Communion offered to a Non-Believer

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SeanTom

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ACCEPTANCE OF COMMUNION

As a Lay Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist, I am often asked what I would do if someone came up to me for communion and I knew that he or she was living a life of sin and therefore, under our Catholic guidelines, is not to receive the consecrated Host or Wine.

My church teaches that a LEM is not to embarrass anyone or cause a commotion while distributing communion, even if the receiving person is known to be one who does not believe in the Presence or is in the state of a mortal sin. BUT, this person should be singled out and, after Mass, the presiding priest should approach this person and explain why he or she is not to receive Holy Communion.

Now the question comes up, what if this person does not believe that the consecrated bread and wine constitutes the body and blood of Jesus, then is this person committing a mortal sin? Or what if this person is a non-Catholic, but is attending a wedding or some other church function with members of his family, and, not to embarrass himself or his family, goes up with the congregation to receive the consecrated bread and wine? Would he be committing a mortal sin? Would the three requirements necessary to commit a mortal sin be fulfilled, even though this man does not believe in the Consecration as many other non-Catholics believe, and therefore does not believe that he is turning his back on God, so to speak ?

1 COR 11:27-29: “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread drink the cup……. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

This person, in question, does not believe he is “eating the bread or drinking the cup of the Lord” unworthily since his non-Catholic faith doesn’t believe this is so.

Did this person truly commit a mortal sin?
 
SeanTom said:
ACCEPTANCE OF COMMUNION

As a Lay Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist, I am often asked what I would do if someone came up to me for communion and I knew that he or she was living a life of sin and therefore, under our Catholic guidelines, is not to receive the consecrated Host or Wine.

My church teaches that a LEM is not to embarrass anyone or cause a commotion while distributing communion, even if the receiving person is known to be one who does not believe in the Presence or is in the state of a mortal sin. BUT, this person should be singled out and, after Mass, the presiding priest should approach this person and explain why he or she is not to receive Holy Communion.

Now the question comes up, what if this person does not believe that the consecrated bread and wine constitutes the body and blood of Jesus, then is this person committing a mortal sin? Or what if this person is a non-Catholic, but is attending a wedding or some other church function with members of his family, and, not to embarrass himself or his family, goes up with the congregation to receive the consecrated bread and wine? Would he be committing a mortal sin? Would the three requirements necessary to commit a mortal sin be fulfilled, even though this man does not believe in the Consecration as many other non-Catholics believe, and therefore does not believe that he is turning his back on God, so to speak ?

1 COR 11:27-29: “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread drink the cup……. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

This person, in question, does not believe he is “eating the bread or drinking the cup of the Lord” unworthily since his non-Catholic faith doesn’t believe this is so.

Did this person truly commit a mortal sin?
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As an EMHC, it is not for us to make judgement calls on who can or cannot receive the Eucharist.

We have no idea if a person who we “think” is living in sin has been to reconcilliation or not. The best thing to do is to approach a member of the clergy, after Mass, and explain the facts of the situation, and to let them address it.

The same would go for any Catholic you know of that doesn’t believe in the True Presence. Unless this person has specifically told you they don’t believe, it is only an assumption. If in fact they don’t believe in the True Presence, and still come to receive the Eucharist, then yes, they have committed a Mortal Sin. Again, something that should be addressed with the clergy.

As far as a non-Catholic at a wedding, funeral, etc. Many priests will explain the communion process, and how to receive a blessing. If the person still comes forward and receives the Eucharist, yes it is a mortal sin. In essence he would have been warned, and ignored the warning, so he had full knowledge.

The key thing to mortal sin is knowledge beforehand that what they are doing is wrong.

Again, as an EMHC, it is not for us to make the judgements, or determinations. That is between the communicant, God, and the priest in reconcilliation.
 
twopekinguys said:
As an EMHC, it is not for us to make judgement calls on who can or cannot receive the Eucharist.

