Can i go to service and more importantly go to confession as a baptised lutheran

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heathergrace

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my mother is catholic, and i’ve always identified with that for some reason despite not knowing much about religion at all. i was baptised lutheran as an infant but i want to convert. i want to confess my sins and be forgiven by the lord, but i don’t know if i am allowed to as a lutheran. i don’t even know if i am allowed to be baptised.
 
Welcome to the forum. It’s good to hear of your interest in the Catholic Church. I myself converted from Lutheranism two years ago, so I know something of what you’re going through.
You can go to Catholic Mass (service), but as a non-Catholic you cannot receive Holy Communion. You are welcome to go up in the Communion line, though. When you get to the priest just put your right hand on your left shoulder, and the priest will give you a blessing.
About becoming Catholic, you’ll have to talk to the Catholic parish priest. It’s a process (sometimes referred to as RCIA, Rite of Christian Initiation in Adults), and usually takes at least a year. You can, under normal circumstances, not receive Holy Communion or sacramental confession before completing RCIA.
On a side note, as a Lutheran you in all likelyhood are already validly baptised and won’t need that again.
 
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This is anecdata, not Church law in any way, but my experience as a fallen away Catholic who wants back (fallen so far away as to have become a Reformed minister) is that the priest who is my SD encourages me to go up for a blessing. Not because I am not blessed already at the end of the service, but because, as he says, it helps kindle the desire for the Eucharist, which I really need to keep walking that difficult road back. I follow his pastoral guidance on the matter, and I think he is right about the spiritual benefits I receive from it.

By virtue of my Catholic baptism, he also allows me to confession. He said that had I not been baptized as a Catholic, he would still have been happy to hear me, but would simply have given me a blessing instead of absolving me (which could maybe be an option for the OP right now ?).
 
heathergrace said:
i want to confess my sins and be forgiven by the lord, but i don’t know if i am allowed to as a lutheran. i don’t even know if i am allowed to be baptised.
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You cannot receive the Sacrament od Reconciliation until you become a Catholic. But baptism isn’t in question - you’ve already been baptized.

Don’t get in the communion line for a blessing without finding out first whether your parish allows that. Some do, but many don’t. That line is for receiving Holy Communion. When I was converting, I just remained in the pew. Everyone receives a blessing at the end of Mass.
 
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thistle said:
This is not correct. It is a Communion line and not a Communion and Blessing Line. Only those Catholics in a state of grace and properly disposed to receive should be in the line. Catholics in a state of mortal sin and non-Catholics should sit in the pews.
I admit some priests allow blessings but they are wrong to do so.
Remember, at the end of the Mass everybody, including non-Catholics, receives a blessing from the priest.
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This is an opinion (shared by some on this board, but not all). There is nothing wrong with a priest offering a blessing during distribution of Holy Communion, and I personally like the practice. It makes me want to return to God and consider my own state in life. Unlike staying in the pews, which just leaves me feeling left out.
Please don’t spread opinion as fact. 👍
 
TheMortenBay said:
There is nothing wrong with a priest offering a blessing during distribution of Holy Communion, and I personally like the practice.
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Certainly it is quite commonplace in parishes I’ve attended (principally outside the US).
 
OddBird said:
He said that had I not been baptized as a Catholic, he would still have been happy to hear me, but would simply have given me a blessing instead of absolving me (which could maybe be an option for the OP right now ?).
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While not illicit, I think this practice can cause confusion. The priest needs to make sure the non-Catholic knows the difference between the sacrament and a simple confidential talk.
 
Dum said:
Fr Robert barron has utube teachings
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BISHOP Robert Barron’s Word on Fire apostolate is pretty good for a beginning convert. He’s on YouTube, he’s got a good podcast. He’s in EWTN Radio which I can’t recommend enough. Lots of good, orthodox Catholic religion on there. Very accessible for newbies, too.
 
You are definitely welcome to Mass. Please attend RICA to learn more about Catholism. Early converts to the Faith took two years of instruction before full acceptance into the community. That is when you can receive the Sacraments.
If you do choose to speak to a priest in the confessional, let him know beforehand that you are not Catholic. He can give you better spiritual counsel than any of us on this forum.
 
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