Gum At Mass

47 thoughts on “Gum At Mass”

1. Thanks for this, Jimmy, particularly the last part. I’m in choir and like to use gum or breath mints to be “kind” to my fellow choir members. I’ve often wondered whether that would be breaking the fast. (I always dispose of it before Mass begins, though.)
   ‘thann

2. I have seen a eucharistic minister deny the host to an older teenager who was chewing gum and who took out the gum when she was confronted. Deo gratias. Is it possible that this is not a rare thing, that people actually need to be told not to chew gum when presenting themselves for communion?

3. Jimmy, did you and Michelle agree to do posts about gum today?
   It should be pointed out that NOT ONLY should you not leave your spearmint on the bedpost overnight, you should also NOT stick it to a painting, even a bad, modernist one.

4. I actually have a question about the gum issue and related stuff. Jimmy said that the criterion is whether you put the stuff in your mouth to recieve nourishment. Call me scrupulous, but I have wondered where the lines are.
   For example, the only times I chew gum are when I need a blood-sugar boost, i.e., to receive nourishment. So gum CAN be used for nourishment, but usually ISN’T. Would the question of breaking the fast then depend on one’s intention while chewing the gum?
   And if chewing the gum is OK because my intention is not to receive the nourishment that incidentally occurs, how about drinking coffee before Mass not for nourishment and not even for a caffeine kick but to avoid the withdrawal headache that will surely distract during Mass?

5. Well … fasting is supposed to be penitential.
   Naturally, it can give you a headache. It can cause your stomach to growl distractingly. The Sacrifice of the Cross was more than a headache, more than a stomach growl; none of that stopped our Lord.
   Naturally, fasting lowers your blood sugar. If that is honestly a real danger to your health and safety, then eat, but do so before Mass, not during.

6. I’m one of the idiots that sometimes chews gum at Mass! I tuck the gum between my teeth and cheek when I go up for communion, what’s wrong with doing this? I consider myself a reverent Catholic, and try and not judge what others feel about the communion.

7. During my confirmation one girl chewed gum through the whole mass.

8. If gum, why not snuff too?

9. Church writers have long thought of prayerful reflection on the Word of God as a form of chewing and rumination. Rather the Word of God than gum!
   Even if gum is not chewed for valid nutritive necessity (to raise a dangerously low level of blood sugar), but for pleasure, that would seem to contradict the penitential aim of fasting.
   The Church requires us to fast before the Eucharist. Fasting removes from us not only nutrition but also the pleasure that food can give.
   Gum chewing may provide a boost in blood sugar for those who are in medical need of such a boost. That’s fine. However, perhaps it would be appropriate to satisfy that valid necessity before Mass–if possible–and not during it.
   If it is not necessary for your health, but simply chewed out of pleasure (even an absent-minded pleasure), it would seem to be a contradiction of the penitential nature of fasting which the Church requires us always to observe before the Eucharist.

10. Michele-
    If you were to find out that your gum-chewing distracted others at Mass, would you find it too great a sacrifice to give it up for their sake?
    It seems a small, small thing to give up and would be an act of real charity.
    I have to say, to me it does convey a sense of casual disregard for the solemnity of the Mass, though I’m sure this is not your intention. Coming to Mass dressed as if you have just come from a picnic at the lake does the same thing.
    What next, pajamas?

11. Michele,
    Are you a gum addict? Do you need it for health reasons? If not, there’s no reason for you to be chewing it at Mass. I should add here that trying to break a smoking addiction in many cases would count as a health reason.
    Spitting out the gum isn’t being scrupulous. It’s a sign of respect. The church allows gum because it has no reason to disallow it, but in my experience gum in church has always been frowned upon.
    Another word about gum: a piece you just put in your mouth before Mass, for non-health reasons, MAY have some small nutritional value and thus would break the communion fast. You would need to check the ingredients of the gum.
    Why not just leave the gum in your car and have a piece when you come out?
    Father S., any correction or clarification you can provide?

12. Fr. Stephanos, do I understand you rightly as saying that gum or coffee within the hour before communion might not break the LETTER of the law but would break the SPIRIT? Or were your remarks addressed at the letter of the law as well?

