shows: The above applies to both Latin and Eastern rite Catholics, the Eastern Catholic canon law (which applies to the Eastern Catholic Churches) having exactly the same rule regarding the obligation to receiving the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation before taking Communion, Western Catholic Churches In addition, one abstains from food and drink (except water and medicine) for at least one hour before receiving. The discipline for Eastern Catholics generally requires a longer period of fasting and some Latin Catholics observe the earlier (pre-1955) discipline of fasting from the previous midnight. The 1917 Code of Canon Law mandated a Eucharistic Fast from midnight until the reception of Holy Communion; this fast requires abstention from both food and liquids, inclusive of water. It was required for those aged twenty-one to sixty. As such, “Those who have not kept the natural fast from midnight are not allowed to receive, except in danger of death, or in case it should become necessary to consume the Blessed Sacrament to safeguard it against irreverence.” On 6 January 1953, Pope Pius XII provided a dispensation in which the sick could take liquids during this time, though alcohol was strictly forbidden; the dispensation also allowed priests to consume liquids if they were offering the sacrifice of the Holy Mass after 9 am, engaged in "onerous work of the sacred ministry (for example, from early in the morning or for a long time)," or after a long journey. The present-day canonical discipline of the Latin Church is found in Book IV, Part I, Title III, Chapter I, Article 2 (Participation in the Holy Eucharist) of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. The particular applications of Canon 915 have been quite controversial in recent years, while canons 916 and 919 have not stirred as much controversy: Can. 916: A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible. Can. 919: §1. A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine. §2. A