Question for any Catholics out there

[nhim]

I am not Catholic but I do attend mass occasionally. I am a Christian. My question is would you be offended if I took the Lord's Supper during mass?

Thanks,
nhim

[zoonance]

An excellent question.  I have visited during mass as well and did not participate.  Would I be welcome?  Many of my son's in-laws are "catholic" (by name, older generation attends mass occasionally.)  I may want to show some "unity" with them.  Can I?  Permitted?  why or why not?   

To be fair, I would have to ask the same thing if "they" (whoever not me) would be free to participate in our lord's supper as well?

[Jimbob]

This is from the Catechism:

Ecclesial communities derived from the Reformation and separated from the Catholic Church, "have not preserved the proper reality of the Eucharistic mystery in its fullness, especially because of the absence of the sacrament of Holy Orders." It is for this reason that Eucharistic intercommunion with these communities is not possible for the Catholic Church. However these ecclesial communities, "when they commemorate the Lord's death and resurrection in the Holy Supper ... profess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and await his coming in glory." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 1400)

[Amo]

Why would Catholics want someone who doesn't even believe in Transubstantiation to partake of the same with them?  Why would anyone who didn't believe in Transubstantiation even want to partake of the same with Catholics?  Even as a non believer, I don't think they should allow it.  Why should they contribute to someone Else's hypocrisy?

[trifecta]

Nhim - welcome 


I am no longer in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, but I have dealt with this issue after I converted to Protestantism. 

I am not Catholic but I do attend mass occasionally. I am a Christian. My question is would you be offended if I took the Lord's Supper during mass?

Basically, the answer is yes, with an important qualification.   The issue really isn't offence, it has more to do how the body of Christ is honored.  Furthermore, it is really for your protection that the RCC does not allow most non-Catholics to take communion. 

Catholics, Orthodox and some Protestants believe the Eucharist to be the Body of Christ.  If you take it thinking, ooh, there is a snack in this service,  your reception of it might be considered offensive.   Paul warns about the communion not being taken in an unworthy manner.  This would be considered unworthy. (1 Corinthians 11:28-30).  It can even result in death.  (I Cor. 11:30), although I have never heard of this happening today.

An excellent question.  I have visited during mass as well and did not participate.  Would I be welcome? 

You are certainly welcome to go to a mass.  There is nice alternative in the Catholic Church. You can cross your arms across your chest.  This means you want a blessing instead of communion.   The priest simply blesses you and you walk away.  The only problem here is this happens so rarely, the priest may not understand the signal.  You might want to give it a try.  If the priest is confused, say that you wanted a blessing.

Many of my son's in-laws are "catholic" (by name, older generation attends mass occasionally.)  I may want to show some "unity" with them.  Can I?  Permitted?  why or why not?  

Hi, zoo.

You are not permitted by canon law.  The reason why is as I said above but also because you are not in communion with the Catholic Church.   Showing family unity is one thing, doing it in a church is another.  This is fair because if you want to build family unity, you can do it in a number of ways (going to a football game,  praying together, etc.).  But if you are in someone else's house,   you got to play by their rules.   

To be fair, I would have to ask the same thing if "they" (whoever not me) would be free to participate in our lord's supper as well?

With Protestant churches, you have to consult with your minister or pastor.  In my ex-church (Protestant), they invite all who believe in Christ to the communion table.  In higher churches, the sacrament may be limited to church members. 

I am preparing to become an Orthodox Christian.  We don't allow anyone but Orthodox into our communion, mostly for the same reasons listed above.  We do have a blessed bread that all can eat, but only Orthodox Christians can take communion.  It would be highly offensive for a non-Orthodox to do so.

Hope this helps.

[Fallen Knight]

Well answered Trifecta,
                                      As a previous Protestant who has entered the Holy Catholic Church, I recommend you study exactly what the Eucharist is before wanting to take it. If you don't believe it is the flesh of Our Lord, then I would advise out of respect, that you don't. Remember what The Bible says about bringing condemnation upon yourself if you take it in an unworthy matter. This is seriously how we take it. You may disagree with it. That's fine, and your free choice.

