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Do I Have to Fast Before Communion if I Live by Church Calendar?


Question: Father Andrew, your blessing. I heard in a sermon that a faithful Christian who observes Wednesday and Friday fasts can take communion on Sunday without fasting on Saturday. What is your take on it? Sophia

Answer by Fr. Andrew Lemeshonok: I have the same opinion. This idea was first brought up by St. John of Kronstadt who said, “If one takes communion regularly, it’ll suffice him or her to fast only on Wednesdays and Fridays.” He means those people who live according to the Church calendar. That is why, if you confess and take communion regularly, you’ll be fine fasting only on Wednesdays and Fridays during non-fasting seasons. Naturally, you shouldn’t overeat on Saturdays before communion on Sunday.

If one seldom partakes of the Eucharist, he or she will naturally need more time to come round. If one takes communion several times a year or once in a couple of months, he or she will be hard-pressed to concentrate on the Sacrament. That is why he or she must prepare for the confession and put some effort into fasting because he or she has definitely accumulated too many sins and has to examine and get rid of them somehow.

December 3, 2018
St. Elisabeth Convent

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