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I have been attending my local church for many many years with the same priest. Recently a new priest has come to help our priest. A few sundays ago we took our grandson for his third communion after being baptised. The new priest asked if we had feed him. We said yes, then he can not have communion. We asked why? He is a baby. Over the past few weeks at communion time young children and babies are been refused communion. Yesterday before communion was started we was told if your child has eaten please do not bring them for communion. I have never heard of this before. Have we been wrong to give our children communion when they were young?
Answer to Question 282
I really cannot understand this kind of mentality from some fanatical priests. Fair enough when the child is at a age to understand that they should not eat before holy Communion then the parents can explain to them that Christ should be the first that enters their mouth, but a baby cannot understand these things and doesn't know how to control his need for food. The priest certainly doesn't know that the first Christians had Holy Communion in the evening after they had their supper. It was not considered a sin to eat and then have Communion. For practical reasons the Eucharist was moved to the mornings and as it was so the Church decided it was proper to introduce the Communion fast which is not to eat after midnight until after communion, but I would say that babies are exempt from this rule. I would suggest that all mothers with babies go to this church and during the service get their babies to start crying for food. When the priest complains of the noise then you can tell him that its his own fault by insisting that babies are not to be fed before communion. As an alternative maybe you can complain to the Archbishop who I'm sure will give him a lesson on the right thing to do. I wonder does he ask the grown ups if they have eaten before communion, if they fasted and if they had confession? Oy vey!
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