Can you receive Communion twice in one day?

Yes. A Catholic may receive Holy Communion twice on the same day, but the second reception must ordinarily take place during a Mass in which the person participates.

What Church law says. Canon Law states: “A person who has already received the Most Holy Eucharist can receive it a second time on the same day only within the eucharistic celebration in which the person participates” (Canon 917). The word “second” matters. Apart from Communion given as Viaticum, Church law does not permit receiving a third time on the same day.

What counts as the second reception. Suppose you attend a funeral Mass in the morning and a wedding Mass that afternoon. If you are properly disposed, you may receive Communion at both. The same applies if you receive at a weekday Mass and later attend a Sunday vigil Mass. However, after receiving once, you ordinarily may not receive again that day at a Communion service outside Mass. The second reception must be within a Eucharistic celebration.

The exception for the dying. A Catholic in danger of death may receive the Eucharist as Viaticum even after having received earlier that day. The Church strongly encourages this final reception because the Eucharist is the food that prepares the Christian to pass from this life to the Father (CCC 1524; Canon 921). Viaticum is not treated as an unnecessary additional Communion, but as a special sacramental provision for the dying.

Proper preparation still applies. Permission to receive twice does not remove the usual requirements. A person conscious of unconfessed mortal sin must receive sacramental absolution before Communion, except in the rare circumstances described by the Church (CCC 1385, 1457; Canon 916). The one hour Eucharistic fast also applies before each reception, with the exceptions established for the elderly, the sick, and those caring for them (Canon 919).

A practical approach. Receive with faith and gratitude rather than from habit or a desire to accumulate Communions. Each reception is a personal encounter with Christ, truly present under the appearances of bread and wine (CCC 1374). If you attend two Masses and are properly disposed, you may receive at both. Spend a few moments after each Communion thanking Jesus for the gift of Himself.