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Peace and good!
As you can see behind us, beautiful golden autumn has arrived in Woźniki:).
You really must come here if you live nearby, in Poznań, Grodzisk, Warszawa or Przemyśl;).
This place is simply breathtaking now, until the leaves fall down.
Today's question was: can a person addicted to alcohol or being in a crusade to stop drinking, refuse to receive Communion under both kinds?
And can a person who belongs to a group of alcoholics' children refuse to do it as well?
Is it acceptable for them to refuse receiving such Communion?
I've had a situation when a recovering alcoholic approached me to receive Communion but he asked not to give it to him under both kinds.
He made a gesture with his hand showing clearly that he wanted to receive it under one kind.
It's obvious that even the *** of glass makes recovering alcoholics vigilant.
They even check whether sweets they eat don't contain any alcohol so as not to waste their process of recovery.
So an alcoholic not only can refuse to receive such Communion but he even should do it.
Let's go one step further. (some car is approaching)
There are also priests addicetd to alcohol and they can celebrate the Eucharist using only the must, so the unfermented grape juice.
And they receive a special permission to celebrate the Eucharist without the use of wine.
You'll certainly agree that a priest addicted to alcohol shouldn't celebrate even one mass a day using wine.
We believe that during the Eucharist bread becomes the Body of Jesus and wine becomes His Blood.
But it is still wine used in this rite, so we feel its taste and power.
In theology it's called transubstantion when the wine becomes the Blood of Jesus, still having the properties of wine.
As the priest says after the Consecration: The mystery of faith.
Speaking about the question of health. There are also people who have to receive gluten free Sacramental bread and they bring it themselves.
Or these people do not receive the Sacramental bread in the Communion but only the Blood of Christ.
I remember a case of a girl who received only the Blood of Christ.
We had a small golden spoon on the altar and when the Holy Communion started she came first and received only the wine.
I used the spoon to give her the Blood of Christ from the cup because the disease she suffered from didn't allow her to eat bread.
The situation is different when we take crusades into account.
When we voluntarily decide not to drink alcohol the case is completely different.
Refusing to receive Holy Communion under both kinds because of our crusade not to drink, is being unaware of what the Blood of Jesus really is.
The wine we receive is not only wine anymore, its also the Blood.
It's most of all the Blood of Christ.
I've noticed that it's just the opposite very often and people would like to receive Holy Communion under both kinds.
And a crusade is about refusing to experience some pleasure connected with drinking alcohol.
So it's about not drinking some beer or wine. But receiving wine during Holy Communion is not about giving people pleasure.
And if tasting a drop of alcohol on the Sacramental bread is a pleasure to someone, then he has a big problem.
Summing up, if it's about risking one's health, a person has a duty to receive Communion under one kind. Just ask the priest for it.
Just as we've explained it using the examples of receiving gluten free Sacramental bread or only drinking the Blood of Jesus.
And as for the crusade - it's not a reason for not receiving one kind of Holy Communion.
It's like giving up a privilege. I don't understand such a decision.
Peace and good!