2591. The Obligation of the Third Precept.—(a) Origin.—From divine law sacramental confession is necessary for all who have fallen into serious sin after Baptism, since Christ has given His Church the keys of heaven and appointed His bishops and priests the physicians and judges to cure and pardon (Matt., xviii. 18; John, xx. 23). But Our Lord did not fix the frequency of confession, and it is this which the present precept determines. The law of annual confession goes back to the Fourth Lateran Council (1215).
(b) Gravity.—The precept of annual confession obliges under pain of mortal sin, for its purpose is of vital importance and the Church has always regarded it as a grave obligation. The purpose of the law is to ensure the use of the Sacrament instituted by Christ for forgiveness and to keep sinners from delaying their repentance too long. If a good business man takes stock of his assets and liabilities at least once a year, and those who are careful of their health have medical attention or examination at least yearly, it is most reasonable that the faithful should settle their spiritual accounts and attend to the well-being of their souls within an equal period of time. In the early centuries when fervor was greater and conditions different, no general church law on the frequency of confession was needed; but there is no doubt that the Lateran Decree met well the need that began after the change from the early penitential discipline, The penalties for violation of this precept were excommunication and exclusion from ecclesiastical burial, and, though they are not enforced today, they show the intention of the Church to impose a grave duty.
2592. The Fourth Precept of the Church.—This precept commands that all the faithful, male and female, who have attained the use of reason, go to Holy Communion at least once a year, and that during Easter time (Canon 859).
(a) The subjects of this precept are the same as those of the previous precept, and consequently children of seven years or thereabout, who are able to understand, must make the Easter duty.
(b) The matter of the precept is a worthy Communion (Viaticum or ordinary Communion) received in any parish, but preferably in one’s own parish. Persons living in community (e.g., religious, soldiers, college boarders) may make the Easter duty in their own chapels, strangers and vagi in any church or chapel, and priests in the place where they say Mass.
(c) The time of the precept is the Paschal Season (i.e., from Palm Sunday to Low Sunday, but in the United States, by privilege, from the First Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday). The Easter time may be prolonged for an individual by his pastor or confessor for a just reason. The year within which the Easter duty is to be made begins, it seems, with the opening of one Paschal Season and ends with the opening of the Paschal Season of the following calendar year. Since the law requires that the Easter duty be made, not only within the Paschal Season, but also once a year, it follows that he who neglects Communion during the Easter period is still bound by the law to go to Communion before the opening of the next Paschal Season, but probably he is not bound to go at the first opportunity. As a rule, we believe those who do not make their Easter duty during a year are guilty of but one sin, since they do not think of distinct violations.
2593. The Obligation of the Fourth Precept.—(a) Origin.—There is a divine precept of receiving Communion some time during life, since Our Lord willed the Eucharist to be the necessary nourishment of the soul’s journey (John, vi. 54) and the perpetual memorial of Himself (I Cor., xi. 24). The Church in the present precept has prescribed both the frequency and the time for complying with the will of Christ. Since the Eucharist is a daily bread, the law does not permit it to be abstained from by anyone beyond a year; and, since the Paschal Season brings the anniversary of Christ’s sacrifice and of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament, it is the time most fitly chosen for the obligatory Communion.
(b) Gravity.—The precept obliges under pain of grave sin, for it determines a law given by Our Lord Himself and regulates the minimum in the use of the Eucharist, the greatest of the Sacraments and the end of all the others. The doctrine of theologians is that it is a grave sin to delay culpably the Easter Communion for even a day beyond the Paschal Season as prescribed.
2594. The Fifth and Sixth Precepts of the Church.—The Fifth Precept commands the proper maintenance of the clergy by the laity. The manner of giving the support is left to the special statutes and customs of each country (Canons 1496, 1502). This ecclesiastical law is but a determination of the natural law of justice and religion, and also of the divine law; for even in the Old Testament the Levites were supported by the people. The duty is, therefore, grave (see 2185 sqq.). Respect and obedience in spiritual matters are owed the clergy, and it is sinful to usurp their functions (see 2351, 2355 sqq., and Canons 119, 683, 1931, 166).
The Sixth Precept commands the proper solemnization of marriage and prohibits the solemn blessing of marriages at stated times. Canon 1108, Sec.2 specifies these times as “from the first Sunday of Advent until the day of the Nativity of Our Lord inclusive, and from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday inclusive.” It is to be noted that the forbidden time excludes only the solemn blessing, and even this may be permitted by the Ordinary for just cause, subject to liturgical laws (Canon 1108, Sec.3).