The title of this post might strike you as odd but there is a history. There was a trend in the history of the Church, some point to periods as early as the 4th century, when the reception of the Eucharist began to diminish. There was not a corresponding diminishment of faith, orthodoxy or rejection of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, rather it was a growing sense of not being worthy. The history and scholarly opinions on the underlying reasons are subject of much ink and debate, but from that period of history up into the middle ages, various synods, local councils and Church councils directed that there was a minimum for the reception of the Eucharist. We see that legacy today in the “Easter Duty,” the reception of the Holy Eucharist at least once during the Easter Season. This trend seems to have been consistent up to the 9th century when another issue arose. Continue reading →