Why can't non-Catholics, Evangelicals and Protestant denominations receive Catholic Communion?
Related Articles
I attended Catholic Church every week for 7 years before I decided to become Catholic, and I didn't take the Eucharist during that time. The first time I had communion was at my confirmation. So I understand what it feels like to watch everybody go up for Communion while I stay in my pew and pray.
Occasionally, an Evangelical is at a Catholic mass, perhaps for a marriage or funeral. Usually they are attending to support a Catholic friend, family member or relative. Some think the Catholic Church is prideful or snobby for not allowing non-Catholics join Communion.
Some non-Catholics can share communion
Actually, we do let some non-Catholics celebrate communion with us. Many Eastern Orthodox Christians are welcome at Catholic Communion, even though our Churches split up about 1000 years ago. So it's not about having an "exclusive club." We would love everybody to be in a position to receive the Eucharist. We actually think its really serious not to have communion. (Jn 6:56) More about that later.
Not pride but rather humility
I suggest that it is not pride that causes us to do refuse communion to some non-Catholics, but rather humility. For 2000 years since the apostles, nothing has been closer to the heart of the Church than the Body and Blood of our Lord. All of the Early Church Fathers talk about cherishing our Lord in the Eucharist, and countless early Christians gave their lives to guard it's integrity.
The Eucharist is the most intimate expression of our faith. If we were to share it with a visitor, it would be like saying to someone who knocks on the door of our home, "come in, don't bother with the living room, come directly into the bedroom." The deepest intimacy is saved for the family. We feel that our Lord has made himself very vulnerable by coming in the form of bread and we have an obligation to protect him when he is vulnerable, just like Joseph protected Jesus when he was a baby and most vulnerable.
If you are not Catholic invite you to imagine yourself in our place. Pretend for a moment that you believed, with all the early Christians, that the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Christ, and that you have been given a biblical command to guard it. I think you would be hesitant to share it with someone who thinks its just bread?
It's dangerous to mess with the Eucharist without the right preparation
Saint Paul says:
"Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." (1 Cor 11:27-29)
We think it is quite serious to consume the Eucharist without believing ("discerning") that it is the Body of Jesus. It would banalize the center of our faith. We cannot pretend that there is unity by compromising what we believe is the Body of our Lord, the source and summit of our faith. It would be a kind of desecration. We don't want to see people hurt themselves that way, and we don't want to be held accountable before God for not paying attention to what he had ordered us to do in Scripture. The Eucharist is the Body of Christ which is the Word of God made Flesh. Extreme judgment fell upon the people of Beth Shemesh when they looked into the Ark at the Word of God made Stone.
But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. (1 Sam 6:19)
If earthly death happened to those who had disrespect for the Word of God made stone, how much worse would the Spiritual death be for those who treat the Word of God made flesh with disrespect. We don't mess around with the Eucharist.
Catholics are allowed by Evangelicals to join Communion in their Churches, so why not vice versa?
Evangelicals think of Communion as symbolic, so it makes sense that they are not as strict about having the right relationship to it as Catholics and Orthodox Christians who believe it is a sacrament and the true presence of Christ.
Although I am welcome to join communion when I am playing music in an Evangelical Church, I do not because I feel it would be wrong to pretend that Communion is just a symbol, or that it can be served by anybody.
Catholics think Succession is necessary in order to have a valid Eucharist
Catholics believe the Lord has preserved the preparation of the Eucharist for those who are the direct successors the apostles who were present at the last supper. There is a lineage of bishops and priests from the last supper to today's Catholic priests. Succession was passed on by the laying on of hands, starting with the apostle Peter. It is foreshadowed in the Jewish Rabbinical practice of laying on of hands. This is why we recognize the validity of the Orthodox Eucharist which split off from Catholicism 1000 years ago. Their Eucharist is valid because their priests share our lineage, and they teach the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Therefore, Christians from their churches are welcome to join Communion with us.
I don't think it's accurate to say the Catholic Church is being snobby for denying communion to Christians who come from a Church that doesn't teach the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Perhaps its a bit snobby to think it should be OK to wander into the most intimate part of Catholicism, without taking it seriously.
Although it is uncomfortable to not celebrate communion together, we have to remember that there is an underlying cause. This discomfort we experience is kind of like the pain in our body if we are in need of medical treatment. If we ignore the pain and act like everything is normal, then the cause of our disunity would go unnoticed. We pray for the day when all Christians will be in full unity. In the meantime, I'm totally into praying together and playing music together. Many Catholic Churches also welcome non-Catholics to come up for a blessing during communion by simply putting their hands over their chests in an 'X".
If you really want to celebrate the Eucharist with us, here is an article on how to do that.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, let Your prayer of unity for Christians
become a reality, in Your way
we have absolute confidence
that you can bring your people together
we give you absolute permission to move
Amen
| Copyright notice |