As Trifecta said, a respectful alternative is to ask for a blessing with your arms crossed. This would indicate you are either a Protestant or that you are not in a state of grace. Other than that, please attend. I still attend friends Protestant services. Christian Unity is becoming more and more important

[kensington]

This is just nuts...  Who cares if Catholic's care of you take communion.  If you want to take it take it.  If they get offended, so be it.  It's not up to them.. Christ said...  as often as you take it, take it for me.  So if you take it or not, when, where or served by whom is between you and God... 

They are hypocrites to not offer it to you.  They say you can't take it unworthily...  UGH... who are they to say you are not worthy to take communion because you are not part of one religion or another? God did not say that, He said it is for all believers.  Are you a believer?  Have you accepted Christ as LORD?  Then you can partake in communion.  IF you trust GOD, and Jesus is the savior who died on the cross for your sins, they do not have grounds to deny you.  It's a joke.  They hold their religion so dear, to the the exclusion of true believers?  When I see people in the mass who are living in sin, drunks, liars, thieves all "WORTHY" to take communion because they wear the name Catholic?  How that must grieve the Holy Spirit of truth.

It is a wafer and wine...  God sees your heart.  If the person next to you thinks it's real blood or not... is not relevant.  I've seen Catholics take communion in protestant churches...  so if they can, we can.   It's just that simple. No one will arrest you.  And God does not forbid it...  they did that all on their own.  Jesus says... take it.  The hypocrisy in this one issue is just ridiculous.

[nhim]

Fallen Knight( I think you are the only Catholic that answered),

I don't know for sure what exactly happens at Eucharist. It is truly such a profound mystery.

So, in this light, would it still be offensive?

Thanks

[broach972]

Excellent reply Trifecta.  I think you summed up the Catholic view quite nicely.  The Catholic position is not met to offend anyone who may be only visiting.  Everyone, including non-Catholics, is welcomed to attend Mass and may participate in the Mass, with the only exception being partaking of the Eucharist.  It might be noted that many Catholics do not recieve the Eucharist during Mass.

It may also be noted that anyone can register as a member of a Catholic Church.  Many who have married someone in the Church without converting are registered members, including those that are perhaps thinking of converting.

[broach972]

This is just nuts...  Who cares if Catholic's care of you take communion.  If you want to take it take it.  If they get offended, so be it.  It's not up to them.. Christ said...  as often as you take it, take it for me.  So if you take it or not, when, where or served by whom is between you and God... 

They are hypocrites to not offer it to you.  They say you can't take it unworthily...  UGH... who are they to say you are not worthy to take communion because you are not part of one religion or another? God did not say that, He said it is for all believers.  Are you a believer?  Have you accepted Christ as LORD?  Then you can partake in communion.  IF you trust GOD, and Jesus is the savior who died on the cross for your sins, they do not have grounds to deny you.  It's a joke.  They hold their religion so dear, to the the exclusion of true believers?  When I see people in the mass who are living in sin, drunks, liars, thieves all "WORTHY" to take communion because they wear the name Catholic?  How that must grieve the Holy Spirit of truth.

It is a wafer and wine...  God sees your heart.  If the person next to you thinks it's real blood or not... is not relevant.  I've seen Catholics take communion in protestant churches...  so if they can, we can.   It's just that simple. No one will arrest you.  And God does not forbid it...  they did that all on their own.  Jesus says... take it.  The hypocrisy in this one issue is just ridiculous.

Your ignorance and disrespect concerning these matters just absolutely amazes me.  First, Catholics are forbidden to take communion in a Protestant church.  As a Catholic, I don't even understand why a Catholic would want to.  It may be just a wafer and wine to you, but it means so much more to us.

As for the rest of your rant...it would help if you knew what you were talking about.  I would suggest reading Fallen Knight's comments above.  Please do some research on Catholic teachings concerning the Eucharist.