We have no idea if a person who we “think” is living in sin has been to reconcilliation or not. The best thing to do is to approach a member of the clergy, after Mass, and explain the facts of the situation, and to let them address it.

The same would go for any Catholic you know of that doesn’t believe in the True Presence. Unless this person has specifically told you they don’t believe, it is only an assumption. If in fact they don’t believe in the True Presence, and still come to receive the Eucharist, then yes, they have committed a Mortal Sin. Again, something that should be addressed with the clergy.

As far as a non-Catholic at a wedding, funeral, etc. Many priests will explain the communion process, and how to receive a blessing. If the person still comes forward and receives the Eucharist, yes it is a mortal sin. In essence he would have been warned, and ignored the warning, so he had full knowledge.
The key thing to mortal sin is knowledge beforehand that what they are doing is wrong.

Again, as an EMHC, it is not for us to make the judgements, or determinations. That is between the communicant, God, and the priest in reconcilliation.
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I don’t know if that would truly be the case…it is possible that the person does not understand the gravity of the sin, i.e. that it indeed is serious matter. For example is a person is clueless about the Eucharist and just thinks perhaps that it’s a “church rule”, no big deal, that person would be far less culpable than say a Catholic with full knowledge of mortal sin and its ramifications, who is themself in mortal sin and still receives the Eucharist.

As you say, the key thing is knowing what they are doing is wrong, but also knowing the gravity of the wrong that they are doing.
 
I agree that it is not up to the lay person distributing Communion to make any kind of decision about this, especially if that’s the way your pastor wants it. You wouldn’t know if they went to confession yesterday or before Mass that very morning. I don’t guess we ever really know what’s going on inside another person.

As for whether it’s a mortal sin for the person or not, the 3 requirements would still apply.

It must be serious matter.
He must know it’s serious enough to be a mortal sin.
And he must choose to do it knowing what he knows.

If the person isn’t Catholic, he might not realize that we approach the Eucharist very differently from the way most other Christians do. To most of them, communion is just a symbol and even if they know that what we believe, they may think that’s not possible anyway, so how could a bite of bread and a sip of wine be a sin. My understanding is that other Christians believe that sin is sin, no mortal or venial about it.

Whether or not receiving Communion when you shouldn’t is a mortal sin or not, would really depend on individual circumstances. A few years ago, I was watching my nephews over the weekend, and they went to Mass with me. I sing in the choir, but they’re very good boys and I knew I could let them sit in a pew by themselves without any problems. The wife of another choir member ended up sitting behind them. It didn’t occur to me to tell them NOT to receive Communion. They were about 8 and 10 at the time. The Communion procession should have been way past them by the time someone said to me, “Have both your nephews made their First Communions?” Well, no…they aren’t Catholic. They go to UCC and once they’re confirmed in 8th grade, they can take communion. Their emphasis is on confirmation, which suggests to me that communion just isn’t that big a deal for them. My friend’s wife knows two of the three sisters in my family, and we’re both Catholic. The little guy has always looked a lot older than he is. He’s in 8th grade now, and he’s 6’2" tall and looks at least 18. They’re very compliant and cooperative, and she thought they were just shy and needed a little nudge. Nobody committed a sin here, and we had a nice talk about some of the differences between our two churches on the way home. We also talked about what we all believe in common.
 
What do you do for the non-catholic who does believe in a real presence but simply does not agree with all church teachings. This is one to of the things I’ve never fully “gotten” as I know there are some Lutherans and Anglicans at Catholic masses that are more in line with Catholic teachings than some of the Catholics present. They are welcomed to partake but we’re forbidden.
 
I don’t believe it is a sin unless a person denies Christ. Your 1COR 11:27-29: “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread drink the cup……. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” is totally correct and very clear. Our church only asks if you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour and that you confess all your sins to Him before receiving communion.

I do however agree it’s your church and your rules you can run it how you see fit.
 
