I live in Norway and have known a woman for six who lives with her children. She is an active participant in the church. She serves and her children do the same. Once up on a time, she told me that she confesses, prays, and gives service to the church based on the church rules and regulations. But, to the contrary, she surprisingly revealed that she does not tend to take Holy Communion only because her husband does not live with her and because he does not take Holy Communion (reasons unknown to me). My question is why should she refrain from taking Holy Communion if she is confessing? I want your answers to take in to account what if her husband lives in a country where there are no churches (e.g., Saudi Arabia). What if he does not will to take it either because of lack of readiness or because of a lack of knowledge?
My other question is what if there are two parents who live together but one of which either has reluctance to partake of Holy Communion or is not ready for it? What should the spouse who is ready to partake of Holy Communion do? Does he or she wait until the other spouse is ready?
The answer
If a Church member is living a life of repentance and confession, she or he has complete access to the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist. The details of their marital situation may be a factor, but it is not merely determined by one spouse living in a different locale or one spouse being reluctant to partake of Holy Communion. The couple or each spouse needs to discuss this private matter with their Father Confessor.