[sopranette]

It was my understanding one had to go through confirmation first before one could take the wafer.  That usually happens in the preteen years.  It's one of the seven sacraments.

love,

Sopranette

[broach972]

It was my understanding one had to go through confirmation first before one could take the wafer.  That usually happens in the preteen years.  It's one of the seven sacraments.

love,

Sopranette

Greetings Sopranette,
One does not need to go through confirmation in order to take communion.  First Communion can actually take place at an young age, normally around 7 or 8 years old.  Before this takes place, children usually go to their first confession.  Much goes into a child's first communion, which follows intense preparation.  It is considered to be a very important step in the life of a Catholic, whether First Communion takes place as a child or an adult.

First Communion is not practiced in Eastern Cathlolic Churches since they usually celebrate infant communion.  Even Lutherans celebrate First Communion.

[kensington]

"First, Catholics are forbidden to take communion in a Protestant church."

That is not true and a great basic example of your ignorance of the Protestant Churches.  The invitation in the Protestant churches or the ones I have attended all over the US would go something like this... "If you consider yourself part of the body of Christ, you have received Jesus Christ as LORD through the repentance of sins, we invite you to take communion with us"....   I've seen it, I've seen visiting Catholics participate, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

I am frankly tired of the intimidation and condemnation that the Catholics try to dump on the rest of us about who is the church, and who are the true believers, and what communion is and is not, and who is called to participate.  NO WHERE did Jesus imply that ANY BELIEVER should be excluded from taking it.  We are HIS children, the Catholic church did not die for our sins, HE did, they did not institute communion, HE DID, and it's not about you... it's about HIM.  So... 

The next time I'm in a Catholic Church... and communion is served, I'm taking it... in rememberance of HIM... Christ the LORD, Savior to the WORD, and to all who BELIEVE... not just Catholics.  It has nothing to do with disrespect, but more to do with the disrespect that the Catholics dump on anyone over issues like this...   Communion is supposed to be to all believers... and it is for me. 

The only part I would not do, is drink the wine, I don't drink after groups... if not for that, I would take the wine too.  OR maybe I should just tell my family... I won't attend any more Catholic any things for you... or with you, don't invite me. It's a slap in the face to be told I am not worthy to take communion when I know that it is the BLOOD of Jesus shed for me at Calvary that makes me worthy to take it and that line in the mass is a farce.  Either way... I'm tired of this game you all play.  Are you insulted?  Take it to the LORD.  That is where I have to take it each time I attend and they reject me as a believer with this silliness.

[kensington]

BTW... I have it on authority if anyone did go up to receive it, the priest would give it.   He would not refuse you. 

They say they don't think you are worthy, but if you went up and opened your hand, they would give it to you... 

[Fallen Knight]

Dear Kensington,
                           May I suggest that in a line of a few hundred people, with one every few seconds, that if you walked up and put your hand out, the Priests probably would indeed give it to you. Obviously thinking were simply a Catholic. He doesn't need to know you. If however you got before him and stated you were a Protestant and didn't believe in the Eucharist, the result may be different.

Brother Kensington, I read your comments on how you feel we Catholics talk about you and acknowledge it. If I may, can I say to you that as a Catholic , I have felt "exactly" from Protestants towards me, that you feel now.

Therefore I ask, forgive and correct me brother.

But may I also draw your memory to the history of The Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Can you remember reading the stories of those invading armies who desecrated the temple. Some even taking Prostitutes onto the alter. Not sure how you felt, but when I read those stories, I felt a mixture of rage and sadness over what those men were doing to what was so obviously something truly Holy and Special to the Jews.

To true Catholics, the Eucharist is truly Holy and Special. I'm not asking you to agree with me, I'm simply asking you in Christian love to acknowledge it is our belief.

Now then, you may attend our Mass, and take the Eucharist in whatever Protestant unbelieving manner you like.

But what in truth have you achieved by doing so?
A victory of some sort?   For no one but yourself.
A defiance of some sort? For no one but yourself
Whether you acknowledge it or not, you have simply become like those invading armies, coming into the temple and doing what you like.
If you don't believe the Eucharist is the spiritual body of Christ, then don't take it.No one is going to point you out and whisper. There will probably be a few Catholics who don't go up. You're still welcomed to the Mass.


