Denied communion thought not a protestant

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The Pastor knows my family. My Mother’s cousins especially.

I know they had no way of knowing. This means they presumed I wasn’t a member of their church.

I haven’t been back since. 😛
 
Chris LaRock:
You don’t think non-Catholics agree with ALL of Christ’s teachings, in other words?
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They have learned improperly, otherwise they would be Catholic. (Don’t get me wrong, many Catholics don’t even know why they should be Catholic either - poor catechesis.)
 
Chris LaRock:
The Lord’s body and blood belong to no man.
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Indeed; you are correct.

They belong to the Body of Christ, whose fullest manifestation on earth is centered in the Catholic Church. Limiting Communion to members of the Church is not a matter of being “mean.” There are deep scriptural reasons why the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ should be received only by those who profess the fullness of the faith.
 
I think we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this. I think it’s wrong to see non-Catholic Christians and Protestants as being beneath you, or less sincere than Catholics.
 
Chris LaRock:
I think we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this. I think it’s wrong to see non-Catholic Christians and Protestants as being beneath you, or less sincere than Catholics.
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Who thinks non-Catholics and protestants are beneath us?? That has nothing to do with what I said.
 
E.E.N.S.:
They have learned improperly, otherwise they would be Catholic.
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What would I be implying if I were to say of Catholics, “They have learned improperly, otherwise they would be Protestant.”
 
Chris LaRock:
What would I be implying if I were to say of Catholics, “They have learned improperly, otherwise they would be Protestant.”
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Many Protestants do say that; and many Catholics who leave the Church believe they have “learned improperly.” They clearly have “learned improperly” because I can say as a convert to the Catholic faith (seminary educated in a Protestant denomination), that there is no position held by the Catholic Church that, when fully understood, lacks consistency, integrity, scriptural authorization or historical continuity to a far greater degree than any of the uniquely “Protestant” doctrines, teachings and practices which contradict the Catholic faith.
 
A better way to look at this rather than being exclusionary is this.

At one time, we were all one. Everyone was welcome to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Then, starting with Martin Luther, a group said, “we no longer want to be part of that anymore.” They in fact, walked away. They WERE NOT excluded.

The Catholic Church has asked for years for everyone to come back. They WANT (and need) to have everyone come back to the fullness of the truth. It is those members of those faiths who have made conscious decisions to EXCLUDE THEMSELVES.

The Church asks the same thing of everyone. Protestant, or Catholic, or non-Christian, we must ALL be baptized, and attend first communion as sacraments. There is nothing asked of non-Catholics that isn’t asked of Catholics.

So instead of asking the questions (as many friends of mine do, believe me, not just you) “why am I being excluded”, ask the question “why did I leave in the first place?”

If you have good reasons still, then you are in the right place for you. But more often than not, the answer is “I have no idea”, and many return home.

You are most welcome, believe me.

God Bless.
 
Brother Chris LaRock, et al

We identify!

Until I had become a part of this forum, I had never really run into what could be described as an “elite-tist” philosophy that Catholicism is elevated over other Christian groups and that the Catholic Church is the “real church” and that other groups and denominations are Christians who are in grave error.

What is unsual to me is that the Catholics I have known personally have never said any of these types of things to me. And I include among them priests, nuns, etc. Their attitude towards me as a “protestant” is: “Well, brother, we are both part of the Body of Christ and you just be the best protestant Christian you can be while I will be the best Catholic Christian I can be.”

I really don’t understand this kind of militant brand of Catholicism; I have never run into it previously.
 
Matthew and Chris:

Great to have you both here.

I’d like to say that the CC doesn’t have a superiority complex regarding our separated brother. Each Catholic have to confess: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed," before receiving the Holy Eucharist.

On the other hand, the church cannot distribute this thing which we believe is God to someone who doesn’t believe it. St. Paul warns against this. So, believe it or not, the practice of not giving the Holy Eucharist to non catholics is out of respect for the individual as much as it is for the Body of Christ.

If you do believe John Ch.6 that Christ says eat my flesh and drink my blood, then you are at a cross roads: one road to trust the church and start the initiation process or not to trust the church and go about your way.

The church invites all people to this mystery. If you accept it, you are more than welcome to receive the sacrament every single day of the year if you wish.

in XT.
 
Matthew 25:
Brother Chris LaRock, et al

We identify!

Until I had become a part of this forum, I had never really run into what could be described as an “elite-tist” philosophy that Catholicism is elevated over other Christian groups and that the Catholic Church is the “real church” and that other groups and denominations are Christians who are in grave error.

What is unsual to me is that the Catholics I have known personally have never said any of these types of things to me. And I include among them priests, nuns, etc. Their attitude towards me as a “protestant” is: “Well, brother, we are both part of the Body of Christ and you just be the best protestant Christian you can be while I will be the best Catholic Christian I can be.”

I really don’t understand this kind of militant brand of Catholicism; I have never run into it previously.
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I wouldn’t call anything being discussed on here ‘militant’ or ‘elitist’ but rather ‘orthodox’ or ‘faithful.’ I understand that there are many Catholics (including the clergy) that may be misinforming others about Catholicism, and I’m sure that it’s done unintentionally. We recognize that in some way all Christians are part of the Body of Christ, but not in as complete of a way as Catholics are. St. Augustine put it this way:

“What the soul is to man’s body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church. The Holy Spirit does in the whole Church what the soul does in all members of one body. But see what you must beware of, see what you must take note of, see what you must fear. It happens that in the human body, or rather, off the body, some member, whether hand, finger, or foot, may be cut away. And if a member be cut off, does the soul go with it? When the member was in the body, it lived; and off, its life is lost. So too, a Christian man is Catholic while he lives in the body; cut off, he is made a heretic; the Spirit does not follow an amputated member.”
Sermons, 267, 4, 391-430 A.D.