13. A former pastor of mine once refused Holy Communion to somebody who had been chewing gum during the mass. (This was about 20 years ago.) His thinking was that she must have consumed something while chewing the gum. It caused a lot of hurt feelings at the time. (Ours is a very, very small parish.) I think it’s the wrong thing to do, because denying somebody Holy Communion signals, deliberately or not, that the person is ineligible for the sacrament because of serious sin. If somebody should be denied the sacrament because of a ritual requirement (such as the fast), I think the person should be notified privately that he needs to be conforming to the ritual requirements. Otherwise, I think there is too much risk of real scandal and damage to the person’s reputation.

14. Sifu –
    Jimmy stated,
    “Incidentally, for those who may be wondering, gum does not violate the Eucharistic fast, because GUM IS NOT FOOD.”
    His “20” at the bottom means he is invoking “Rule 20” (se Da Rulz in the left column), which indicates that, because this post gives pastoral advice to someone in direct response to a question, commenters should refrain from second-guessing Jimmy’s guidance on the matter, or do it privately to Jimmy via e-mail.

15. Would you go to a job interview chewing gum? If not, why not? So don’t go to meet the Lord while you’re chewing gum.
    Parking your gum in your cheek requires some concentration so that it doesn’t dislodge, presenting you with the situation at communion of having a wad of chewing gum in your mouth along with the host that you’re trying to swallow. I think this is divided concentration at best, and profaning the sacred at worst.
    It is a courtesy to those around you not to distract them during Mass by smacking gum, etc., but the fundamental reason not to chew gum (or listen to your iPod) is that it compromises the attention and therefore the respect that we all must give to the Blessed Sacrament. If that’s happening in our presence, I think it’s each person’s responsibility to try, in charity, to prevent it.

16. Hey…
    Is coffee on the way to Mass a violation of the fast? And if so… am I fasting an hour before MASS, or before I receive the EUCHARIST?
    Honestly, I’ve never thought of it before. I never eat before Mass – but when I go to Sunday AM (vs. Sat PM) mass – I do occasionally take black coffee (as that is how God intended for us to drink it).

17. ====
    I respect Jimmy’s rules. I ask forgiveness if I have broken them already.
    However, now two persons have asked me questions here. So I will reply to those two questions asked of me.
    ====
    Sifu, if someone has a medical need for the sugar that gum can supply, then it is always allowable whenever the medical need arises.
    Jeremy, I don’t see coffee as meeting a legitimate medical need. If one has a headache from caffeine withdrawal, then a medical analgesic is allowable. However, if one has a headache because one has chosen to forego coffee in observance of the spirit and the letter of the pre-Eucharistic fast, then one would rightly accept the headache as part of the fast. (Since water is a necessity for life, one may always drink water, even during the pre-Eucharistic fast. Caffeine is not a necessity.) We take food for both nourishment and for pleasure. Gum is not food per se, but its sugar content may be allowable as medicine for someone who medically requires such a sugar boost. However, chewing gum for pleasure–at least in my way of thinking–distracts from the intention (“the spirit”) of doing penance, and fasting is a penance, and should be so in both letter and spirit.
    ====
    Tim and Jimmy, if I have broken the rules further now, please let me know.
    ====

18. as that is how God intended for us to drink it
    coffee is just an optional flavoring for my milk, sugar, and cocoa… 😛

19. I believe that, similarly, there is no ecclesial regulation against smoking ciragettes or cigars during Mass. In fact, if more people smoked cigars during Mass, then they would be more likely to receive communion on the tongue (as the hands would be busy holding the cigar).
    Of course, this is no longer practicle in places that believe that second-hand smoke is more dangerous than idiots driving SUV’s while holding their cell phones in on hand and their latte in the other. Second-hand smoke is outlawed in many places, but having in your car while you drive, your cell phones, laptop computer on the passenger seat, hot beverages in collapsable cups, and CD library on your visor is not illegal, so long as you are not “distracted.” Ha!
    Also, if the church is a “museum,” then the art preservationists don’t like smoking in church. But many clergy do it anyways. I’ve known priests that smoke during the Easter Vigil, as it goes on and on.

20. Mike E,
    I didn’t see anyone answer the “one hour” part of your question so I’ll weigh in.
    It has always been my understanding that it is one hour before receiving the Eucharist (and not one hour before Mass starts).

