Catholics and Communion

[sunshine1974]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion because I attend another church which is not Catholic. I was very humiliated and hurt because God would never deny anyone to come to his table. I attend a Methodist church and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved. I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion. I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faith.

 

[MarkThompson]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion because I attend another church which is not Catholic. I was very humiliated and hurt because God would never deny anyone to come to his table. I attend a Methodist church and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved. I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion. I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faith.

There are no differences, merely people who are right and people who are wrong. The true practice of the Church is that those who publicly persist in grave sin (such as openly acting as members of other churches) are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.

Also, you are not correct that God would never deny anyone at his table. As St. Paul explicitly says, “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Cor. 11:29). In accordance with the teaching of Scripture, the Catholic Church recognizes (1) that there is such a thing as being unworthy to eat and drink at the Lord’s table, and (2) that it is the Church’s responsibility to forbid people from doing so, to their own damnation.

 

[1ke]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion because I attend another church which is not Catholic.

Well, you are a Catholic who has volutarily rejected the Church and is not in a state of grace. No one may approach the Eucharist in such a state.

I was very humiliated and hurt because God would never deny anyone to come to his table.

You are projecting *your *idea of what God would do. What he actually would do, he has told us in Scripture.

I attend a Methodist church and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved.

I hope some day you will come back to the Church and be reconciled.

I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion.

You seem to know what is expected, and yet you approached to receive the Eucharist knowing you should not.

I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faith.

EMHCs are under the authority of the pastor and are to follow his instructions, he in turn must follow canon law on the matter.

 

[sunshine1974]

Show me where in scripture that God would refuse his children communion please.

 

[TrueLight]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion because I attend another church which is not Catholic. I was very humiliated and hurt because God would never deny anyone to come to his table. I attend a Methodist church and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved. I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion. I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faith.

Hi Sunshine,

I’m not sure why you want to take communion in the Catholic church. You were raised Catholic so you understand the teachings on the Eucharist.

It doesn’t sound like you just visit the Methodist church every now and then. You are actively involved in “ministering” the communion in a church with open communion, which is contrary to the Catholic faith. I’m not even sure what Methodists believe about the Real Presence.

So it’s your decision which path you want to take, but I think you should respect the Church’s decision on this.

 

[MarkThompson]

Show me where in scripture that God would refuse his children communion please.

I just did. St. Paul says that some people are unworthy to eat and drink at the table of the Lord, and if they do it anyway it works to their damnation rather than their salvation.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

Receiving Communion in the Catholic Church is a affirmation that you believe and accept all that the Catholic Church teaches. In effect, receiving communion means that you are in communion with the Church. Since you do not accept all the Church’s teachings and beliefs and do not believe that it is guided by the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised, you would be lying by receiving the Eucharist in the Catholic Church. This is a very serious matter from the Catholic point of view, sort of a combination of perjury and sacrilege.

As a Methodist, your teachings and attitudes about the meaning of the Eucharist are different from those of the Catholic Church. Please try to understand and respect the Catholic teaching and attitudes. This was not meant to humiliate or hurt you; it is just a truth that we are not one body in Christ and to pretend that we are is to deny the truth.

You say open communion is what God would want. I say that God wants us to be one church and not many denominations with conflicting ideas about what is true.

About the Catholics you know that don’t attend church regularly but received Communion… you can’t judge the state of their souls or if they repented and confessed their sins before approaching the table of the Lord. You have to leave that to God.

If you come back to the Catholic Church you too will be welcomed back to the Eucharist with us. Until that time, we must pray for one another and try to live in charity and peace.

 

[Lapey]

Show me where in scripture that God would refuse his children communion please.

It doesn’t pay for any of us to point out truth to you from scripture or the Church Fathers. You have listed your affiliation as “protest…ant”. You will protest whatever we say.

Google St. Justin Martyr’s appologies from 155 AD, or St. Ignatious of Antioch’s thoughts from 107 AD of what Jesus taught and why the Church does exactly what She did to you who chose to reject your faith and therefore were refused the Eucharist. There are many others who profess what Jesus Himself taught.

Since early on in Church history there are writtings to back up what the Church still holds true, the proof is there, all you have to do is be open and seek.

Scripture was quoted before me, now go see what the Church Fathers have to say.

 

[Lapey]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion not denied, you reject the truth.because I attend another church which is not Catholic. I was very humiliated and hurtHow hurt and rejected do you believe God has been since you left Him? Check out CCC 2567…I’ll list it below. because God would never deny anyone to come to his table. I attend a Methodist church go there and recieve. Or come home to where you belong.and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved. I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion.Not worthily, they have to answer to that grave sin, as would you if you were to recive unworthily. I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faiththere is only one right way. EMHC are taught not to refuse, if you approach chances are you will not be refused, doesn’t make it right…

2567 God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer. In prayer, the faithful God’s initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama. Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation.

 

[jazzy_987]

It’s not that we’re trying to exclude or deny you…
As mentioned before, to receive communion in the Catholic Church, you have to be in communion with the Church.
you would be welcome to receive communion once you come back to the Church.

