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Author Topic: Fasting before and after Mass  (Read 702 times)

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Änσnymσus

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Fasting before and after Mass
« on: July 11, 2021, 06:34:57 AM »
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    • How long are we supposed to abstain from food and drink before and after Mass? I've heard it said 1 hour but I've also heard that they should really be 3 hours prior to Mass but, I can't seem to find anything regarding how long you should abstain from food or drink after receiving Holy Communion. Can anyone help answer my question?
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    Offline DigitalLogos

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #1 on: July 11, 2021, 06:41:22 AM »
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    • Pope Pius XII abrogated it to 3 hours before Mass. I'm unsure of the expectations after though.
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    "Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." [Matt. 6:34]

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #2 on: July 11, 2021, 06:58:35 AM »
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    • I do believe it's about 20 mins after receiving.  Now, I can't remember where I've read this.  But it makes sense; your stomach empties every 20 minutes.  

    I'm really sorry for you; your scruples must be killing you mentally.
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    Änσnymσus

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #3 on: July 11, 2021, 11:00:28 AM »
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    • Quote from: DigitalLogos on July 11, 2021, 06:41:22 AM
    Pope Pius XII abrogated it to 3 hours before Mass. I'm unsure of the expectations after though.
    Yes, but this was because of the advent of evening Masses.  He said that those who can (i.e., those who attend morning Masses?) should still maintain the fast from food and water from midnight.
    Regarding after reception of Communion, I'm not sure there is any rule.  But, if I sit toward the front of the church, I can say an entire 5 decades in thanksgiving before the priest begins the prayers after Mass (i.e., about 14 minutes).  Then, by the time I can get to the gas station for my morning coffee, a minimum of 25-30 minuted from the time of receiving Communion will have passed, and there is no danger. 
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    Offline Matthew

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #4 on: July 11, 2021, 11:09:00 AM »
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    • Don't rush out of the Church before Mass has ended, and you shouldn't have any problems.

    Maybe even stay 10 minutes after Mass on the weeks you don't have to rush home to deal with a literal house fire.
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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #5 on: July 11, 2021, 02:21:09 PM »
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    • Quote from: Matthew on July 11, 2021, 11:09:00 AM
    Don't rush out of the Church before Mass has ended, and you shouldn't have any problems.

    Maybe even stay 10 minutes after Mass on the weeks you don't have to rush home to deal with a literal house fire.
    Or you have one of those priests who wizzes through a Low Mass in 25 minutes
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    Änσnymσus

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #6 on: July 11, 2021, 02:43:59 PM »
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    • If Bergoglio is your pope, the rule is to fast one hour before receiving communion, so that's usually less than a half hour before Mass.  There's no rule for after Mass, but it's not kosher to eat in church.
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    Offline SimpleMan

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #7 on: July 11, 2021, 06:37:15 PM »
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    • I'm pretty sure that Jone recommends something like 15 minutes after having received communion, for not eating anything afterwards.  AFAIK canon law doesn't address it.  Common sense would tell you that to eat something 5 minutes after having received, would risk being sacrilege --- think of laying a candy bar or a gulp of coffee over the Body of Christ, and it will make sense.

    I tend to have a dry mouth and throat (probably due to medications), so I generally carry a bottle of water with me in the car, and take a drink of it as soon as I have left the church, which would be about 15-20 minutes after receiving, at the very least (should be more).  This way I avoid having the Sacred Species to be clinging to my throat.

    Our Lord willed that we would eat His Body, so how something like this is handled, should never be a scruple.
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    Offline DigitalLogos

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #8 on: July 11, 2021, 06:54:13 PM »
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    • In your average Latin parish, you're going to have a good 15 to 20 minutes after Communion of the Mass anyway. So by the time you actually leave it shouldn't be a concern at all.
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    "Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof." [Matt. 6:34]

    "In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." [Ecclus. 7:40]

    "A holy man continueth in wisdom as the sun: but a fool is changed as the moon." [Ecclus. 27:12]

    Offline Nadir

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #9 on: July 11, 2021, 11:03:50 PM »
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    • Quote from: DigitalLogos on July 11, 2021, 06:54:13 PM
    In your average Latin parish, you're going to have a good 15 to 20 minutes after Communion of the Mass anyway. So by the time you actually leave it shouldn't be a concern at all.
    Exactly. i’ve been Catholic around 75 years and I have never before even heard the subject broached. We always fasted from wake up till Mass, even as children.
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    Offline SimpleMan

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #10 on: July 12, 2021, 12:04:11 AM »
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    • Here is what Jone has to say about eating immediately after communion.
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    Offline 2Vermont

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #11 on: July 12, 2021, 06:23:07 AM »
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    • Quote from: DigitalLogos on July 11, 2021, 06:54:13 PM
    In your average Latin parish, you're going to have a good 15 to 20 minutes after Communion of the Mass anyway. So by the time you actually leave it shouldn't be a concern at all.
    Yes, the 10 minutes mentioned in Jone would be very difficult to do given others have to receive communion, the post-communion prayers as part of mass, and any personal prayers one might do in the pew.
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    Änσnymσus

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #12 on: July 12, 2021, 10:23:39 AM »
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    • Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the responses. Since I started going to the TLM I've been waiting at least an hour after receiving before I eat anything.
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    Änσnymσus

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #13 on: July 12, 2021, 10:48:08 AM »
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    • Prior to Pius XII changing it to three hours, the law was no food or water from midnight until communion. That's why less people received or went to the earliest mass possible.
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    Offline Miseremini

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    Re: Fasting before and after Mass
    « Reply #14 on: July 12, 2021, 02:53:43 PM »
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    • Quote from: Änσnymσus on July 12, 2021, 10:48:08 AM
    Prior to Pius XII changing it to three hours, the law was no food or water from midnight until communion. That's why less people received or went to the earliest mass possible.
    Not necessarily.  Things were different 70 or more years ago.  Whether people believed more in the Real Presence or followed the rules more I don't know but when I was a kid confessions were on Saturday for two hours in the morning, afternoon and evening in all the churches in our city.  People (adults) just didn't go to Communion on Sunday unless they went to confession the day before (no confessions on Sunday) and were really prepared spiritually to receive. And also prepared to behave appropriately after.
    Now the way it was explained to me as a kid (and later I read in an old instruction book) the reason for fasting was twofold.  One a sacrifice and two a charity given by the Church.

    The charity was explained thus:  To avoid scandal (after everyone saw you at confession the day before I suppose) if you were in need of confession again, one would only have to break the fast.  So just put a candy in your mouth, or take a sip of water and you could honestly tell your parents, teacher or any busybody that you broke your fast.
    Now the old biddys weren't to be fooled as I remember.  They watched the courting couples very closely.  If one of the couple went to Communion all was OK but heaven help the gossip if neither went to Communion.  Human nature hasn't improved.
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