21. D’oh!
    Sorry, Tim and Jimmy. I didn’t intend that post to seem like an attempted contradiction to Jimmy’s post.
    My question, then, would be, assuming the sugar isn’t medically necessary, why doesn’t it count as nourishment when it’s in gum?
    Now I’m just really curious, because ironically, I was just having this conversation with a friend a couple of days ago and I would love to be able to back up what I say with proofs.
    Thanks all (and thanks, Father)!

22. It seems that the Eucharistic fast means we abstain from food and drink for one hour, excluding water. Whether it is nourishment or not has less to do with it. Gum idn’t food or drink, whether it contains sugar (calories) or not. At least that’s the way I understand it.

23. I’m shifting into “Mom mode” and thinking, what if one of my kids asked me any of this? I’d tell them, “It’s 60 minutes, 360 seconds, half of which is spent during the Mass. If you can’t get it together enough to ensure adequate blood sugar or blood caffeine levels while you’re fighting over the Sunday comics in the morning ithe the 30-60 minutes prior to the start of Mass (and that would include a requisite bathroom stop, as a boring homily is no excuse to test the plumbing), then DEAL with it! And get rid of the gum!”
    Sorry. But some of this is reminding me of my 11 and 14 year olds and I had to say something! ;P

24. As someone who has been involved in Catholic education for 25 years, my own experience is that most priests, religious and lay catechists I’ve worked with do include gum as part of the Eucharistic fast.

25. I do consider gum and breathmints part of the fast, usually. I wouldn’t chew gum if I was in the pews at church. Occationally I’ll pop a piece on my way there because I sing in the choir/cantor AND work nights, so usually I’m rolling out of bed on 4 hrs sleep and dont have time to brush (I apologize for the confession). I kind of look at that as medicinal. Usually, I’ll spit it out before going in the church. If I’m singing, though, sometimes I’ll keep it in until just before communion. Some days there isn’t enough water in the world to keep my throat dry.

26. I don’t think chewing gum or smoking counts against the Eucharistic fast.
    I do think they count as activities which shouldn’t be done in church. (Or school, or museums, or….) Nicotine gum doesn’t strike me as disrespectful, but I suspect the trick would be to chew discreetly.
    I don’t know why sucking on cough lozenges and breath mints doesn’t strike me as disrespectful. But it doesn’t. (One supposes that breath mints and cough lozenges count as medicine.)
    I grew up thinking only water and medicine counted as liquids that didn’t break the fast… but I have been informed since, on numerous occasions, that plain black coffee and tea are also okey-doke. (Putting in cream and sugar is apparently nokey-nope.) This seems to have come from Ye Ancient Pre-Vatican II Days, at which time it would truly have been inhumane to deny people a little cup of tea in the morning.
    I suspect a lot of interpretation of fasting law is going to be based as much on local consensus, individual religion class teachers, and bishops’ decisions as on canon law. Obviously, nobody wants to do anything that seems disrespectful. What seems disrespectful or what seems to break the fast obviously varies among us.
    What’s that line about unity on the essentials, and Christian freedom for everything else?

27. “I grew up thinking only water and medicine counted as liquids that didn’t break the fast…” And you were correctly taught. Coffee and tea are still forbidden.

28. Canon law states, “One who is to receive the most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception only of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion” (CIC 919 §1).

29. To answer the question would I give up the gum chewing if it was bothering someone and am I a gum addict.
    No, I’m not a gum addict and I don’t chew gum like a cow. I don’t chew gum at every Mass but my allergies irritate my throat and I find that gum instead of mints helps more. I put the gum in my mouth before Mass so I’m not digging through my purse and loudly unwrapping a mint during the homily or during hte consecration. Additionally, why this post bothered me is that I bet this lady also is bothered by people dressing casually for Mass. Did she ever think that she should be more absorbed with participating in the Mass than what the people around her are doing? Did she think that she should be happy that the guy next to her showed up for Mass to begin with?? I’m at Mass not because I’m obligated to be there but because I thank God for being Catholic and feel that the Catholic Church is one of God’s great gifts to the world. I could care less if the alter boys are wearing sandals instead of dress shoes, or that some people are in shorts, they’re there and hopefully we are all there to worship God. I’m not causal about receiving communion and I don’t think that Jesus cares that I have my chewing gum stuck up next to my teeth so the host doesn’t touch it. Would this lady kneel if there was not a kneeler, I bet not! It might cause her a few minutes of discomfort during Mass.

