Communion after joining other religions

[kpk]

I appreciate the answers I’ve recieved so far about my divorce and remarriage as regards receiving communion. It sounds like this situation is fixable. But here is the other issue, which is probably the dealbreaker:

Since ceasing to practice Catholicism at age 18 (I was baptized and confirmed), I have formally become a Buddhist, and later joined a Sufi order. I am still an active member of the Sufi order, and I also attend a liberal protestant church.

After years of uninterest in Catholicism, I have come to appreciate the mystical aspect of the mass, which is missing from my protestant church. I am interested in occasionally attending Catholic mass and receiving communion, while I continue to attend my nonliturgical protestant church and continue to do Sufi spiritual practices.

Is it forbidden to recieve communion under these circumstances? (If so, I guess I’ll have to satisfy my liturgical/eucharistic craving with the Episcopalians.)

 

[Jordan_Francis]

Yes,

If not a comitted and repentent Catholic you can not participate in the Most Holy Sacrament.

The Eucharist isn’t there to satisfy an aescetical appeal or a mystical inclination. One must truly be a part of the Catholic Church and believe in the Eucharist as the Flesh and Blood of Christ.

I would say that, unless you are a Christian, you should not take the Eucharist anywhere. It is to falsify what the Eucharist actually means, to individualize it for your own spiritual aims that are not in accord with the faith of the community who are celebrating the Eucharist as a community.

It does not belong to you to use as you wish.

I do, however, encourage you to observe and investigate the Mass and admire the Liturgy.

 

[Semper_Fi_1]

I appreciate the answers I’ve recieved so far about my divorce and remarriage as regards receiving communion. It sounds like this situation is fixable. But here is the other issue, which is probably the dealbreaker:

Since ceasing to practice Catholicism at age 18 (I was baptized and confirmed), I have formally become a Buddhist, and later joined a Sufi order. I am still an active member of the Sufi order, and I also attend a liberal protestant church.

After years of uninterest in Catholicism, I have come to appreciate the mystical aspect of the mass, which is missing from my protestant church. I am interested in occasionally attending Catholic mass and receiving communion, while I continue to attend my nonliturgical protestant church and continue to do Sufi spiritual practices.

Is it forbidden to recieve communion under these circumstances? (If so, I guess I’ll have to satisfy my liturgical/eucharistic craving with the Episcopalians.)

kpk, the reason that you feel drawn back to the church, is because Christ Himself is Truly Present in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. That is the whole mystical reason behind the liturgy and the Mass. Sure, you could go to the Episcopal parish to ‘indulge’ your desire for the eucharist, but you would not be receiving Christ’s body & blood. The only place to receive His Most Precious Body & Blood is at the Catholic Church. There are a great many mystics in our church, eastern Catholic and western Catholic to divulge your desire for mysticism in a licit Christian manner, and i am not sure what one could get out of a nonliturgical protestant service except for a gathering of people on Sunday and some gospel readings. We have that at the Catholic Church as well as all other of the 7 Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments). Please read, read and read about Catholicism and her Mystics. St John of the Cross, St Therese of Avil, et al.

 

[Tietjen]

I appreciate the answers I’ve recieved so far about my divorce and remarriage as regards receiving communion. It sounds like this situation is fixable. But here is the other issue, which is probably the dealbreaker:

Since ceasing to practice Catholicism at age 18 (I was baptized and confirmed), I have formally become a Buddhist, and later joined a Sufi order. I am still an active member of the Sufi order, and I also attend a liberal protestant church.

After years of uninterest in Catholicism, I have come to appreciate the mystical aspect of the mass, which is missing from my protestant church. I am interested in occasionally attending Catholic mass and receiving communion, while I continue to attend my nonliturgical protestant church and continue to do Sufi spiritual practices.

Is it forbidden to recieve communion under these circumstances? (If so, I guess I’ll have to satisfy my liturgical/eucharistic craving with the Episcopalians.)

Well, I have to say that it sounds as though you are a bit confused. I mean no disrespect by saying that, I simply point out that being drawn to three differing religions at once sounds rather odd. However, to answer your question; no, you would not be able to participate in Holy Communion licitly under these circumstances. God bless.

 

[bpbasilphx]

It boils down to this:

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God-made-man in a unique and never-to-be repeated incarnation?

If you say, “Yes,” why are you flirting with false religions?