Lutheranteach said:
What do you do for the non-catholic who does believe in a real presence but simply does not agree with all church teachings. This is one to of the things I’ve never fully “gotten” as I know there are some Lutherans and Anglicans at Catholic masses that are more in line with Catholic teachings than some of the Catholics present. They are welcomed to partake but we’re forbidden.
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That’s a good observation.

The difference is that the “dissenting” Catholics are still part of the Catholic family; every family has its “problem children”. Even though a non-Catholic may believe in the real presence, they still have to make a profession of faith and be accepted into the Catholic Church.

There is also the possibility of someone accepting in faith the Catholic faith in its entirety but having trouble understanding and intellectually accepting some of her teachings. I can’t explain it clearly enough, but one can accept but still struggle with Church teachings.
 
Lutheranteach said:
What do you do for the non-catholic who does believe in a real presence but simply does not agree with all church teachings. This is one to of the things I’ve never fully “gotten” as I know there are some Lutherans and Anglicans at Catholic masses that are more in line with Catholic teachings than some of the Catholics present. They are welcomed to partake but we’re forbidden.
Click to expand...
The Church assumes that if you were raised Catholic, and/or have been through an RCIA class that you have the knowledge and understanding to recieve the Eucharist. If you aren’t Catholic then you don’t have the means to recognize the Church’s authority.

There are many non-Catholics that believe in the real presence. The quesiton is, do you believe that the person consecrating the host has the authority to do so.
 
SeanTom said:
ACCEPTANCE OF COMMUNION

As a Lay Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist, I am often asked what I would do if someone came up to me for communion and I knew that he or she was living a life of sin and therefore, under our Catholic guidelines, is not to receive the consecrated Host or Wine.

My church teaches that a LEM is not to embarrass anyone or cause a commotion while distributing communion, even if the receiving person is known to be one who does not believe in the Presence or is in the state of a mortal sin. BUT, this person should be singled out and, after Mass, the presiding priest should approach this person and explain why he or she is not to receive Holy Communion.

Now the question comes up, what if this person does not believe that the consecrated bread and wine constitutes the body and blood of Jesus, then is this person committing a mortal sin? Or what if this person is a non-Catholic, but is attending a wedding or some other church function with members of his family, and, not to embarrass himself or his family, goes up with the congregation to receive the consecrated bread and wine? Would he be committing a mortal sin? Would the three requirements necessary to commit a mortal sin be fulfilled, even though this man does not believe in the Consecration as many other non-Catholics believe, and therefore does not believe that he is turning his back on God, so to speak ?

1 COR 11:27-29: “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread drink the cup……. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

This person, in question, does not believe he is “eating the bread or drinking the cup of the Lord” unworthily since his non-Catholic faith doesn’t believe this is so.

Did this person truly commit a mortal sin?
Click to expand...
I am one, who as a non-Catholic received Holy Communion in a Catholic Church several times while in High School. The LEM who gave me the Eucharist was a class mate of mine who knew that I was not a Catholic. I did not know that I was not supposed to receive as no one told me. I came from a Protestant background and had no knowledge that Catholics believe that the Eucharist if the actual Body and Blood of Jesus.

The LEM never told me anything. I continued in my ignorance until several years later, I went through RCIA during which time I also attended a Bible Study and it was in the Bible Study, not RCIA, that I learned that the Catholic Church teaches that Communion is the true Body and Blood of Christ and that non-Catholics generally are not permitted to receive.

As far as mortal sin…all I can say is that God is Love and He is not waiting for a chance to send anyone to hell. He wants the salvation of everyone. I highly doubt He’d hold someone accountable for something they didn’t know.