30. ELC, I agree, the priest should not have made a scene by denying the person who’d been chewing gum before communion. The priest should have explained to them privately that gum would not be allowed during the one hour fast because it does have sugar in it. Canon law says water or medicine, Sugar is a food that is clearly not allowed. I mean a sugar cube would obviously be breaking the fast so why wouldn’t gum?

31. Michele, I really don’t think you should make assumptions about the person who asked the question. How on earth do we go from ‘is bothered at someone chewing gum up the line to communion’ to “Would this lady kneel if there was not a kneeler, I bet not! It might cause her a few minutes of discomfort during Mass.”
    Also, while it’s a good thing not to be distracted in Mass, it’s also a good thing not to distract other people. It’s not exactly easy for many people to focus and the guy wearing the shorts and the t-shirt that says I’M A SOCIAL DRINKER WITH A GOLFING PROBLEM on the back is causing a problem for problem for people who are already wrestling with their short attention spans.
    As someone who finds it very difficult to focus – and I’ve a fully diagnosed and treated nervous disorder to back up my position it isn’t *all* my lack of moral fortitue – I don’t find the attitude that Mass is a good place to be subjected to distractions as a spiritual exercise all that helpful.

32. Michele
    Absorbed is the right word, and you used it, just in the wrong way, I find your probably very self absorbed, God wants sacrifice from us to do the right thing, so instead of thinking of your feelings think of others and give God the RESPECT he deserves, otherwise your there for the wrong reasons.

33. The Pharisees spent a lot of time being distracted by what people were doing instead worring about what they themselves were doing or not doing. They also cared more about rules and regulations than people and God.

34. The only reason I WOULD NOT chew gum during communion (receiving JESUS), is even the remote possibility that the flesh of my LORD would be stuck on the gum and then I would discard the gum like nothing happened. What will it take to just wait an hour or take it out before receiving OUR LORD? Then, have another piece after mass? We can be so absent-minded sometimes, so I am thankful that the Lord knows the intentions of our hearts. You would think that if we were not allowed to chew gum in class, this is so much more common sense! Just an observation.

35. I was a bit shocked to see a cantor with gum between her teeth a few weeks ago at Mass! :O She didn’t chomp or smack it; I just happened to catch a glimpse as she walked passed me down the aisle. We have a classy church with great music. I think this girl is not Catholic and one of the hired musicians, so I wasn’t too scandalized because she does not receive Communion. However, I don’t know how she sings so beautifully with gum in there!
    I don’t like the youthful attitude that says we should “be more concerned with worshipping and less concerned with looking at the people around us.” I say youthful, because it seems to be a teen/twenty-something cop-out for wearing cutoffs and flipflops to Mass. [I’ve experienced this attitude among the same age group at non-Catholic churches as well.] I’m 20-something myself, but I try not to bother others.
    Last week at Mass a woman brought her 9ish year old daughter into the pew behind us just after Mass started. There was no way I could not have been distracted by this girl. She was dressed like a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. She had a cheer costume on that only covered her upper-torso (stomach and entire midsection were completely bare). Needless to say, the skirt barely covered any of her thighs. She was wearing deep red and purple glitter eyeshadow. It seems that many people today do not know what is inappropriate.

36. Michele –
    So, people who think you should not chew gum at Mass are Pharisees?
    Just curious.

37. OK, now I have to weigh in…Last year I was one of those people who used to go to Mass in a jeans and t-shirt (no shorts though)since there was no way I thought that shorts would be OK in any church. (I am a convert from various protestant churches and shorts were not appropriate in them.) Upon further reflection, I think I can grow spiritually by being more disciplined. And I noticed several areas that could use improvement. I am striving to be more reverent (attentiveness in Mass, dress standard, physical posture, etc). So one of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to dress nicer for Mass…maybe even a dress or skirt!! But I don’t have a problem with other people wearing jeans. P.S. I don’t chew gum at Mass either!