 

[bpbasilphx]

I neglected to mention that unless you believe this, no matter where you take the Eucharist, you will be eating and drinking damnation unto yourself.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I appreciate the answers I’ve recieved so far about my divorce and remarriage as regards receiving communion. It sounds like this situation is fixable. But here is the other issue, which is probably the dealbreaker:

Since ceasing to practice Catholicism at age 18 (I was baptized and confirmed), I have formally become a Buddhist, and later joined a Sufi order. I am still an active member of the Sufi order, and I also attend a liberal protestant church.

After years of uninterest in Catholicism, I have come to appreciate the mystical aspect of the mass, which is missing from my protestant church. I am interested in occasionally attending Catholic mass and receiving communion, while I continue to attend my nonliturgical protestant church and continue to do Sufi spiritual practices.

Is it forbidden to recieve communion under these circumstances? (If so, I guess I’ll have to satisfy my liturgical/eucharistic craving with the Episcopalians.)

Yes, until you decide to return to the practice of the Catholic Faith and give up these false religions and practices, reception of any Sacraments is not available to you. Which is why returning to the Practice of the Catholic Faith after one leaves is not a “Do it yourself process” of simply “going to Confession and your back!”. It requires that you speak with the Catholic pastor and determine exactly what you need to do to return to the practice of the Catholic Faith. You could just settle with receiving a symbol of the Eucharist (bread and wine) in any of the non-Catholic communities, like the Episcopalians.

 

[grandfather]

I appreciate the answers I’ve recieved so far about my divorce and remarriage as regards receiving communion. It sounds like this situation is fixable. But here is the other issue, which is probably the dealbreaker:

Since ceasing to practice Catholicism at age 18 (I was baptized and confirmed), I have formally become a Buddhist, and later joined a Sufi order. I am still an active member of the Sufi order, and I also attend a liberal protestant church.

After years of uninterest in Catholicism, I have come to appreciate the mystical aspect of the mass, which is missing from my protestant church. I am interested in occasionally attending Catholic mass and receiving communion, while I continue to attend my nonliturgical protestant church and continue to do Sufi spiritual practices.

Is it forbidden to recieve communion under these circumstances? (If so, I guess I’ll have to satisfy my liturgical/eucharistic craving with the Episcopalians.)

Different religions are different, because the doctrines they hold contradict one another. They believe things about spiritual realities that are incompatible with one another. So for example if Christianity holds that Jesus is the Son of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity and Islam teaches that this same person was a prophet and only a man, both can not be true. Christianity says Jesus is God and should be worshipped as God. One can not believe at the same time that both are true.

Receiving the Eucharist is a confession, a profession of faith. The act is a statement that says, I believe the things that are taught by the Catholic Church and accept them as true and the things believed by other religions that are in contradiction to the Catholic faith are false. So reception of the Eucharist is an public statement that you beleive the doctrines of the Catholic faith are true, and a denial of other religions, including Sufiism and Protestantism. You can not in good conscience make that statement if you belong to or practice a religion that teaches things that contradict or are opposed to what Catholicism teaches. Belonging to several religions is in itself a personal contradiction. It is impossible to reconcile contradicting statements and belonging to two or three religions at once, or trying to, can only lead to frustration and personal spiritual disharmony.

You and all of us are forced to choose and accept or deny whether the faith taught by the Catholic Church is true, or that it is false. Your experience is common. Many people try different religions, not sure of what is true. There are things that appeal to different people in different religions. But you have to make a choice eventually. If you want to be Catholic it is all or nothing. You will have to be Catholic and reject other non-Catholic religions, or decide to not be Catholic and be sometihng else.

Until you make a decision to be exclusively Catholic, the Church says you are not welcome to particpate fully in Church life and receive Holy Communion. You have to decide for yourself if you are Catholic or not.

 

[puzzleannie]

I Since ceasing to practice Catholicism at age 18 (I was baptized and confirmed), I have formally become a Buddhist, and later joined a Sufi order. I am still an active member of the Sufi order, and I also attend a liberal protestant church.

. . .
Is it forbidden to recieve communion under these circumstances? (If so, I guess I’ll have to satisfy my liturgical/eucharistic craving with the Episcopalians.)

yes you have voluntarily excommunicated yoursel from the Catholic Church through your own free will choice, and have decided the entire Eucharist is a lie and a fraud, so it would not only be a grave sin and sacrilege to receive, but intellectually dishonest as well. I do you the honor of assuming you have asked an honest question and expect an honest answer.

