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The Precepts of the Church

1. To keep holy the Lord’s Day by attending Mass on
Sundays and holy days of obligation and to rest from
servile labor.
2. To confess your sins in the sacrament of Confession at
least once a year during the Easter Season.
3. To receive holy Communion at least once a year during
the Easter season.
4. To observe the days of fast and abstinence according to
the norms of the Church.
5. To observe the marriage laws of the Church.
6. To contribute to the needs of the Church.
(CCC 2041-2043)

Prescriptions for the Eucharistic Fast

1. Whoever is to receive the blessed Eucharist is to abstain
for at least one hour before holy communion from all
food and drink, with the sole exception of water and
medicine.
2. A priest who, on the same day, celebrates the blessed
Eucharist twice or three times may consume something
before the second or third celebration, even though there
is not an hour’s interval.
3. The elderly and those who are suffering from some
illness, as well as those who care for them, may receive
the blessed Eucharist even if they have consumed
something.
Code of Canon Law, canon 919

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