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Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 8/29/2007


Question
Am I worthy to receive Jesus if I confess yearly and pray I ask because Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity that is part of our creator that created everything Visible and invisible Jesus is perfect,Holy,and the second person of the Holy Trinity am I part of his plan for salvation ?

Answer
Dear Joseph:
Thank you for your question.
I am assuming that your meaning of receiving Jesus is to receive Him sacramentally in the Holy Eucharist at Communion...I am also assuming you are Catholic.
If this be the case, then you are bound like every Catholic to be prepared for the reception of Holy Communion by having a moral certitude that you are free of mortal sin, and are reconciled to the Church by the forgiveness of your sins, and you are striving always to keep the Ten Commandments and the 6-Precepts of the Church, that include the obligation to assist at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, to keep the fast, etc.
Of course none of us is truly and fully "worthy" to receive Holy Communion, and we even say in the Mass: "O Lord I am not worthy to receive You, etc."  You will certainly want to avoid ever making a sacrilegious communion, and so must be certain that you go to Confession and are absolved of any mortal sin and reconclied to the Church, no matter how many times you do this.  It would seem that at a minimum Catholics are obliged to confess their sins at least once a year, even if they are venial sins.
+ God bless you!

Fr. Timothy Johnson

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Fr. Timothy Johnson

Expertise

A Traditional Catholic Priest, validly and licitly ordained, incardinated legally and canonically in the Diocese of Fargo, and in good-standing with my Local Ordinary (Bishop) on active assignment at a rural Tri-Parish. I can provide honest and balanced answers to questions on topics pertaining to Traditional Roman Catholicism of the Latin Church (Councils of Trent and Vatican II)and a lot about the Eastern Catholic Churches, including the Sacred Liturgy, Sacred Scripture, Church History, the use of the Latin language, the tradition of Sacred Music, and current events in the Catholic Church from a traditional, historical and balanced perspective.

Experience

I have been ordained a Roman Catholic Priest since June 2001.

Organizations
Knights of Columbus; Church Music Association of America (CMAA)

Education/Credentials
Ordained Priest, 02 JUN 2001; Ordained Deacon, 27 JAN 2001; MA - Dogmatic/Systematic Theology; MDiv - Professional Degree from Seminary; 2-Years formation with Canons Regular of Premontre including studies and experience in Sacred Liturgy, Chant, Latin, Sacraments, Spirituality. BA - Scholastic/Thomistic Philosophy; BA - Liberal Arts; AA - General Studies.

Past/Present Clients
I serve 3-small, rural Parish Communities in Easter North Dakota
I converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1981, at the age of 15. Over the years I have done work as an organist, cantor, and choir director for the Latin Rite (English & Latin) Mass (Liturgy of the Eucharist), and even for the Hours of the Divine Office. I have worked as a cantor for a Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church. Presently my pastoral and administrative duties as a Catholic Priest do not allow me as much time as I used to have to devote to Sacred Music; but for my weekend Masses and Solemnities within my Tri-Parish, I offer High Sung Mass in English. Weekday Mass is typically Low Mass (recited Mass) in English, though on occasion I will offer the "Tridentine Mass" in Latin, which I usually offer on my "Day Off", as well. And now, in light of the "Motu Proprio" by his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI placing the extraordinary usage of the Roman Rite back into the mainstream of the Catholic Church, I have been offering a regularly scheduled SUN, 2:00 PM Tridentine Latin Mass with a community of the faithful that has a stable existence.

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