 

[Spirithound]

Show me where in scripture that God would refuse his children communion please.

From Matthew 25:33–34, 41

33He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;

41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels’

 

[pablope]

Show me where in scripture that God would refuse his children communion please.

Look at post #2.

It is a sacrilege to receive communion in the CC if you are not in a state of grace, does not believe in all that the CC teaches, etc.

Would you like to commit a sacrilege and defile the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ?

 

[Love_Divine]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion because I attend another church which is not Catholic. I was very humiliated and hurt because God would never deny anyone to come to his table. I attend a Methodist church and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved. I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion. I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faith.

Based on what you posted, you knew the rules of Communion, yet you ignored them and went up and the person distributing communion knew well enough than to give you communion. Had you remained in the pew, this would have never happened.

 

[Alix1912]

It doesn’t matter what you think about another churches rules, or if those beliefs can be justified through scripture. The Catholic Church has rules and ways of doing things as does EVERY other faith and denomination. You should respect those rules when you are in their house of worship, as you would expect a visiting Catholic to respect your house of worship.

You have chosen to become a Methodist, you left the Catholic Church. Their rules are only Catholics who are in full communion with the Catholic Church can take communion at a Catholic Church. Out of respect for another denominations faith and rules you should abide by them. If you want to take communion…go to your own church, don;t disrespect the rules of another one.

Would you appreciate someone walking into your Methodist Church during a service walking up to the pulpit and beginning to preach disrupting the service. They could say “hey, it’s the way we do things in our church, and God would welcome anyone to speak whenever they want in his house”. You would be upset by this…because they are disrespecting your churchs way of doing things. Basically, you are doing the same thing…except worse because 1. you know the rules, and 2. Because it seems you are breaking them deliberatly to make a point.

It is behavior like this that gives all protestants a bad name. Quit acting like a spoiled child. No one says you have to agree with or continue to be part of the Catholic Church, but at least have respect for their beliefs and do not purposely break the rules to prove a point.

 

[Love_Divine]

BTW: What were you doing at a Catholic Church if you don’t believe in it anymore?

 

[Like]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion because I attend another church which is not Catholic. I was very humiliated and hurt because God would never deny anyone to come to his table. I attend a Methodist church and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved. I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion. I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faith.

I don’t believe you spoke with a Eucharistic Minister(s) as they are priests and/or bishops. It must have been Extraordinary ministers of Holy Community, which are lay people.

Also, Methodists do not believe in the True Presence of Jesus Christ in the holy communion where True Catholics do & believe in all the Catholic Church teaches.

 

[TrueLight]

It doesn’t matter what you think about another churches rules, or if those beliefs can be justified through scripture. The Catholic Church has rules and ways of doing things as does EVERY other faith and denomination. You should respect those rules when you are in their house of worship, as you would expect a visiting Catholic to respect your house of worship.

You have chosen to become a Methodist, you left the Catholic Church. Their rules are only Catholics who are in full communion with the Catholic Church can take communion at a Catholic Church. Out of respect for another denominations faith and rules you should abide by them. If you want to take communion…go to your own church, don;t disrespect the rules of another one.

Would you appreciate someone walking into your Methodist Church during a service walking up to the pulpit and beginning to preach disrupting the service. They could say “hey, it’s the way we do things in our church, and God would welcome anyone to speak whenever they want in his house”. You would be upset by this…because they are disrespecting your churchs way of doing things. Basically, you are doing the same thing…except worse because 1. you know the rules, and 2. Because it seems you are breaking them deliberatly to make a point.

It is behavior like this that gives all protestants a bad name. Quit acting like a spoiled child. No one says you have to agree with or continue to be part of the Catholic Church, but at least have respect for their beliefs and do not purposely break the rules to prove a point.

 

[Seatuck]

I was raised Catholic but do not agree with all their teachings or beliefs. I was recently denied communion because I attend another church which is not Catholic. I was very humiliated and hurt because God would never deny anyone to come to his table. I attend a Methodist church and we have open communion which is what God would want. I am a communion minister at my church and very involved. I know Catholics who do not attend church on a regular basis and are allowed communion. I have talked with several Eucharistic Ministers in the Catholic church and they would never deny anyone communion and then I talked to several who said they would give communion to the person and later tell then they could not receive it again. How can there be so many differences in the way communion is administered among the Catholic faith.

Intercommunion is not possible. Communion is a sign of unity and fidelity. Our relationship with Christ and his Church is reflective of the marital relationship. You do not express this in your daily life. Individual Catholics can express different behaviors because they have free will or they may be ignorant or even defiant and go against the teaching they know.

 

[Eric_Olsen]

There are no differences,]

There are differences. Protestants do not believe in the true presense of Christ in the Eucharist.

 

[Phemie]

MarkThompson;7861426:

There are no differences,]

There are differences. Protestants do not believe in the true presense of Christ in the Eucharist.

SOME Protestant denominations do not believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. AFAIK, Anglicans and Lutherans do believe in the True Presence in their Eucharist, though their theology on the matter differs substantially from ours. We don’t believe they have the True Presence because they lack valid Orders.