Bishop Paprocki: Eucharistic revival calls Catholics to worthy reception of Communion
Four years after the National Eucharistic Revival began, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, says Catholics must unite belief in the real presence with moral life.
3 months ago
The National Eucharistic Revival, launched by U.S. bishops in 2022, seeks to restore belief in the Real Presence of Christ and to align Catholics’ moral lives with that belief; Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, stresses that true communion requires both reverent belief and worthy conduct. 1
The three‑year initiative, culminating in the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress, combines teaching, parish outreach, and national events to deepen devotion to the Eucharist. 1
Paprocki defines Eucharistic coherence as the consistency between belief in Christ’s real presence and personal conduct. He argues that receiving Communion while persisting in grave sin creates a “countersign, a lie.” 1
According to the bishop, Catholics aware of mortal sin must first seek reconciliation, as receiving the Host in that state constitutes sacrilege. He cites St. Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians that the unworthy will answer for the body and blood of the Lord. 1
Paprocki references Canon 915, which bars those “obstinately persisting in manifest grave sin” from Communion. He notes a 2004 memorandum by Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) interpreting this canon as obligating ministers to withhold the Host from such persons. 1
The bishop cites his 2018 denial of Communion to Senator Dick Durbin for supporting abortion‑access legislation, describing the act as a “medicinal remedy” intended to prompt repentance. He extends this reasoning to other public behaviors he deems gravely sinful, such as cohabitation outside marriage, homosexual activity, and remarriage without annulment. 1
Paprocki stresses that withholding Communion is not punitive but aims at conversion and eventual readmission, aligning disciplinary action with the broader mission of the Eucharistic revival in an age of moral relativism. 1*
Investigate how the Catholic Church defines “worthy reception” of the Eucharist
“Worthy reception” of Holy Communion (the Eucharist) in Catholic teaching is not primarily about personal feelings or being “emotionally ready.” It is about coming to the Eucharist with the right interior dispositions of faith, conversion of heart, humility, and charity, and also about not receiving it in a moral situation that objectively contradicts the Eucharist.
Before receiving such a “great sacrament,” the faithful are invited to approach with humble faith—echoing the centurion’s words:
“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed.”
The Catechism presents this as the attitude of the faithful before Communion—humility before Christ who comes to dwell within the believer.
The Church also teaches that preparation is a joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly (especially ministers). The grace of the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith, conversion of heart, and adherence to the Father’s will—and these dispositions are described as a “precondition” for receiving graces and for bearing the fruits the Eucharist intends to produce.
In other words, “worthy reception” includes:
“Worthy reception” also has an outward, bodily dimension. The Catechism teaches that to prepare for worthy reception, the faithful should observe the fast required in their Church, and that bodily demeanor—gestures and clothing—should express respect, solemnity, and joy at the moment when Christ becomes a “guest.”
So, “worthiness” is not just internal; it includes reverence in how one participates.
Catholic discipline states that some persons are not to be admitted to Holy Communion because they are in a state that makes receiving sacramentally inappropriate.
The Code of Canon Law provides:
“Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted… and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.”
This canon focuses on two ideas:
Thus, “worthy reception” includes the moral reality that the Eucharist is not received fruitfully—or even permitted—when a person is obstinately clinging to serious wrongdoing.
The Catechism also connects Communion to moral charity toward others, especially the poor. It warns against dishonoring the Eucharistic table when one does not recognize Christ in others:
“The Eucharist commits us to the poor… You have tasted the Blood of the Lord, yet you do not recognize your brother… You dishonor this table… God freed you from all your sins and invited you here, but you have not become more merciful.”
So “worthy reception” is inseparable from living Eucharistic charity—receiving the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us must produce real merciful love toward one’s neighbor, particularly the vulnerable.
The Church’s discipline also emphasizes that Communion is not a purely private act. A major example concerns divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.
In the 1994 Vatican letter Annus Internationalis Familiae, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments states that the Church cannot “recognize as valid a new union” if the previous marriage was valid, and it affirms that civil remarriage places a person in a situation that objectively contrasts with God’s law and therefore cannot access Eucharistic Communion for as long as that situation persists.
The letter clarifies that this is not merely “punitive,” but expresses an objective situation that makes admission “impossible,” because the condition contradicts the meaning of Eucharistic unity:
“They themselves cannot be admitted… since their state and condition objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church… signified and realized by the Eucharist.”
It further explains that Communion in conflict with Church communion-discipline is “contradictory in itself,” because sacramental communion with Christ includes and presupposes observance of the Church’s communion order.
The letter teaches that for those remaining in such a situation, access to Communion is “opened” only through sacramental absolution, described as being for those who are truly disposed to live in a way not contradicting the indissolubility of marriage. Practically, it gives the concrete case:
when serious reasons prevent separation (e.g., education of children), they may assume the obligation of living in full continence (abstaining from acts proper to spouses). In that case they can access Communion, avoiding scandal.
Putting these teachings together, the Catholic Church’s definition of “worthy reception” includes:
In Catholic teaching, therefore, “worthy reception” is a sacramental and moral reality: coming reverently and humbly in faith and conversion, while avoiding situations that contradict the Eucharist’s meaning or the Church’s sacramental discipline.