Intercommunion
Until the differences between Catholics and Protestants are healed, a real “intercommunion” cannot take place. Moreover, out of respect for the differences in belief, a Catholic is obliged to refrain from receiving communion at a Protestant service, and likewise, Protestants, at a Catholic Mass.
I remember once I participated at the funeral of a friend at a Protestant church, which included a communion service. The minister invited everyone to receive communion. I refrained out of respect for their beliefs and my own: I did not fully accept all the beliefs or practices of their particular denomination, nor did those members accept all that the Roman Catholic Church believed.
Therefore, to receive communion would be to state, “I am in communion with them,” when I was not. Worse yet, had I partaken, I would have received something sacred which should bind me as part of their communion — at least from a Catholic perspective — when in fact I have never participated in one of their services since then.
We must remember that to receive communion does not depend simply on what a person individually believes. To receive communion aligns a person to a church, identifies him as a member of that church, and binds him to what that church teaches. By observing the Church’s regulations concerning receiving Holy Communion, we will better appreciate the gift of the Blessed Sacrament, respect each other’s beliefs, and work towards unity — here is true charity. Ignoring these regulations will only build a false sense of communion and a shallow expression of love, which is really a great act against charity.
***Fr. Saunders is pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Potomac Falls and a professor of catechetics and theology at Notre Dame Graduate School in Alexandria.
