Diocese of Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, J.C.D. is a prominent voice in the conversation about Eucharistic coherence. On July 14, he’ll give a livestreamed lecture on this much-debated topic at the Institute of Catholic Culture.
What is Eucharistic coherence?
While the term “Eucharistic coherence” has gained popularity in the last few years, the teaching is far from new. In short, it highlights that a Catholic's public life and morality should be consistent with his faith. If this coherence is gravely lacking, the person should not receive Communion.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explains it this way in their 2021 document The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church:
To receive the Body and Blood of Christ while in a state of mortal sin represents a contradiction. The person who, by his or her own action, has broken communion with Christ and his Church but receives the Blessed Sacrament, acts incoherently, both claiming and rejecting communion at the same time. It is thus a counter sign, a lie — it expresses a communion that in fact has been broken.
While Eucharistic coherence applies to any Catholic communicant, the conversation in recent years has largely centered on whether Catholic politicians who publicly support immoral acts such as abortion and euthanasia, and laws supporting those acts, should receive Communion.
Bishop Paprocki on Eucharistic Coherence
Bishop Paprocki, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, has been vocal when it comes to reception of Holy Communion in the state of grace, a Church teaching which he believes many people misunderstand.
The promotional material for his upcoming talk “The Table of the Lord and the Table of Demons: Eucharistic Coherence in the Age of Relativism” says,
“Many today consider the reception of Holy Communion to be a matter of personal discernment, reducing the Eucharist to a mere sign of hospitality or social acceptance. Others think of receiving Holy Communion as an encounter with Christ but do not embrace full communion with His Body, the Church.”
In a 2022 talk on the topic of Eucharistic coherence, Bishop Paprocki explained that when we speak of “Communion,” we are referring to Communion with the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, and, through that sacrifice, communion with the Body of Christ. He goes on to say:
When that communion with Christ and the Christian community is ruptured through sin, our suitability to receive Holy Communion is adversely affected until we repent, confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and receive absolution from a priest.
The public forum of the Institute of Catholic Culture
The Institute of Catholic Culture is a resource for continuing Catholic education for adults, with over a thousand hours of recorded content and regular live streamed events.
Founder Fr. Hezekias Carnazzo saw that there was a need for intellectual Catholic formation, in order to equip Catholics to grow in faith and evangelize. He writes:
To this end, the Institute hosts educational seminars specifically designed to build bridges of understanding, teaching authentic Catholic history, philosophy, and theology as a way of healing the wounds in the Body of Christ and reaching out to those who seek knowledge of the Truth.
Bishop Paprocki’s upcoming lecture aligns with this mission, giving participants the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Church teaching on reception of the Eucharist and why this teaching matters. Bishop Paprocki will join a list of distinguished lecturers, including past speakers such as Bishop James Conley, Fr. Robert Spitzer, and Bishop James Wall.
The table of the Lord
Registration is required for Bishop Paprocki’s upcoming talk, but, as with all ICC events, there is no charge.
In his talk, the bishop will reflect on St. Paul’s admonition to receive the Eucharist in a state of grace. While Eucharistic coherence may today be considered a hot button issue, it has been part of our Catholic understanding of the Eucharist since the early Church.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself (1 Cor 11:27-29).
This article is brought to you through sponsorship by the Institute of Catholic Culture.