Previously being a Catholic, I’d say that the majority of Catholics who do not believe in the Eucharist being the Body and Blood of Christ is because no one ever taught them about it. I wasn’t taught about it at all in RCIA myself. I was lucky in hearing about though through an off-handed comment in a Bible Study I chose to participate in during the same time period. And I know that many, if not most, Catholics who baptize their babies in the Catholic Church do not pay to have their children go through CCD, so those children also are not informed and even if they did attend CCD there is a good chance that it may not have been addressed there either since it wasn’t addressed in RCIA either. What I found in the Catholic Church is that it really depends on the particular parish - from parish to parish within each diocese - as to what is taught about the Catholic Church and her teachings. Some Catholic Nuns teach, as we were all taught by them in the RCIA Classes I attended, that soon there will be women priests and bishops in the Catholic Church, etc. The people within the Catholic Church are completely dependant upon those in authority to teach them correctly, but this does not happen consistently even within a single diocese.
 
daeve said:
I agree that it is not up to the lay person distributing Communion to make any kind of decision about this, especially if that’s the way your pastor wants it. You wouldn’t know if they went to confession yesterday or before Mass that very morning. I don’t guess we ever really know what’s going on inside another person.

As for whether it’s a mortal sin for the person or not, the 3 requirements would still apply.

It must be serious matter.
He must know it’s serious enough to be a mortal sin.
And he must choose to do it knowing what he knows.

If the person isn’t Catholic, he might not realize that we approach the Eucharist very differently from the way most other Christians do. To most of them, communion is just a symbol and even if they know that what we believe, they may think that’s not possible anyway, so how could a bite of bread and a sip of wine be a sin. My understanding is that other Christians believe that sin is sin, no mortal or venial about it.

Whether or not receiving Communion when you shouldn’t is a mortal sin or not, would really depend on individual circumstances. A few years ago, I was watching my nephews over the weekend, and they went to Mass with me. I sing in the choir, but they’re very good boys and I knew I could let them sit in a pew by themselves without any problems. The wife of another choir member ended up sitting behind them. It didn’t occur to me to tell them NOT to receive Communion. They were about 8 and 10 at the time. The Communion procession should have been way past them by the time someone said to me, “Have both your nephews made their First Communions?” Well, no…they aren’t Catholic. They go to UCC and once they’re confirmed in 8th grade, they can take communion. Their emphasis is on confirmation, which suggests to me that communion just isn’t that big a deal for them. My friend’s wife knows two of the three sisters in my family, and we’re both Catholic. The little guy has always looked a lot older than he is. He’s in 8th grade now, and he’s 6’2" tall and looks at le

ast 18. They’re very compliant and cooperative, and she thought they were just shy and needed a little nudge. Nobody committed a sin here, and we had a nice talk about some of the differences between our two churches on the way home. We also talked about what we all believe in common.
Click to expand...
I agree that the three requirements must be met for a person to have committed a mortal sin.

My next question is: What happens when the consecrated Host is taken into the body of a non-Catholic who does not understand what that Host really represents, assuming the requirements for mortal sin are not met? Do these non-Catholics receive the same grace (living Christ) into their bodies when they consume the Host, as does the Catholics who understand the meaning of receiving Christ’s body and blood? If not, what happens to the Host?
 
SeanTom said:
I agree that the three requirements must be met for a person to have committed a mortal sin.

My next question is: What happens when the consecrated Host is taken into the body of a non-Catholic who does not understand what that Host really represents, assuming the requirements for mortal sin are not met? Do these non-Catholics receive the same grace (living Christ) into their bodies when they consume the Host, as does the Catholics who understand the meaning of receiving Christ’s body and blood? If not, what happens to the Host?
Click to expand...
Have you discussed these things with your pastor?

I really think this thread could be better answered in the Liturgy and Sacraments section of CAF.

Just a thought.
 
SeanTom said:
I agree that the three requirements must be met for a person to have committed a mortal sin.

My next question is: What happens when the consecrated Host is taken into the body of a non-Catholic who does not understand what that Host really represents, assuming the requirements for mortal sin are not met? Do these non-Catholics receive the same grace (living Christ) into their bodies when they consume the Host, as does the Catholics who understand the meaning of receiving Christ’s body and blood? If not, what happens to the Host?
Click to expand...
Have you discussed these issues with your pastor?

