I'm Lutheran and my wife is Catholic. I have attended her church for many years but have never switched faith. The church allows me to serve on their Catholic school religious education board (primarily to raise funds, etc...).

I will eventually convert but in the meantime, is it wrong for me to take communion in the Catholic church? I know some clergy who think it's OK, others not.

Appreciate your responses.

Most Catholic churches (I have been to) invite all Christians to partake in communion.

I am not Catholic, but when I attend mass I partake.

drinking blood is creepy.

I drink wine.

Communion is for baptized (or confirmed)Catholics, and should remain so.

The priest will likely not know you are Protestant unless you tell him. That's not the reason - some arbitary rule, or because someone said so.

The reason is a respect for the rules of the institution, which have good reasoning behind them. The most important of these is the belief that God grants His graces however He wishes, but He also established the institution through His Apostles as a means, as a conduit, for His graces which we receive in faith. Only those who accept this belief, as evidenced by joining or being an active, believing member, should partake in Communion - the Eucharist is the very center of Catholic life.

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Most Catholic churches (I have been to) invite all Christians to partake in communion.

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This is very unusual. The official Chursh stance is that letting non-Catholics share communion would indicate a a unity that does not exist.

I would suggest that you wait until you go through the RCC process and actually convert.

The last 4 different Catholic churches I have been to welcomed all baptized believers, Catholic or not, to join in.

My suggestion would be to give the priest a call.

No need to convert to anything, I am already a baptized Christian.

[This message has been edited by Guitarsoup (edited 3/2/2006 1:13p).]

rules & institutions suck. follow Jesus and listen to how the Holy Spirit leads.

John 6:47-58

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47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." 52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."

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Everytime there was a possibility that there would be large number non-Catholics in attendence at a mass that I've attened (weddings, funereals, etc.), non-Catholics were welcome to come up for a blessing but asked not to participate in communion for the reason I stated in my first post.



[This message has been edited by jkag89 (edited 3/2/2006 1:33p).]

I think you are insulting the Catholic Church if you take communion before you are confirmed into the Church.



Apollos.ws
think.learn.know

Partaking of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist in the Catholic Church is only for baptized Catholics who are in good standing with the Church. That, unfortunately for you, excludes Lutherans whose founder didn't believe in transubstantiation.

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only for baptized Catholics who are in good standing with the Church.

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what does it mean to be in good standing?

Paying all your indulgences.

Appreciate all the responses. The Father knows I am not Catholic. Four years ago, I had rotator surgery and was home from work for two weeks. During this time, I spent part of my days raising prizes/fund for the Catholic church Religious Ed. fundraiser. The priest knew then time I was not Catholic (he was asked if I could raise funds - situation explained to him about me being Lutheran) but has chosen to continue administering communion to me. I know it's OK by him but there is still some part of me wandering if this is the right thing for me to do.

The best part of this is that I have a wife who brought me back to the church. I am involved in the religious-ed program in raising $$ for the program. I look forward to my confirmation day.

Thanks again. All opinions respected.

First of all...NO!! You cannot receive, nor should you receive, baptized/confirmed Catholics only.

This is so sad that the liberalization of the Church would lead many on here to report they have seen it in several places and with several different priest..... If you have experienced this and are Catholic, talk to that priest, remind him lovingly of the Good Shepherd's wish and command that The Flock Be One, and if that does not work, please let the Priest know you are going to the Bishop.

When Luther tacked his heresy to the door, he condemned his followers until they return home!!

PS: Gordanvucko

The very Passages you used above are a "proof text", if you would, for the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist!! And where is that found......At Home in the Catholic Church.

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rules & institutions suck. follow Jesus and listen to how the Holy Spirit leads.

John 6:47-58

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47 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 "I am the bread of life. 49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." 52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."
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PSs: Horn...Go through RCIA in an Orthodox Parish and pray for His Guidance...

"And the Gates of Hell Shall not Prevail Against it............

Come Home Brothers and Sisters.


texag_89

To be in good standing with the Catholic Church generally means one of two things:

First, you cannot be a public sinner - Someone who gets drunk and carouses, someone who is divorced and remarried without a Church annulment, someone who doesn't either perform or abet abortions, etc.

