Article III: On the Obligation of Receiving the Eucharist

1563. Principles. I. The real reception of the Eucharist is not necessary for salvation by NECESSITY OF MEANS. - The proposition is of faith, if it concerns children; but if it concerns adults, it is common and certain. The reason is that the Eucharist by itself does not confer, but supposes first grace; but this gives a right to heavenly glory; whence one who dies with it, even without the Eucharist having been received, certainly obtains eternal salvation.

It is said real reception; because reception in desire, according to the more probable opinion, is necessary for salvation by necessity of means, both for adults and for little children. It is proved: 1. From the words of the Lord (John 6:54): "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, you will not have life in you." 2. From reason, "because the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, which are certainly necessary by necessity of means, at least in desire, for obtaining first grace, do not confer grace except with regard to the Eucharist, as to the end of all the Sacraments.... But adults have such a desire when they receive the Sacraments of Baptism or Penance; for their will of fulfilling all precepts includes at least implicitly this precept also of the Eucharist. But little children have the desire, not from their own will, but from the implicit will of the Church, which is applied to children, just as the will of receiving Baptism is applied."²²

It is asked: Whether the Eucharist, in reality or in desire, is a necessary means FOR ADULTS for preserving spiritual life?

Resp. Some deny, "saying that other means are present for this. But more commonly and more truly others affirm with St. Thomas.²³ The reason is that just as the life of the body cannot be preserved for long without material food, so neither can the life of the soul without this spiritual food, at least in desire, and indeed explicit desire, in one who notices the necessity of this Sacrament."²⁴

1564. II. The consumption of the Eucharist is necessary for adult faithful by necessity of PRECEPT, both divine and ecclesiastical. The divine precept is proved from the words of Christ: "Unless you eat," etc.; but the ecclesiastical precept from the Fourth Lateran Council, whose words we shall relate below (n. 1568).

Moreover, from the DIVINE precept, we are held to receive the Eucharist not only in danger of death, but also several times in life. But how often we are held to this has not been declared by Christ the Lord, but He Himself left the matter to be determined by His Church; whence each one, speaking by itself, satisfies the divine precept by satisfying the ecclesiastical precept. - We say speaking by itself; for "sometimes, by accident, a man is held from the divine precept to communicate perhaps even several times in the year, if he judged this necessary for overcoming some grave temptation. Yet Suarez says this can happen very rarely, since other remedies can suffice for this, prayers, penances, etc. But in that case in which Communion were necessary, a man, by omitting it, would not sin against its precept, but against the virtue against which he suffers temptation"²⁵ (cf. n. 1579, Rule I, It is said 2).

These things having been said concerning the necessity of the Eucharist in general, it remains that we treat separately of the twofold Communion which each one is held to receive, that is, concerning Communion in the article of death or Viaticum, and concerning Paschal Communion.