"They will not attend to our Eucharist for they do not believe the bread we eat is the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ"........Ignatius Approx 96AD
( Ignatius was a disciple of the Apostle John )

Peace

[broach972]

"First, Catholics are forbidden to take communion in a Protestant church."

That is not true and a great basic example of your ignorance of the Protestant Churches.  The invitation in the Protestant churches or the ones I have attended all over the US would go something like this... "If you consider yourself part of the body of Christ, you have received Jesus Christ as LORD through the repentance of sins, we invite you to take communion with us"....   I've seen it, I've seen visiting Catholics participate, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

Actually, this is true.  The Catholic Church prohibits Catholics from taking communion in a Protestant church.  Period.  I love it when non-Catholics tell me, a Catholic, what the Church teaches.

[sopranette]

Catholics may be forbidden by the Catholic church from participating, but are not forbidden by any Baptist church I've been to.

love,

Sopranette

[CDHealy]

The Orthodox have a similar discipline regarding the reception of Holy Communion: we are forbidden from partaking of other churches' communion observations (memorial Lord's Suppers).  And even if we plan on receiving Holy Communion in another Orthodox parish, we are supposed to contact the priest there beforehand since he won't know our status when we go forward to receive, though this is often honored more in the breach than in the observance, .

The discipline for Orthodox of closed communion does, as for Roman Catholics, have to do with the fact that what we believe about the Eucharist is not shared by most Protestant parishes.  Only Roman Catholics, some Anglicans, and here and there some Lutherans share substantively similar (though there are some differences) understandings of the Eucharist with Orthodox.

Orthodox cannot receive in this other churches because we are not in communion with them, and the Holy Eucharist is not an indivdiual matter--as kensington demonstrates by her views: it's all about her and screw the rest of the churches and what they believe--but is a family affair.  One cannot share communion with those with whom one is not in communion.

But for the Orthodox (presumably also Roman Catholics, but I don't know), Holy Communion is not just simply received, but one prepares to receive it.  That preparation includes fasting and confession of one's sins.  Just as Jesus told us to confess our sins and be reconciled before offering our gift on the altar, so Orthodox Christians fast and confess in repentance for their sins, and then come to receive Holy Communion.  The specifics of the discplines of confession will differ slightly from parish to parish, diocese to diocese, and even one's priest will apply different healing measures to different parishioners within the same congregation; though the general disciplines are the same.  We fast from all food and drink from the night before receiving Holy Communion until after we take Holy Communion.  And we confess our sins, usually at Vespers the night before, though at other times as well.

I know Protestants who have an aversion to the epistle of James and Philippians 2:12-13 will see these disciplines are horrid little rules barring Christians from their "right" to the Lord's Supper.  But this is a problem for Protestants, not for Orthodox.  We know we're sick and need medicine.  And though medicine is not always pleasant, we know it's purpose is not to bar us from the medicine of immortality, but, rather, to make us better able to receive it.

[nhim]

Healy, you state,

"We know we're sick and need medicine.  And though medicine is not always pleasant, we know it's purpose is not to bar us from the medicine of immortality, but, rather, to make us better able to receive it."

Do you consider the Eucharist "medicine"? Could you explain that a little more?

Also, I'm hearing you say you do not believe in being in communion with the church "universal" (we are all brothers who trust in Christ for salvation,no matter what denomination), since you do not commune with other churches? Is this correct? What if you were on a long vacation? You would not meet with another church and take the Eucharist?

[broach972]

But for the Orthodox (presumably also Roman Catholics, but I don't know), Holy Communion is not just simply received, but one prepares to receive it.  That preparation includes fasting and confession of one's sins.  Just as Jesus told us to confess our sins and be reconciled before offering our gift on the altar, so Orthodox Christians fast and confess in repentance for their sins, and then come to receive Holy Communion.  The specifics of the disciplines of confession will differ slightly from parish to parish, diocese to diocese, and even one's priest will apply different healing measures to different parishioners within the same congregation; though the general disciplines are the same.  We fast from all food and drink from the night before receiving Holy Communion until after we take Holy Communion.  And we confess our sins, usually at Vespers the night before, though at other times as well.

This would be correct.  Fasting and confession are necessary before receiving communion.

