Case 3. The Fast Broken

Titius, a priest who alone serves a certain Mission, suffering from a cough, is accustomed to put a lozenge into his mouth so that he may sleep at night. One night, awakened as the clock struck twelve, without intending it he swallowed some of the lozenge that still remained in his mouth. He begins to doubt whether in the morning it is lawful to celebrate the Mass which the people are bound by precept to hear (for it was Sunday), or whether he ought to dismiss them without Mass. Hence it is asked:

1. What is required for that eating by which the fast prescribed before Holy Communion is broken?

2. Can smallness of matter, either with regard to the food taken or with regard to the time after twelve o’clock, be admitted in this law of fasting?

3. Can intention cause a fast to be broken that otherwise is not broken?

4. What is to be said of the case?

1. What is required for a violation of the fast prescribed before Holy Communion?

What is taken must have the nature of food or drink or medicine; it must be from without the mouth; and it must be taken in the way food is usually taken, not e.g., by respiration.¹

1 Manual of Moral Theology, vol. ii, p. 110.

1 Manual of Moral Theology, vol. ii, p. 110.

2. Is lightness of matter allowed in this law either in what is taken or in the time?

No, the law admits of no lightness of matter, for the prohibition does not fall on the food or time, but on the receiving of Holy Communion after taking the least food or drink after midnight.¹

3. Can the intention cause the fast to be broken when otherwise it would not be broken?

According to the rubric of the Missal (De Def., IX, 3) if a drop of water is swallowed inadvertently while washing the mouth it does not hinder Holy Communion. And theologians apply the same rule to a drop of rain, or soup mixed with the saliva and swallowed inadvertently. In these cases the common opinion, which St. Alphonsus says is certainly to be held, maintains that if this is done intentionally the fast is broken.²

2 Theol. Mor., lib. vi, 279.

4. The case. Midnight is past after the first stroke of twelve. Titius therefore after twelve swallowed a piece of the pastille which still remained in his mouth. In doing this he broke his fast even though he did it unintentionally, for the sucking of the pastille must be regarded as a continuous action of eating which did not finish until after twelve.³

3 Ibid.

If the necessity for the people to hear Mass is the only reason why Titius should say it, he should abstain from saying it, and explain the reason to the people. He may have prayers and give them a sermon. If he has reason to fear scandal or grumbling on account of his acting in this way he may say Mass, according to a sound opinion.⁴

4 Manual of Moral Theology, vol. ii, p. 111.