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Q&A Home > M > Menstruation and Eucharist What is the biblical reason why women cannot take communion when they have their period? The biblical reasons why women cannot partake of Communion during menstruation are based on Leviticus 15:19-30 and Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48. Leviticus 15 established the ecclesiastical laws and rituals. Actually, before the law was given to women, it was first given to men who had any kind of discharge (Leviticus 15:1-18). A discharge in itself is not a sin, but also a normal bodily function in men. This law is also in effect today in that if a man has a discharge or emission of semen, he may not have Communion on the following day. For both men and women, what has been excluded is the "impurity" rituals mentioned in Leviticus 15. The Church does not require any ritual after the menstrual cycle for women and the emission of semen or discharge for men. It is only common sense and appropriate that one should wash his or her body before partaking of the Holy Eucharist.
The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew and St. Luke recall the same event of a woman hemorrhaging for 12 years touching the hem of the Lord's garment. It is important to note that she merely touched the hem of His garment and not the Lord Himself. Thus, men and women are not prevented from entering the church (the hem of His garment), but from partaking of the body and blood of the Lord (Jesus Christ Himself) during a menstrual cycle for women or after a discharge or emission of semen for men.
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