[CDHealy]

Do you consider the Eucharist "medicine"? Could you explain that a little more?

St. Ignatios of Antioch, writing in AD 107, says of the Eucharist: "breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote to prevent us from dying" (Ephesians 20.2).

Because Christ is divine, and because the communication of his divinity pertains to his body, and because the Eucharist is, by grace, made to be his body and his blood, then the Eucharist likewise communicates to us immortality, the divine life.

As Romans 5 and the book of Hebrews point out, our problem is not merely a moral one (the personal guilt of personal sins), but it is an ontological one as well: we are infected body and soul with death.  But consumption of the divine life (in the Eucharist) is medicine which is an antidote to the mortality infecting us, and consuming it, immortality, the divine life, transforms our mortal self into divine life.

St. Paul notes this in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17: we literally participate in Christ's body and blood by consuming the bread and the wine--which is why, by the way, we cannot consume the ritual sacrifices of the pagans because they communicate death.  And this is why, when we take this medicine in the wrong way (1 Corinthians 11) we get sick and die.

Also, I'm hearing you say you do not believe in being in communion with the church "universal" (we are all brothers who trust in Christ for salvation,no matter what denomination), since you do not commune with other churches? Is this correct? What if you were on a long vacation? You would not meet with another church and take the Eucharist?

Christ's body is not divided, and yet in Christendom schisms abound and grow each week.  So, no, the premise that all Christians are somehow part of Christ's body while at the same time also divided from one another is a self-refuting contradiction.  Not all Christians are part of Christ's body because Christ's body cannot be divided.

But, the Spirit blows where he will, and we are not to judge lest we be judged, so we do not deny the claims of individuals to be Christians, out of charity and a reluctance to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.  But we do say that there is only one Body of Christ, we can know what that Body is, and we can know who is visibly within it and who is not.  Those Christians who are not visibly part of Christ's one body may yet be Christians, but their life is a difficult one, cut off as they are from Christ's visible Body.

But not communing in another Christians group is not a statement of whether or not the persons in that group are Christians, it's a statement that their group is not the Body of Christ.

As to what I would personally do if I didn't have access to an Orthodox parish?  By default I would observe Sunday prayers with my family amongst ourselves.  In consultation with my priest, I might also attend a relative's/friend's worship service, but I would not commune (if offered).  And there might be prayers that I could not pray with the assembly, or songs I could not sing.  But I rarely go to places where there aren't any Orthodox parishes, so I'm not often faced with this problem.

[kensington]

"But may I also draw your memory to the history of The Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Can you remember reading the stories of those invading armies who desecrated the temple. Some even taking Prostitutes onto the alter. Not sure how you felt, but when I read those stories, I felt a mixture of rage and sadness over what those men were doing to what was so obviously something truly Holy and Special to the Jews.

To true Catholics, the Eucharist is truly Holy and Special. I'm not asking you to agree with me, I'm simply asking you in Christian love to acknowledge it is our belief.

Now then, you may attend our Mass, and take the Eucharist in whatever Protestant unbelieving manner you like."

IS THIS A JOKE?  Are you really likening my believing that the BLOOD of Christ shed for me at Calvary making me worthy to take communion in any church to "prostitutes" in the Tabernacle?  Did you really just do that while calling me brother?  The term brother you use to dismiss me, would entail my being a believer, a member of the body of Christ, and worthy to take communion. 

The Eucharist is special?  Or the partaking in communion in Jesus is special, if it were not special to me, this would be a non issue. This is the mindset that is so insulting... that you claim it is more special for you than it is for the rest of the Body of Christ...  Hypocrisy my friend.

Taking it in "whatever unbelieving manner" that I like?  Did you really say that?  Jesus died beaten and naked upon the cross for me.  I am a blood bought, born again, Spirit filled, child of the LIVING GOD...  now in what way does that make me the unbeliever in this? 

And ... I am not your brother.  I am a girl child of the Living God, who is insulted by your "above the protestants catholic attitude". 

