The Answer, My Friend, May be Blowin in the Wind...

Until perhaps now....There may be some hope that things could change:


VATICAN RIPS SECOND MARRIAGES

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican singled out divorcés who remarry and politicians who support abortion yesterday, in criticizing those among the faithful who receive Holy Communion while in a state of mortal sin.

An 85-page draft details abuses of the sacrament and cites a need for better instruction to ensure it remains sacred. The final document is to be developed at a global synod of bishops Oct. 2-23 in Rome.

The text suggests that Latin be used in international liturgical gatherings so that all priests involved can understand the proceedings, and that parishes consider using more Gregorian chants to prevent "profane" types of music from being played.

It also calls for priests not to be "showmen" who draw attention to themselves, and says lay people should have a "minimal" presence in Masses.

The document strongly laments the fact that fewer and fewer Catholics attend Mass on Sundays — in some countries, only 5 percent — and that fewer are going to confession. As a result, it says, many Catholics are living in a state of mortal sin when they receive Holy Communion. AP

So I did a little searching and found the document that is referred to in this article....

THE EUCHARIST:
SOURCE AND SUMMIT
OF THE LIFE AND MISSION
OF THE CHURCH

INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS

Part 1
Chapter 2
The Close Bond Between the Eucharist and Penance

21. The Sacrament of Penance restores the bonds of communion broken by mortal sin.37 Consequently, the relation of the Eucharist to the Sacrament of Penance deserves particular attention. The responses point out the need to treat the Sacrament of Penance as geared towards the Eucharist and the Church, understanding it to be the necessary condition for encountering and adoring, in a spirit of holiness and purity of heart, the Lord who is All-Holy. Jesus washed the feet of his Apostles to indicate the holiness of the Eucharistic mystery. St. Paul affirms that sin is a profanation likened to prostitution, because our bodies are one with Christ (cf. 1 Cor 6:15-17). Thus, for example, St. Csarius of Arles states: “every time we come to Church, we set our souls in order according to the state of God’s Temple. Do you want to find a resplendent basilica? Then, don’t soil your spirit with the uncleanliness of sin.”38

The relation of the Eucharist to Penance in today’s society greatly depends on both a sense of sin and a sense of the sacred. The distinction between good and evil oftentimes becomes a subjective matter. People today, by insisting that conscience is strictly a personal affair, risk losing a sense of sin.

22. Many Lineamenta responses refer to the rapport between the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

In many countries, persons have lost, or are gradually losing, an awareness that conversion is necessary for receiving the Eucharist. Its connection with the Sacrament of Penance is not always understood, e.g., the necessity of being in the state of grace before receiving Holy Communion. As a result, the obligation of confessing mortal sins is forgotten.39

The idea of communion as “food for the journey” has also caused a minimization of the necessity of being in the state of grace. Instead, just as proper nourishment presupposes a healthy, living being, so the Eucharist requires that a person be in the state of grace so the Baptismal commitment can be re-enforced. How can a person be in the state of mortal sin and receive the One who is a “medicine” of immortality and an “antidote” to death.40

Where many faithful know that they cannot receive communion while in mortal sin, they do not have a clear idea of what constitutes mortal sin. Others give no thought to it. Oftentimes, the situation creates a vicious circle: “I won’t receive communion because I have not gone to confession; I don’t go to confession, because I have no sins to confess.” Though such an attitude can be traced to a variety of causes, the principal one is a lack of proper catechesis on the subject.

Another rather widespread problem is created by a lack of access to the Sacrament of Penance at convenient times. In some countries, individual confessions have been eliminated. At most, the Sacrament is celebrated twice a year, during a communal liturgy, resulting in a hybrid form of the Sacrament which draws from both the second and third rites provided in the ritual.

Certainly, thought needs to be given to the great disproportion between the many who receive Holy Communion and the few who go to confession. The faithful frequently receive Holy Communion, without even thinking that they might be in the state of mortal sin. As a result, the receiving of Holy Communion by those who are divorced and civilly remarried is a common occurrence in various countries. At funeral Masses, weddings or other celebrations, many receive Holy Communion only out of the generally-held, mistaken conviction that a person cannot participate at Mass without receiving Holy Communion.

23. Apart from the fore-mentioned pastoral problems, many responses were very encouraging. They call for an awareness of the proper conditions for receiving Holy Communion and the necessity of the Sacrament of Penance, which, preceded by an examination of conscience, prepares the heart, purifying it of sin. To achieve this, the responses mention that the connection between the two sacraments be often treated in homilies.

Some wished that serious thought be given to reverting to the Eucharistic fast practised by the Eastern Churches.41 Fasting relies on self-control which has recourse to the will and leads to the purification of mind and heart. St. Athanasius states: “Do you want to know what fasting does? ... it casts out demons and liberates us from evil thoughts; it raises the mind and purifies the heart.”42 The Lenten liturgy calls for the purification of the heart through fasting and silence, as St. Basil recommends.43 Some Lineamenta responses raised the question of the timeliness of returning to the obligation of the three-hour Eucharistic fast.

Greater effort is needed in providing the opportunity for individual confessions. This could possibly be done in conjunction with neighbouring parishes, not only on Saturdays and Sundays but especially during Advent and Lent. Through preaching and catechesis much can be accomplished to restore a sense of sin and penitential practice, which will counteract the difficulties resulting from a secularized mentality.

Some feel that confessions should be heard before Mass, adapting the schedule to the penitent’s needs and offering the possibility of approaching the Sacrament of Penance even during the Eucharistic celebration, as recommended in the Apostolic Letter Misericordia Dei.44

Priests need to see that in administrating the Sacrament of Penance they themselves are a particular sign and instrument of God’s mercy. The Church is deeply grateful to priests who zealously hear confessions so the faithful can receive and encounter Christ in the Eucharist. The faithful will be more inclined to go to confession, if they see the priest exercising his ministry in the confessional, as seen in the example in our day of St. Leopold Mandić, St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina and many other holy pastors.