy Eucharist without first making a sacramental confession."89 "If someone finds himself in a case of necessity, however, and there is no confessor to whom he can go, he should first make an act of perfect contrition."90

The faithful are to be constantly encouraged to accustom themselves to going to confession outside the celebration of Mass, and especially at the prescribed times. In this way, the sacrament of Penance will be administered calmly and with genuine profit, and will not interfere with active participation in the Mass. Those who receive Communion daily or very frequently should be counseled to go to confession at times suitable to the individual case.

Instruction on Eucharistic Worship - Sacred Congregation of Rites 1967 - Pt. 11

II Celebration on Sundays and Weekdays

25. The Celebration of the Eucharist on Sundays

Whenever the community gathers to celebrate the Eucharist, it announces the death and resurrection of the Lord, in the hope of His glorious return. The supreme manifestation of this is the Sunday assembly. This is the day of the week on which, by apostolic tradition, the Paschal Mystery is celebrated in the Eucharist in a special way.75

In order that the faithful may willingly fulfill the precept to sanctify this day and understand why the Church calls them together to celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, from the very outset of their Christian formation "Sunday should be presented to them as the primordial feast day,"76 on which, assembled together, they are to hear the Word of God and take part in the Paschal Mystery.

Moreover, any endeavor that seeks to make Sunday a genuine "day of joy and rest from work"77 should be encouraged.

26. The Celebration of Sunday Around the Bishop and in Parishes

It is fitting that the sense of ecclesial community, especially fostered and expressed by the celebration of Sunday Mass in common, should be encouraged both around the bishop, particularly in the cathedral church, and in the parish assembly, where the pastor takes the place of the bishop.78

It is important that the active participation of the entire people in the Sunday celebration, which is expressed in singing, should be assiduously promoted. In fact, sung Masses (<Missae in cantu>) should be preferred as far as possible.79

On Sundays and feast days above all, the celebrations which take place in other churches or oratories should be arranged in connection with the celebrations in the parish church so that they contribute to the general pastoral effort. It is preferable that small religious non-clerical communities and other similar communities, especially those that work in the parish, should take part in the parish Mass on these days.

As regards the time and number of Masses to be celebrated in parishes, the good of the parish community should be kept in mind and the number of Masses should not be so multiplied as to weaken the effectiveness of the pastoral effort; for example: if through the great number of Masses, only small groups of the faithful were to come to each of the Masses in a church that can hold a great number of people. Another example would be if, for the same reason, the priests were so overburdened by their work as to make it difficult for them to fulfill their ministry adequately.