[kensington]

But for the Orthodox (presumably also Roman Catholics, but I don't know), Holy Communion is not just simply received, but one prepares to receive it.  That preparation includes fasting and confession of one's sins.  Just as Jesus told us to confess our sins and be reconciled before offering our gift on the altar, so Orthodox Christians fast and confess in repentance for their sins, and then come to receive Holy Communion.  The specifics of the disciplines of confession will differ slightly from parish to parish, diocese to diocese, and even one's priest will apply different healing measures to different parishioners within the same congregation; though the general disciplines are the same.  We fast from all food and drink from the night before receiving Holy Communion until after we take Holy Communion.  And we confess our sins, usually at Vespers the night before, though at other times as well.

This would be correct.  Fasting and confession are necessary before receiving communion.

This is not true... my catholic family takes communion every Sunday at mass... they do not attend confession and they do not fast.  They go to mass.. and they all take communion any time it's offered.  Communion is served at every mass... and no one asks anyone if they have confessed or fasted.  I guess what this means is that they must NEVER sin... cause I know they take it.  Also... I know they do not attend confession every week too. 

I think that perhaps the two of you sit and research the rules of the church to argue here and to press on others... but most in fact I bet 99% of Catholics around the world to NOT confess and fast before mass each week. 

[kensington]

"First, Catholics are forbidden to take communion in a Protestant church."

That is not true and a great basic example of your ignorance of the Protestant Churches.  The invitation in the Protestant churches or the ones I have attended all over the US would go something like this... "If you consider yourself part of the body of Christ, you have received Jesus Christ as LORD through the repentance of sins, we invite you to take communion with us"....   I've seen it, I've seen visiting Catholics participate, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

Actually, this is true.  The Catholic Church prohibits Catholics from taking communion in a Protestant church.  Period.  I love it when non-Catholics tell me, a Catholic, what the Church teaches.

Well, you may have a handle on what is being taught, but you sure do not have a handle on what is being done.   Because, I have seen Catholics take communion in other church's, and I have seen them take it without fasting or going to confession...  just another bit of the hypocrisy that is the Catholic religion.  All this very religiousness that they portray for others, and flat out doing as they please in their own lives, using the "catholic" banner to justify them in the sin. 

I am not worried that I may offend a Catholic, I would be more worried if I offended Christ... He is the ONLY one who died for me.  And I know that He says I am in the body and I can partake in communion.  It doesn't matter to me who is serving it.  They are not the ones it represents or who did the dying.  Like I said... I'm tired of your "exclusion" religion.  It's not what Christ taught. 

[broach972]

Kensington, so in other words, you are saying that there are bad Catholics out there?  Wow!!! I am shocked!!! Stop the presses!!  Are you are telling me that there are some Catholics out there who do not follow the teachings of the Church?  I just don't know what to think.  I cannot believe that there are actually hypocrites in the Church.  Wow, thank you Kensington for opening my eyes.  I just didn't know this.

What was I thinking?  Before I became Catholic, I never knew that such Christians existed.  Even when I attended a Baptist church or even a Presbyterian church, I never knew that the people I attended Church were perfect Christians, who followed every tenet and guideline of their respective denomination.  Wow, I wasn't aware that Protestants were the only group that didn't have these type of people in their denominations.  Wow, thank you Kensington for pointing out the fact that the Catholic Church is the only church that contains this type of hypocrisy.

[Corbley]

This is just nuts...  Who cares if Catholic's care of you take communion.  If you want to take it take it.  If they get offended, so be it.  It's not up to them.. Christ said...  as often as you take it, take it for me.  So if you take it or not, when, where or served by whom is between you and God... 

They are hypocrites to not offer it to you.  They say you can't take it unworthily...  UGH... who are they to say you are not worthy to take communion because you are not part of one religion or another? God did not say that, He said it is for all believers.  Are you a believer?  Have you accepted Christ as LORD?  Then you can partake in communion.  IF you trust GOD, and Jesus is the savior who died on the cross for your sins, they do not have grounds to deny you.  It's a joke.  They hold their religion so dear, to the the exclusion of true believers?  When I see people in the mass who are living in sin, drunks, liars, thieves all "WORTHY" to take communion because they wear the name Catholic?  How that must grieve the Holy Spirit of truth.