38. I hope I didn’t sound like I was criticizing the wearing of denim to Mass. (When I said “cut-offs” I was really refering to ratty tattered torn jeans or shorts or whatever…more about the “not trying” attitude than fabric or clothing.) I personally have worn jeans plenty times to daily Masses and to some Saturday Vigil masses. I don’t sit and criticize people around me in the pews…I have learned to try to pay as little attention to others as possible. I’m a convert of 3.5 years so this has been, and still is, something I have to grow into.
    My point was that there are certain things that are clearly inappropriate, yet some people just don’t seem to realize or care. Wearing makeup fit for a drag queen and a completely bare midriff (let dressing one’s young daughter like this) is one of those things that I would have figured everyone would consider inappropriate for Sunday Mass. (I’m refering to the cheerleading costume I saw last week.)
    I also think chewing gum in Mass is inappropriate, for many reasons. If I see a gum-chewer, I redirect my attention away from them and tell myself not to watch them during Communion time. I don’t want to know if they are receiving because then I will get worked up inside. If I don’t make it my business, and I leave it between them and God, then it’s easier for me to stay focused in my prayers.

39. I saw recently an interview with Mother Angelica and Father Bill Casey. Mother said to him that in the hypothetical scenario that she were a priest she would skip communion for someone chewing gum. Then she said “What would you do Father?” And he replied instantly “I’d skip ’em.” Everyone clapped.

40. I’ve observed gum-chewing at Mass too, and have felt equally perturbed. It reminds me of the scene in the film ‘Sideways’ where Miles is introducing Jack to the fine art of wine tasting at a California winery, and, after they’ve finished, Miles turns to Jack with a studied expression, then says, with a sudden expression of disgusted incredulity, “What! You chewing GUM?!” There may be no law against it, but it’s simply philistine.

41. In some circles, gum chewing is considered low class and tacky. My mother HATED it and when I was a teenager and she caught me chewing gum she would recite this poem to me:
    The gum chewing girl
    And the cud chewing cow,
    They’re the same in a way
    Yet different somehow.
    Oh, yes, I see it now,
    The intelligent look
    on the face of the cow!
    You also see this in some British films (Chariots of Fire comes to mind) where the Americans are shown with big wads of gum in their mouths chewing away. They exaggerate, but it DOES look inelegant at best.
    I put this in the same category as cleaning your ear with your pinky. Some people are oblivious and have never thought of it, while many of those who have find it a repellent habit.

42. I think a very POLITE way of telling someone with gum is, “Excuse me, here is a tissue, so you don’t forget to take out your gum before Holy Communion.” It sounds innocent, helpful and non-condescending. It leaves the person to make the choice and it doesn’t set your fellow pewmate up for potential embarrassment once they approach the priest or extra-ordinary Eucharistic minister.

43. What’s wrong with some straightforward honesty instead of the passive-aggressive approach. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I really find your gum-chewing distracting, would you mind very much not doing it?” How hard is that?

44. Speaking for myself only, I would never take anything but water and any necessary medication in the hour before I receive Jesus’ precious Body and Blood. I wouldn’t go to Confession chewing gum, nor would I go the Adoration chewing gum,I don’t imagine that if I were to marry I would chew gum at the altar as I made my vows, and at the time of my death, I sure hope they don’t open my mouth and find a piece of gum there.
    I think it’s (no pun intended)pretty tasteless, but then we Brit’s have never been big gum chewers really.
    God Bless.

45. The Eucharistic fast is before Holy Communion, not the Mass. It is a fast from food and drink, water is alright, as is medicine. The moral theology tradition teaches that to be food it must be a) edible, b) taken by mouth, and c) swallowed. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, candies, breath mints, lozanges and anything that is put into the mouth to be dissolved or chewed meets these conditions once the dissolved contents are swallowed. Chewing gum does not break the fast, but it is disrespectful of the Sacred Liturgy and once the juice is swallowed the fast is broken. The tradition also teaches that the fast is strict – one hour, that is, 60 minutes. Given that until recently the fast was from midnight, this seems very little to ask of Catholics.

46. I was looking for the poem with “the chewing gum girl and the chewing cudded cow but i found more thank you.

47. “Chewing gum does not break the fast, but it is disrespectful of the Sacred Liturgy and once the juice is swallowed the fast is broken. ”
    http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/communion_dispositions.htm

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