 

[Rolltide]

I’ve been reading the posts above, and you sound like an ancient Greek Sophist. One of the age-old debates that humanity has explored is whether truth is relative or absolute. The ancient Greeks had teachers, known as Sophists, who were the first people on Earth to get paid for selling their knowledge professionally. Some of the Sophists began to be known for a particularly interesting philosophical position, summed up by their greatest thinker, Protagoras, who stated, “Man is the measure of all things”. In other words, truth is subjective and dependent upon the viewpoint of the individual person. For example, abortion or premarital sex might be wrong for one person, but not for another, and would depend upon their personal beliefs. There is no absolute morality. It is all relative.

One philosopher in particular was extremely offended by this position, and actively sought to eliminate it. That man, of course, was the famous Socrates. He railed against the ideas, stating that a society could never function if people couldn’t even agree on right or wrong. He believed that it would cause government to collapse. He believed so strongly in this idea that when his own government condemned him to death, he volunteered to poison himself rather than go into exile, to prove that moral precepts were absolute, EVEN if you didn’t agree with them. After the death of Socrates, his student Plato decided to continue the battle to try and promote absolute truth. So in their minds (going back to the example above), there was only ONE morally correct view about abortion or premarital sex. If you held a contrary view, you were simply wrong.

Catholicism is a religion built on moral absolutism, and many people don’t like to hear that anymore. As a religion, it is either right, or it is wrong. You cannot be a Catholic AND practice some other religion simultaneously. It is simply incompatible.

As far as the Eucharist, you may be surprised to know that even among our own members, we are strict with regard to who can receive. In general, no one who is too young to understand the meaning of Communion can receive (in the West, anyhow), and no one in a state of mortal sin can partake in Communion until they have gone to Confession.

 

[kpk]

If you want to be Catholic it is all or nothing. You will have to be Catholic and reject other non-Catholic religions, or decide to not be Catholic and be sometihng else.

Until you make a decision to be exclusively Catholic, the Church says you are not welcome to particpate fully in Church life and receive Holy Communion. You have to decide for yourself if you are Catholic or not.

OK, if this is true, then I am not Catholic. That makes it easy! But, I feel a little suspicious that I am getting the ultra conservative point of view on this website. My new
found appreciation for Catholicism comes from reading Richard Rohr and Thomas Keating. They are Catholic priests, and based on their writings I don’t imagine either of them giving the answers I am getting here. It’s easy to imagine that this is a forum that mostly attracts legalistic, religion-as-purity-code type conservatives, and I am getting answers only from this point of view. Is this the case? Any liberal Catholics out there?

 

[benedictgal]

OK, if this is true, then I am not Catholic. That makes it easy! But, I feel a little suspicious that I am getting the ultra conservative point of view on this website. My new
found appreciation for Catholicism comes from reading Richard Rohr and Thomas Keating. They are Catholic priests, and based on their writings I don’t imagine either of them giving the answers I am getting here. It’s easy to imagine that this is a forum that mostly attracts legalistic, religion-as-purity-code type conservatives, and I am getting answers only from this point of view. Is this the case? Any liberal Catholics out there?

You are still Catholic, though, you have chosen to excommunicate yourself from the Church. Remember, it is not the Church who has rejected you. She never has. You are the one who has rejected the True Faith and the True Church.

Remember what Jesus said in the Gospel: “It is not you who chose Me; I chose you.” However, God gives us the free will to choose Him and His Church or to reject Him and His Church.

Remember the parable of the Prodigal Son. The father, who is perhaps the most forgotten character in the story, never rejected the prodigal son. The son left the comfort and security of his father’s love and household. He went off to pursue his own thing and squandered everything that his father gave him.

Now, even though he returned to his father for reasons of personal survival (famine will make you come back), his dad still received him with love.

Whether you like it or not, you are still a Catholic. The indelible mark of the sacrament of Baptism is still in your soul. I genuinely suspect that somewhere, deep within the recesses of your heart of hearts, you are yearning to return to the True Faith. Our Lord is calling you to come back home. But, from the tenor of your posts, there might be some prideful things that are standing in the way.

Make an effort to get to Church next week. Start Holy Week with an open mind and an open heart. Allow the deep and ineffable mysteries of our salvation, which unfold before us during this most sacred time, envelope your heart. Check your pride at the door and walk that week with Jesus. Inasmuch as you cannot receive Holy Communion until you are fully reconciled with the Church, you seem to already have that longing, but, like Mickey Gilley once sang (and Young MC, too), you’re sadly looking for LOVE (and the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) in all of the wrong places.