Second, you can't be a heretic, i.e., not believing Church teachings on abortion, artificial birth control, the Real Presence Of Jesus in the Eucharist, etc.

IMHO, the Bishops have become super lax on these rules over the years, not wanting to make a fuss at Communion time by denying someone Communion.

You dont have to believe in the Pope to be a Christian.

And your point is?

I think it is asinine and idiotic for any Christian church to deny communion to another believer. It is elitist and does nothing but break Christians apart, rather than bring us togther.

Communion is a unifying event. It is a time when we all come together to commune and remember Christ's sacrifice. Denying that communion with other believers is idiotic.

The very act of the Eucharist is an act of unity - the believer in full Communion with the Body of Christ. At the foundation of this belief is belief in Christ and His commandments and His spiritual authority as given to the Apostles and their successors.

Therefore, Communion is open to everyone, but should be reserved for those who formally accept its foundation, Jesus Christ, as full members of His Church.

This does not mean non-Catholics are not Christians; it means they are not in full communion with the institution Catholics believe was founded by Christ through Peter and the Apostles and is a means to the Graces of God. Therefore, its rules should be respected.

As far as promoting division, exactly the opposite. It invites greater unity by an open invitation to unchanging and very high standards, from Pentecost to today.

It absolutely promotes division and elitism and not unity. It is a statement that those who do not fully accept the institution of the Catholic Church are unworthy of receiving the gifts.

The Catholic Church is not the foundation of Christianity - and not accepting it as such does not lessen your relationship to Christ.

The church was NEVER about Peter or Paul or James or Timothy but about Christ. Paul even said this in his letters to people arguing that some were greater because they were baptized by Peter or Paul. This is the same ignorant division in the catholic (little c catholic) church that the Catholic (big c Catholic) Church is promoting.

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It absolutely promotes division and elitism and not unity. It is a statement that those who do not fully accept the institution of the Catholic Church are unworthy of receiving the gifts.

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It is hardly "elitest" when the institution desires greater unity, and in the case of the Orthodox, desperately so. Yes, unity on its own terms, and this is understandable and wholly legitimate if its claims of spiritual authority, from Christ to the Apostles, are true. I believe it is, so on this point we are at an impasse.

Gifts - God grants those as He wishes. I don't doubt you have a solid, productive spiritual life, although no human can ever know for sure about another. The question, again, is one of valid, spiritual authority from Pentecost to today within a single institution. Christ prayed for His followers to be one. Again, we are at impasse, or you would be Catholic.

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The Catholic Church is not the foundation of Christianity - and not accepting it as such does not lessen your relationship to Christ.

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Christ is the foundation of our religion. I believe the most complete and rightly form of worship is to be found in Catholicism.

I'll possibly be accused of "bashing" Protestants, but let's ask who has been promoting division within the "little c" church: how many new churches are formed each year because believers cannot agree on important matters of faith and morals? I saw my mother's split (SBC) four years ago over the nature of salvation. Same Bible, both sides were smart and earnest. How many denominations since Luther and Calvin? Wesley wanted to remain an Anglican. The Unitarians and Congregationlists are no longer even Christian. The list is quite long.

If you think that "christians" are somehow all included in one big belief system, at least in the current state, you're sadly mistaken.

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The very Passages you used above are a "proof text", if you would, for the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist!! And where is that found......At Home in the Catholic Church.

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Come Home Brothers and Sisters.

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quick question to catholic faithful. am i going to get into heaven if i'm not a member of the catholic church?

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quick question to catholic faithful. am i going to get into heaven if i'm not a member of the catholic church?

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The Catholic Church does not teach that one must be a member to be granted salvation. In fact, the Catechism states that everyone, including non-Christians, may receive the graces of Christ. The earnest seeker of God who searches for and seeks to know will find Christ, even if he is unfamiliar with Christ, because Christ is God.

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc.htm

cool. thanx.

Many thanks for all the thoughtful replies. Just what I was hoping for from this board. This gives me a lot to think about.