Also, wouldn’t these questions be better answered in the Liturgy and Sacraments section?

Just a thought.
 
twopekinguys said:
Have you discussed these issues with your pastor?

Also, wouldn’t these questions be better answered in the Liturgy and Sacraments section?

Just a thought.
Click to expand...
I think I have the answers. Just threw this out to the readers for their comments, which are usually very interesting…

I may have posted this in the wrong section - for that I apologize.

Happy New Year to one and all.
 
06convert said:
There are many non-Catholics that believe in the real presence. The quesiton is, do you believe that the person consecrating the host has the authority to do so.
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Your question makes me wonder do you believe that the priest has the “power” to consecrate the bread and wine or is it GOD through the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper?
 
schaick said:
Your question makes me wonder do you believe that the priest has the “power” to consecrate the bread and wine or is it GOD through the words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper?
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“Power” and authority are not the same thing. The ability to do anything miraculous comes from God. That includes performing the consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit does the work through the priest. That is the power

The authority to call upon the Holy Spirit to do this work, in Catholic understanding, rests only on those who are ordained priests and Bishops.
 
SingleMomMonica said:
I am one, who as a non-Catholic received Holy Communion in a Catholic Church several times while in High School. The LEM who gave me the Eucharist was a class mate of mine who knew that I was not a Catholic. I did not know that I was not supposed to receive as no one told me. I came from a Protestant background and had no knowledge that Catholics believe that the Eucharist if the actual Body and Blood of Jesus.

The LEM never told me anything. I continued in my ignorance until several years later, I went through RCIA during which time I also attended a Bible Study and it was in the Bible Study, not RCIA, that I learned that the Catholic Church teaches that Communion is the true Body and Blood of Christ and that non-Catholics generally are not permitted to receive.

As far as mortal sin…all I can say is that God is Love and He is not waiting for a chance to send anyone to hell. He wants the salvation of everyone. I highly doubt He’d hold someone accountable for something they didn’t know.

Previously being a Catholic, I’d say that the majority of Catholics who do not believe in the Eucharist being the Body and Blood of Christ is because no one ever taught them about it. I wasn’t taught about it at all in RCIA myself. I was lucky in hearing about though through an off-handed comment in a Bible Study I chose to participate in during the same time period. And I know that many, if not most, Catholics who baptize their babies in the Catholic Church do not pay to have their children go through CCD, so those children also are not informed and even if they did attend CCD there is a good chance that it may not have been addressed there either since it wasn’t addressed in RCIA either. What I found in the Catholic Church is that it really depends on the particular parish - from parish to parish within each diocese - as to what is taught about the Catholic Church and her teachings. Some Catholic Nuns teach, as we were all taught by them in the RCIA Classes I attended, that soon there will be women priests and bishops in the Catholic Church, etc. The people within the Catholic Church are completely dependant upon those in authority to teach them correctly, but this does not happen consistently even within a single diocese.
Click to expand...
I received communion in a Catholic church with the full knowledge of the priest. He knew I was Episcopalian and that I believed in the real presence.
 
06convert said:
The Church assumes that if you were raised Catholic, and/or have been through an RCIA class that you have the knowledge and understanding to recieve the Eucharist. If you aren’t Catholic then you don’t have the means to recognize the Church’s authority.

There are many non-Catholics that believe in the real presence. The quesiton is, do you believe that the person consecrating the host has the authority to do so.
Click to expand...
Oh, I absolutely believe he has the authority and ability to do so. I also think Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian and United Church of Christ pastors are fully capable of doing the same.
 
Lutheranteach said:
Oh, I absolutely believe he has the authority and ability to do so. I also think Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian and United Church of Christ pastors are fully capable of doing the same.
Click to expand...
That begs the question, methinks, of who has the authority to ordain such pastors?
 
Went to a Catholic funeral today for a 23 year old young lady. When it came to communion the priest said that anybody who believed in the actual presence was welcome to receive. That would open it up to some non catholics.
 
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