Friendly faces don’t necessarily mean that the Real Presence is there. Don’t worry if you don’t know anybody at Church. You already know SOMEBODY and He’s waiting for you to return.

 

[Rolltide]

Well, here’s what the Catechism has to say about the matter:

1400 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."236 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."237

Even Wikipedia agrees with this assessment:

The Catholic Church sees itself as in partial, not full communion, with other Christian groups. “With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist” Catechism of the Catholic Church (838).

In fact, full communion is seen as an essential condition for sharing together in the Eucharist, apart from exceptional circumstances, in line with the second century practice witnessed to by Saint Justin Martyr, who, in his First Apology [2], wrote: "No one is allowed to partake (of the Eucharist) but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined."

Accordingly, “Catholic priests are forbidden to concelebrate the Eucharist with priests or ministers of Churches or ecclesial communities which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church.”[3]

The Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, 122-136 indicates the circumstances in which some sharing in sacramental life, especially the Eucharist, is permitted with other Christians.

The norms there indicated for the giving of the Eucharist to other Christians are summarized in canon 844 of the Code of Canon Law as follows:

§3. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches.
§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgement of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed.

The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches indicates that the norms of the Directory apply also to the clergy and laity of the Eastern Catholic Churches.[4]

In short, the only Christians permitted to receive Communion at a Catholic Church are Eastern Christians (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, etc.) if they ask for it of their own accord, and those in danger of death that profess the Catholic faith as Catholics believe, but did not have time to convert properly.

 

[Rolltide]

Here’s a good article on the Catholic Church position on intercommunion by Father Philip Goyret, professor of sacramental theology, ecclesiology and ecumenism at the University of the Holy Cross. Father Goyret is also the pontifical university’s director of studies.

ewtn.com/library/Doctrine/ZRSTRCOM.HTM

 

[LDNCatholic]

Any liberal Catholics out there?

It would not matter, as this is not debateable nor is it down to the decision of individual Catholics.

As has been said before, you willingly excommunicated yourself from the Church, that is a sin. Anyone with unconfessed sins (practicing Catholics included) may not recieve the Eucharist until they repent and confess.

 

[kpk]

It would not matter, as this is not debateable nor is it down to the decision of individual Catholics.

As has been said before, you willingly excommunicated yourself from the Church, that is a sin. Anyone with unconfessed sins (Catholics included) may not recieve the Eucharist until they repent and confess.

You say it does not matter if there are any liberal Catholics here to answer my questions. But isn’t it true that there are large numbers of liberal Catholics who feel free to ignore some chuch teachings they find ridiculous? If some of them were on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies suggesting a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy regarding whether I am eligible for communion? I strongly suspect there are some Catholic priests who would tell me this in private. If there were liberal Catholics on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies from some telling me they know people who are technically ineligible for communion but go anyway, and in their parish no one is worrying about this? I’m not asking if you folks here agree with these positions, I’m just asking if it is not the case that liberal Catholics might be giving me these kinds of answers,

 

[Cristiano]

You say it does not matter if there are any liberal Catholics here to answer my questions. But isn’t it true that there are large numbers of liberal Catholics who feel free to ignore some chuch teachings they find ridiculous? If some of them were on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies suggesting a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy regarding whether I am eligible for communion? I strongly suspect there are some Catholic priests who would tell me this in private. If there were liberal Catholics on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies from some telling me they know people who are technically ineligible for communion but go anyway, and in their parish no one is worrying about this? I’m not asking if you folks here agree with these positions, I’m just asking if it is not the case that liberal Catholics might be giving me these kinds of answers,

Please correct me if I am wrong, but my impression is that you are not interested in what the Catholic Church says. Here you are simply looking for someone that labels himself as a Catholic and that gives you approval to go ahead with your choices. That is fine with me but please have the intellectual honesty of saying so. You want someone’s (anyone) approval not the Church’s!

 

[LDNCatholic]

You say it does not matter if there are any liberal Catholics here to answer my questions. But isn’t it true that there are large numbers of liberal Catholics who feel free to ignore some chuch teachings they find ridiculous?

Irrelevant, the Truth is not a majority decision. These people have chosen to distance themselves from Church teaching and so as you have essentially pointed out, do not represent the Church.