It is a wafer and wine...  God sees your heart.  If the person next to you thinks it's real blood or not... is not relevant.  I've seen Catholics take communion in protestant churches...  so if they can, we can.   It's just that simple. No one will arrest you.  And God does not forbid it...  they did that all on their own.  Jesus says... take it.  The hypocrisy in this one issue is just ridiculous.

AMEN....The Catholics Priests and the Vatican.....Are equal to the Scribes and Pharasies that crusified Christ....The try and tell us how to live by the law....While in the back, they commit unspeakable sins.   Then step on to the Pulpit and decide who is worthy and who is not worthy to accept the blood of Christ.

[Corbley]

"First, Catholics are forbidden to take communion in a Protestant church."

That is not true and a great basic example of your ignorance of the Protestant Churches.  The invitation in the Protestant churches or the ones I have attended all over the US would go something like this... "If you consider yourself part of the body of Christ, you have received Jesus Christ as LORD through the repentance of sins, we invite you to take communion with us"....   I've seen it, I've seen visiting Catholics participate, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

Actually, this is true.  The Catholic Church prohibits Catholics from taking communion in a Protestant church.  Period.  I love it when non-Catholics tell me, a Catholic, what the Church teaches.

So....Who appointed the Catholics in charge of where I can or can not take communion?

[CDHealy]

So....Who appointed the Catholics in charge of where I can or can not take communion?

Boy, ya'll's ability to misread plain print is amazing.

The Catholic Church does not dictate to you where you can take communion, and only prohibits you from taking communion in one place: a Catholic parish--which, given your bigoted hatred of all thing Catholic, should not bother you in the slightest.

[CDHealy]

AMEN....The Catholics Priests and the Vatican.....Are equal to the Scribes and Pharasies that crusified Christ....

Wow.  Your ignorance is apparently unlimited.  See the "Catholics [sic] Priests and the Vatican" sort of kind of believe that Jesus was crucified for our salvation.  You appear to be trying to smear them with the epithet "Christ killers."  The anti-semitism latent in your taunt is evident.

The try and tell us how to live

Nope.  They're only telling Catholics how to live.  You're not Catholic.  You don't have to listen.

by the law....

Uh, nope again.  They teach salvation by grace through faith, not by adherence to the Law.

While in the back, they commit unspeakable sins.  

As does every Protestant denomination.  Oh, I forgot.  Protestants never sin and have never ever even once sexually abused anyone and then had the leadership cover it up.  My bad.

Then step on to the Pulpit and decide who is worthy and who is not worthy to accept the blood of Christ.

Well, that's what love does.  I mean if the Corinthian Christians died because they took Holy Communion unworthily, wouldn't it be appropriate for the priest to sort of mention that to his flock?

[zoonance]

So....Who appointed the Catholics in charge of where I can or can not take communion?

Boy, ya'll's ability to misread plain print is amazing.

The Catholic Church does not dictate to you where you can take communion, and only prohibits you from taking communion in one place: a Catholic parish--which, given your bigoted hatred of all thing Catholic, should not bother you in the slightest.

I would think that trying to argue that "we" have a right to take communion in a Catholic parish as the primary reasoning for doing so would qualify as "partaking in an unworthy manner".

[kensington]

That is not what is argued...  what was argued is that the communion if of Christ, He gave it to us and it is hypocrisy for one group to deny it from another when HE gave it to us all.  We take it because of Him... not because of what religion we are.  We take it because of the meaning it has from Calvary... not where we stand when we take it. 

Yes... I guess you can say we speak to our right to take it...  God did bring it to the believers, and it is for the believers, their right to take it is absolute.  It is for the believer who understands Calvary.  It is.  If you read the word, the things God gave us, belong to us, the gifts and instructions that Jesus left us do belong to us.  He said it... your being offended by us knowing that, is beside the point.

