Not Comfortable

I am not comfortable withholding communion from someone in manifest grave sin. There, I said it. There should be no doubt whatsoever about how I feel about this.

Now, with that out in the open, I can say this: I will withhold communion from someone in manifest grave sin in a heartbeat. In other words, I am not "comfortable" with it, because I do not like causing anyone pain, and I do not relish the blowback I will likely get if I do this. Yet, I will do it because it is right.

If a politician who lives in grave sin and supports others living in grave sin (and they are a dime a dozen these days) comes to St. George and presents himself to receive communion, I will give him a blessing but he will not be receiving the blessed Sacrament because that would be adding in to his judgment on the last day.

The same applies to anyone that I know is living in open and unrepentant sin. I would definitely not like doing this. Anyone who expects to receive the body and blood of Christ likely has something of an openness to the Lord (even if he is in sin), and as a priest I have no desire to cause anyone to separated from that grace. As a priest, I also have the duty to tell people the truth and if I give communion to someone whom I know to be in a state of grave sin, then I am lying to him. I would be saying "you are ok with God" when he is not.

We cannot make our personal comfort the determining factor in what we choose to do. Yes, we all want comfort, but in this day and age, personal comfort often conflicts with what is good and right. If I am asking you about a pair of shoes, personal comfort should be one of the top determining factors; if I am asking you about the commandments of God, personal comfort does not make any difference whatsoever. One's comfort is never to be a gauge in matters of the faith.