In his weekly column, Archbishop Chaput address the Communion issue

What’s the lesson for Catholics? Fifty years ago, too many of us avoided receiving Communion out of an excessive fear of our own sins. Today, far too many of us receive Communion unthinkingly, reflexively, with no sense of the urgent need for our own self-examination, humility and conversion. Worse, too many Catholics receive the body and blood of Christ even when they ignore or deny the teachings of His Church.

When we sin by theft, lying, adultery, pride, gossip, anger, envy, callousness to the poor, pornography or indifference, we do not live “in keeping with what Christ taught.” We remove ourselves, by our actions, from friendship with God. That means we need to turn back to the sacrament of penance before we receive Communion. In fact, many of us today need a deeper devotion to confession simply to regain a basic understanding of grace and sin.

Likewise, if we ignore or deny what the Church teaches, or refuse to follow what she teaches, we are not “in communion” with the Catholic faith. We separate ourselves from the community of believers. If we receive Communion anyway, we engage in a lie.