Another Lutheran-Catholic Question

[Griffin1987]

I’m a Missouri Synod Lutheran and my soon to be fiance is a Catholic. We’ve talked about how we want our marriage ceremony to go, how we will raise our kids, how we’ll go to mass twice on Sunday to both churches so both faiths are understood in the house, etc. There are two questions that we are having a hard time getting an answer to because we aren’t quite sure what either church says about these two topics. Since we’re both away from our church due to school I think this is the fastest way I’ll get an answer till I go back home over break:

1. This is out of curiosity but could we receive communion at each others church? I know that non-Catholics can’t receive because it is saving them from judgment because of how they view the Host as not actually the body and blood of Christ. Before each mass at my church there’s a prayer pamphlet that the people attending refer to for each mass for how to worship that Sunday. On the first page there is a large paragraph stating that those who don’t consider the Host as the actual body and blood of Christ should not receive at my church. Am I still not allowed to receive when we go to his church and vice versa even though we share the same belief about the Host?
2. Is it possible to have our future children baptized into both faiths? I would really love it if my children were baptized into both faiths and my future fiance brought up the idea that maybe it could happen. If not, would it be possible to have a Lutheran pastor and a Catholic priest conduct the baptism together like we planned on having our wedding done?

Any answers and/or advice I would really appreciate because these two topics are very important to me and I don’t want to do anything wrong.

 

[Thomas63116]

First, welcome to the forums and congratulations to you and your future fiancee on your pending engagement. I am also a Catholic engaged to a Lutheran, so I have some idea of what you guys may be going through.

To answer your questions:

1. Non-Catholics generally may not receive communion in the Catholic church and Catholics are not permitted (by the Catholic Church) to receive communion in a non-Catholic church. This goes beyond whether you both believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. For Catholics, communion is a sign of full unity in the Church, which unfortunately does not exist. There is also the issue that the Catholic church does not recognize the validity of Lutheran ordination and therefore the authority of the pastor in your church to validly confect the eucharist. I know this is an especially difficult issue for many non-Catholics to come to terms with.
2. You cannot have your children baptized twice. Baptism leaves an indelible mark on the soul and therefore cannot be repeated. It might be possible to have both of your pators be present for the baptism and/or participate in some way in the ceremony.

 

[Griffin1987]

Alright, that makes it clearer. I definitely like the idea of both my pastor and his priest being present at the baptism ceremony so thank you for letting me know that’s possible. As for communion do you think that we can still both approach the alter together and have one receive the Host while the other receives a blessing? I’m asking because I’ve always imagined sharing that moment at the alter with my husband but now that I want to marry a Catholic it’s not possible so I’d at least like to know if we can still approach the alter together and get some form of blessing together as a family.

Thank you!

 

[1ke]

1. This is out of curiosity but could we receive communion at each others church?

No.

Am I still not allowed to receive when we go to his church and vice versa even though we share the same belief about the Host?

That is correct.

1. Is it possible to have our future children baptized into both faiths?

No.

One can only receive the Sacrament of Baptism once.

If not, would it be possible to have a Lutheran pastor and a Catholic priest conduct the baptism together like we planned on having our wedding done?

No.

 

[1ke]

Alright, that makes it clearer. I definitely like the idea of both my pastor and his priest being present at the baptism ceremony so thank you for letting me know that’s possible.

You are having your children baptized as Catholics, right? That is the Catholic’s obligation. If you have not yet researched all that is required of a Catholic by the Catholic Church you need to.

You must go through Catholic premarital preparation, be married in the Catholic Church (or your fiance must receive permission to be married outside Cathoilc form), and the Catholic must promise to baptize and raise the children Catholic.

As for communion do you think that we can still both approach the alter together and have one receive the Host while the other receives a blessing?

That depends on the parish. Some parishes/priests offer a blessing for those not receiving the Eucharist and some do not.

I have no idea about the Lutheran Church’s practice here.

 

[jwashu]

MO Synod and Catholic is so close I would encourage you to consider, prayerfully, becoming Catholic. At least sit in on an RCIA inquiry class. My guess is that if you decided you could be fast tracked because their are few differences. It may seem like there are more but many of those are misunderstandings.

A Catholic is required to Baptize and raise their Children in the Catholic faith, teaching them both wouldn’t really be an option. You could explain the difference but your future spouse has an obligation to raise the children Catholic.

This all may seem like a shock but I believe if you started to learn the differences it wouldn’t be.

Did you realize that the Lutherans and Catholics have a joint deceleration of Salvation now? Did you know that Luther was devoted to the Blessed Mother his entire life? Did you know there is a Lutheran Rosary?

The real difference is that as Catholics we believe that if you are in a state of Grace then you will allow the Holy Spirit to do works of love through you. Some Lutherans may have heard that Catholics believe they can “work” their way to Heaven that is completely inaccurate. The “works” are not done by or for the glory of the individual, they are only accomplished through the Holy Spirit as all Honor and Glory are God’s.

We also believe that we are “saved”, initially, by Grace through Faith. There is nothing we do to merit Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. During Baptism as an adult it is the waters of Baptism and your statement of Faith that washes away original sin. For an infant it is the waters and the Faith of the parents to raise the child so that they can eventually make their own statement during Confirmation.

This is a more true understanding than what many Priests were being taught during Luther’s time. From reading him I believe that had he been presented with this understanding of James and the theology, along with the removal of some of the inappropriate indulgences he would have never split from the Church.

Missouri Synod is the closest to Luther’s true Church, which to me isn’t much different than the Catholic Church of today except for the fact that the split produced an invalid Priesthood. I know that some Lutherans are being Ordained by Anglican Priests to pass along Apostolic succession but that won’t work, the Anglicans lost that as well when they broke with the Church.

If your friends and family are still Lutheran they can still be part of the Baptism. You will need at least 1 Godparent who is an active Catholic but you can have another Christian as the second.

I personally believe, I’m a convert Baptist / Presbyterian, that we have much more in common than most Protestants realize.

Please at least consider looking into RCIA to get your questions answered about the Faith. Two faiths in marriage can be done easily, but if you want to add children that can really present difficulties.

If you have any questions I’ll be happy to help, just shoot me a PM.

Joe

 

[agapewolf]

Just an FYI, you cannot have a lutheran pastor be “officiating” in any way at a Catholic wedding. They can read a reading, maybe be involved in blessing, but thats it. They may not wear any kind of stole.

I don’t understand the desire for “both faiths”. If one of them is true, then the other isn’t. There is only one baptism.

 

[1ke]

Just an FYI, you cannot have a lutheran pastor be “officiating” in any way at a Catholic wedding. They can read a reading, maybe be involved in blessing, but thats it. They may not wear any kind of stole.

And if the Catholic receives permission to marry outside Catholic form this holds true in reverse. The Lutheran pastor would perform the marriage, and the Catholic priest would attend as a witness. He would not have a **liturgical **role in the Lutheran ceremony.

 

[BlestOne]

When I met dh he was MO synod Lutheran. He did convert before the wedding to save alot of these types of things from happening or even being an issue. His biggest hurdles were the perpetual virginity and the magesterium but after reading Catholicism for Dummies and Thomas Aquinas… he understood and converted. If you have questions we can help…