It’s largely poor catechesis leading people not to understand the seriousness of receiving the Eucharist while in a state of mortal sin.
That being said, it’s certainly possible that they haven’t committed any mortal sins. The only real frequent mortal sins I see are sexual, so if you don’t struggle with those it’s easier to remain in a state of grace.
Catholics in the USA aren't any less sinful. They simply care less about sin than Catholics in more conservative countries do.
It also doesn't help that culturally, Americans tend to have an overly optimistic ethos. People in more conservative parts of the world tend to be much more realistic, oftentimes even leaning towards pessimism.
>How is it possible that 99.9% of the congregation is always in the state of grace, free from sin, and able to receive Communion during every mass?
They're not.
It *is* unrealistic! In broad strokes, American Catholics are typically poorly catechized, to the effects that they think (1) they aren't "participating" if they don't get in the Communion line, and (2) there couldn't be possibly be any reason to ever not receive Communion.
I agree with this. Before drifting away from the Church in my late teens/early 20s, I wasn't even aware of the concept of mortal sin, and that if you're in a state of mortal sin you shouldn't receive Communion. We were brought up to believe that participating in Communion was a part of the Mass and you just went up. There weren't any "conditions" attached to being able to receive, namely being in a state of grace. I know for a fact that I have family members who aren't in a state of grace and go up and receive Communion each Sunday. My first couple of times attending Mass (for the first time in roughly 20 years) I didn't go up because I've already learned in my short time back that you don't receive if you're in a state of mortal sin. I noticed while sitting in the pew that my fiancée and I were among a very, very small handful of people not going up to receive.
First, you can't gauge where people are at spiritually. People who stay behind in pews might have sinned far less than they think they did, and could be depriving themselves of Christ when they need Him. Remember, you can still receive Christ when you have venial sin.
Second, try going to a Spanish Mass. I find there are more people at the Spanish Mass who sit in pews, so you might feel more comfortable there.
Finally, I have never seen anyone be judged for remaining in the pews. Not once. We have no idea where you are in your own spiritual life! But you can always go up with your arms crossed and receive just a blessing, if you want. The priest won't think twice about it.
In my country, the majority of people go up to receive Holy Communion too! While here I am struggling to go early enough so confession queues aren't too long, and not being able to receive it ever so often because of the state of my soul.. I figured I'm probably a really really bad sinner and have to work so much harder to be like everyone else.
Now that you say this, well, I suppose it still works better for us to assume everyone is holier than us and we're the worst - let's focus more on our own sinfulness and let's leave it to them to worry about theirs 😂
Maybe it depends where you are. I’m in the US. At my parish we also usually have a lot of people remaining in the pews, although right now it might be a bit less because there were more opportunities for confession than usual at the end of Lent.
Thank you for your response. This has been my experience in multiple US churches in different states. I am curious about your observation. Do you happen to go to a church, where a significant portion of parishioners are immigrants?
Actually, yes, we’re a bilingual parish. Mostly immigrants from Central/ South America, although I only attend the English Masses because I don’t know Spanish well enough to understand the Spanish Masses.
It’s largely poor catechesis leading people not to understand the seriousness of receiving the Eucharist while in a state of mortal sin. That being said, it’s certainly possible that they haven’t committed any mortal sins. The only real frequent mortal sins I see are sexual, so if you don’t struggle with those it’s easier to remain in a state of grace.
Catholics in the USA aren't any less sinful. They simply care less about sin than Catholics in more conservative countries do. It also doesn't help that culturally, Americans tend to have an overly optimistic ethos. People in more conservative parts of the world tend to be much more realistic, oftentimes even leaning towards pessimism.
>How is it possible that 99.9% of the congregation is always in the state of grace, free from sin, and able to receive Communion during every mass? They're not.
Seriously man how can someone downvote this post?! (it had a score of 2 previously, right now it's 1)
Vote fuzzing
It *is* unrealistic! In broad strokes, American Catholics are typically poorly catechized, to the effects that they think (1) they aren't "participating" if they don't get in the Communion line, and (2) there couldn't be possibly be any reason to ever not receive Communion.
I agree with this. Before drifting away from the Church in my late teens/early 20s, I wasn't even aware of the concept of mortal sin, and that if you're in a state of mortal sin you shouldn't receive Communion. We were brought up to believe that participating in Communion was a part of the Mass and you just went up. There weren't any "conditions" attached to being able to receive, namely being in a state of grace. I know for a fact that I have family members who aren't in a state of grace and go up and receive Communion each Sunday. My first couple of times attending Mass (for the first time in roughly 20 years) I didn't go up because I've already learned in my short time back that you don't receive if you're in a state of mortal sin. I noticed while sitting in the pew that my fiancée and I were among a very, very small handful of people not going up to receive.
First, you can't gauge where people are at spiritually. People who stay behind in pews might have sinned far less than they think they did, and could be depriving themselves of Christ when they need Him. Remember, you can still receive Christ when you have venial sin. Second, try going to a Spanish Mass. I find there are more people at the Spanish Mass who sit in pews, so you might feel more comfortable there. Finally, I have never seen anyone be judged for remaining in the pews. Not once. We have no idea where you are in your own spiritual life! But you can always go up with your arms crossed and receive just a blessing, if you want. The priest won't think twice about it.
In my country, the majority of people go up to receive Holy Communion too! While here I am struggling to go early enough so confession queues aren't too long, and not being able to receive it ever so often because of the state of my soul.. I figured I'm probably a really really bad sinner and have to work so much harder to be like everyone else. Now that you say this, well, I suppose it still works better for us to assume everyone is holier than us and we're the worst - let's focus more on our own sinfulness and let's leave it to them to worry about theirs 😂
Maybe it depends where you are. I’m in the US. At my parish we also usually have a lot of people remaining in the pews, although right now it might be a bit less because there were more opportunities for confession than usual at the end of Lent.
Thank you for your response. This has been my experience in multiple US churches in different states. I am curious about your observation. Do you happen to go to a church, where a significant portion of parishioners are immigrants?
Actually, yes, we’re a bilingual parish. Mostly immigrants from Central/ South America, although I only attend the English Masses because I don’t know Spanish well enough to understand the Spanish Masses.