If some of them were on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies suggesting a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy regarding whether I am eligible for communion? I strongly suspect there are some Catholic priests who would tell me this in private.

That would not make it right as the priest does not have final authority in who recieves, once again if a priest chooses to disobey Church teaching that is wrong, and a sin.

If there were liberal Catholics on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies from some telling me they know people who are technically ineligible for communion but go anyway, and in their parish no one is worrying about this? I’m not asking if you folks here agree with these positions, I’m just asking if it is not the case that liberal Catholics might be giving me these kinds of answers,

Liberal Catholics will give whatever answers they like. The Catholic Church has its laws. You either agree or disagree. If you disagree it is not appropriate to recieve the Eucharist no matter what the other boys and girls are doing.

 

[benedictgal]

You say it does not matter if there are any liberal Catholics here to answer my questions. But isn’t it true that there are large numbers of liberal Catholics who feel free to ignore some chuch teachings they find ridiculous? If some of them were on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies suggesting a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy regarding whether I am eligible for communion? I strongly suspect there are some Catholic priests who would tell me this in private. If there were liberal Catholics on this website, wouldn’t I be getting replies from some telling me they know people who are technically ineligible for communion but go anyway, and in their parish no one is worrying about this? I’m not asking if you folks here agree with these positions, I’m just asking if it is not the case that liberal Catholics might be giving me these kinds of answers,

Yes, there are liberal Catholics who don’t follow the Church’s teachings and then present themselves for Holy Communion. Sorry, but, that’s wrong. They have freely chosen to disobey the Church and are possibly profaning the Body and Blood of Christ by being unreptentent of their behavior. However, they must answer to Our Lord for disobeying His laws and the Church’s.

You pose many, many roadblocks for yourself. You evidently have a strong need for the Church (you alluded to missing the Church), but, you want things done your own way. It cannot be that way. You seem to want to receive, receive, receive. But, I don’t see any giving coming from your direction.

But, God is very relentless and will continue to pursue you. But, the only thing that holds Him back is your free will. You are the one who left the Church and you are the one who is rejecting the laws of Christ and His Church. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but, I don’t believe in sugar-coating things.

As I noted in your other thread, I do not wish to sound mean and unfeeling. However, St. Paul urges us to exercise charitable, fraternal correction. Whether you like it or not, I am your sister in the Faith, in the True Faith of Jesus Christ that subsists fully in the Catholic Church.

Just remember. The rejection didn’t come from the Church’s side.

 

[grandfather]

I’m just asking if it is not the case that liberal Catholics might be giving me these kinds of answers,

If you look hard enough you will probably find some eclectic Catholic or priest to tell you anything you want to hear. What you need to know, what you asked about, the right or wrong of it, is not found in finding a sympathetic ear to agree with you or what you want to be true. The official position of the Church is that you have left communion with her and if you want to regain that you must renounce other religions that the Catholic Church teaches are false. You can find different doctors with different opinions on what your medical condition is. They might disagree with one another. One might say you have squigglyosis and another might say you do not. You can believe whichever one you wish, but that will not altar the reality. Either you have the disease or you do not. If you do have it and do not believe it, because you have found a doctor to tell you you are healthy, then you can not find the proper cure. You will be able to find some priest who will tell you just about anything these days. That does not make you or him right. The Church teaches that you have left communion with her and what needs to be done to restore it if you want to do that. You can not be a Baptist and a Muslim, or a Buddhist and and a Zorastrian at the same time, or a man and a woman, or a cat and a dog. You can’t be an atheist and believe in God. This is not difficult to grasp. You can not subscribe to two religions or more whose precepts contradict one another. No one can stop you from going to receive Holy Communion, but the Catholic Church offically teaches that you are not welcome to receive until you align your beliefs with hers. You are not being singled out. The Church says Protestants, Jews, Hindus, atheists, all non-Catholics are forbidden from participating in the Sacrament. If you ask the Sufis or the Protestants where you like going what they think of the Catholic doctrines or practices that they object to they will tell you they are incompatible with what they believe. This is simple stuff. If you were to receive the Eucharist in your present state the Church teaches that it would be a sacreligious act and you would bring condemnation upon yourself. Don’t believe the conservatives and don’t believe the liberals. Go find a catechism and find for yourself what the Church teaches. You can also find the Code of Canon Law. What you will find is what you are being told here. You left the Church of your own volition. You are always welcome back, but you have to renounce false belief of other religions.