CD and Broach must be the ONLY true practicing Catholics out there.  Because the rest of them are just people.  The truth is, the Catholic church practices hypocrisy on the highest level to deny anyone to take communion... but the original OP was would it offend them... the answered yes.  WHY?  Because they are the one worthy to take communion?  BUNK... that is bunk.  Being a Catholic is not makes anyone worthy... it is the blood shed at Calvary, and if it offends them that someone takes communion...  that is evidence that they don't care about people at all...  just their religiousness before man.  Because, if anyone who was saved could take communion.. they would just be like the rest of us... Saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ... but that won't do for them.  They must have works and be seen as above us... not communing with us, and apart from us.

They are the division that is in the body of Christ.  BTW...  if they look it up, they will see that communion can be given to non Catholics...  But, they hold so tight to their works.... who really cares?  Yes, I know it is my right to take communion, just as it is my right to pray, praise, worship, to be called saved, to read the word and call it my own...  Jesus died to give us things and they are ours.  Someone else's title who "CLAIMS" to be Christian setting themselves up to deny us that.. is what is wrong.

[kensington]

I was not speaking to "my right" to take it... I was speaking to the right of ALL believers to take communion at any time.  What the Catholics teach... it should not be so. 

[nhim]

 
Healy,

"But not communing in another Christians group is not a statement of whether or not the persons in that group are Christians, it's a statement that their group is not the Body of Christ."

I'm a little confused....how can someone be a Christian but not part of the Body of Christ?

Still trying to figure out how to use this quote thing.....

[CDHealy]

I'm a little confused....how can someone be a Christian but not part of the Body of Christ?

Admittedly, from your perspective it appears contradictory.  I gather that you believe in the concept of a "spiritual" (or invisible) Body of Christ which has not incarnate shape and is made up of as many believers as confess Christ.

But this is backwards from  what St. Paul teaches in Romans and 1 Corinthians.

The Body of Christ is an incarnate, visible Body.  It has shape and form.  It has these things because  Christ himself is incarnate, he has a human body, with shape and form.  Therefore his mystical (not the same thing as invisible) Body, the Church, therefore must share the same characteristics.

Therefore we must ask, if Christ's Body has a visible shape and form, where is it?  Well, it is wherever the Church is that continued forward in time from the days of the Apostles.  It is the Church that has never ceased to be.  It is the one founded on the apostles, and which we can trace both forward in time to today, and backward in time from today.

No one of us can take the New Testament, read it like a blueprint and construct the New Testament Church.  This is where the Restorationists, the Campbells and the Stones and their followers, got it wrong.  The New Testament Church is a living organism, like a living human body.  You don't just cobble it together from parts like a Frankestein's monster, and juice it to life.

So, those Christian groups that divided themselves from the Body eventually had to die off, just as when you cut off one of your limbs, the limb will not continue to live in its separation.  And Christ's Body, like Christ himself, cannot be divided.  So any of the multiple tens of thousands of Protestant groups, since they lack the essential characteristics of what it means to be Christ's Body, cannot be Christ's Body.  As offensive as that sounds, it is really that simple.

But just as God honored Cornelius and his family by making them Christians outside the normal order of things, as he did also the Samaritans, God can make other persons Christians outside the normal way of doing things. That is to say, the schism among the Christian groups outside the Church does not prohibit God from saving others.  If such schisms had not occurred, then it would be the case that all Christians would be part of Christ's Body.  But because schisms divide Christians around the world, God is not going to fail to save those who come to him in faith--even if their Christian life must be antennuated and lived outside the life of the Church.  If Christians outside the Body of Christ are parts/members of cutoff parts of Christ's Body, it does not mean God cannot make them Christian, any more than their being Christian makes their cutoff groups Christ's Body.

Christ's Body is not simply the amalgamation of all believers--that's the fallacy of composition. 

[nhim]

Nealy,

What I think I'm hearing you say is that Christians who are not members of the Orthodox Church are not part of the body of Christ. If this is the case, looks like you have much in common with some Churches of Christ-who believe if you are not part of their fellowship (and the original church according to them) then you are outside the body of Christ.

I'll have to ponder some more on your post as my mind cannot wrap around how you believe that someone who is not part of the body of Christ (the Orthodox church) can still be a follower of Christ.

I do believe that the body of Christ is visible-when I look in the mirror and when I look at another Christian. "Christ in me, the hope of glory".