We do truly believe that the Catholic Church is the only one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church that has preserved the Deposit of Faith given by Christ to the Apostles. Christianity has been preserved since the days of Christ continuously to this day and until forever in the future in only the Catholic Church. Anyone who departs from this faith is in error. On the other hand, though, we recognize that Protestants of today are not to be held responsible for the sins of their denomination’s founder. Catholics are not any superior as people to anyone else, but it sometimes sounds that way when we claim to be within the bossom of the church that Christ established. This is a very lofty claim, but it can be easily backed up by reading the writings of the Church Fathers. I hope that neither I nor anyone else on here has offended you in any way. Take care & God bless!

-Jon

PS - If you’d like to understand the Church’s stance on salvation and it’s role in it, then I suggest you check out my thread at this link:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=79897
 
Matthew 25,

Even Catholics who have committed a mortal sin since their last Sacrament of Penance cannot normatively receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist prior to receiving sacramental absolution. Even if Catholics didn’t fast in accord with canon law prior to receiving Holy Eucharist, they are not normatively permitted to receive the Eucharist. Schismatic and heretical Christians are not normatively permitted to receive either, whether they consider themselves Protestant or not. These canons are there to protect from sacriledge, scandal, and to emphasize the Blessedness of this Holy Sacrament.
 
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AquinasXVI:
On the other hand, the church cannot distribute this thing which we believe is God to someone who doesn’t believe it. St. Paul warns against this. So, believe it or not, the practice of not giving the Holy Eucharist to non catholics is out of respect for the individual as much as it is for the Body of Christ.
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The verse that you refer to here reminds me of a good point. “Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. . . . For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor. 11:27, 29). How can we symbolically eat and drink judgment on ourselves?! I think that this verse shows that the Eucharist is more than a symbol and that it is truly the Body & Blood of Jesus - otherwise, there would be no consequence at all if Communion were merely bread and wine.

Furthermore, in Luke 24:29-31, Jesus was walking with his disciples after the Resurrection and they didn’t recognize him…until he said Mass. “But they urged him, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.” Christ is “staying with them” in the Eucharist. That is his way of remaining with his Church for when he ascends into heaven.

Lastly, I’d like remind everyone that the early Christians were accused of cannibalism by the pagans (which is ridiculous) because of their belief in the Eucharist. Finally, to quote Justin Martyr:

“We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration * and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus” (First Apology 66 A.D. 151]).*
 
Matthew 25:
Brother Chris LaRock, et al

We identify!

Until I had become a part of this forum, I had never really run into what could be described as an “elite-tist” philosophy that Catholicism is elevated over other Christian groups and that the Catholic Church is the “real church” and that other groups and denominations are Christians who are in grave error.

What is unsual to me is that the Catholics I have known personally have never said any of these types of things to me. And I include among them priests, nuns, etc. Their attitude towards me as a “protestant” is: “Well, brother, we are both part of the Body of Christ and you just be the best protestant Christian you can be while I will be the best Catholic Christian I can be.”

I really don’t understand this kind of militant brand of Catholicism; I have never run into it previously.
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This type of forum allows people to speak the truth without whitewashing it in PC language for fear of offending. Why? Because in person, I know I may have another opportunity to possibly share the fullness of truth with you. So a balance of truth and politeness prevail.

Here it may only be 2 days or 2 hours or even 1 post. One chance cannot be wasted with partial truth cushioned in politeness in hopes of talking again.

There is nothing untrue with saying you should be the best protestant you can be. It just is not the whole truth. Something you say to someone whom you hope to see again and possibly share more with.

God Bless,
Maria
 
But since you did come back, did you notice that many said, we do NOT worship bread and wine.
posted by Matthew 265
Thank you so much for your very thoughtful and WELL-EXPRESSED feelings and beliefs about Communion. You are right. I could not worship bread and wine. Interestly, a Catholic man I know who is actually an official of the Catholic Church told me that Catholics do not actually worship the bread and wine, even though I had read previously that this was the case. I guess all Catholics do not interpret doctrine the same way.
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No one here has interpreted or presented doctrine saying that we worship bread and wine. Quite the contrary.

If you hope to build bridges, this is the first one you’ll need to fix.

God Bless,
Maria
 
Matthew 25 said:
“Well, brother, we are both part of the Body of Christ and you just be the best protestant Christian you can be while I will be the best Catholic Christian I can be.”
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Whoever is telling you this is wrong. In order to be a follower of Christ and to be the best Christian, you must be following **all ** of Christ’s teachings completely. This can only be done *fully * in the Catholic Church. The Church has always taught that we as Catholics need to evangelize all of mankind: atheists, pagans, Protestants, and even other Catholics (sadly). Please check out the other thread of mine that I put a link to in my earlier post. 👍
 
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JSmitty2005:
Whoever is telling you this is wrong. In order to be a follower of Christ and to be the best Christian, you must following all of Christ’s teachings completely. This can only be done *fully *in the Catholic Church. Please check out the other thread of mine that I put a link to in my earlier post. 👍
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It is not wrong to tell a protestant that they need to be the best protestant they can be. Until they understand the fullness of truth as resides in the Catholic Church, they will need to trust in the promises of Christ that they do have. Invincible ignorance.
 
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MariaG:
It is not wrong to tell a protestant that they need to be the best protestant they can be. Until they understand the fullness of truth as resides in the Catholic Church, they will need to trust in the promises of Christ that they do have. Invincible ignorance.
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Agreed; it’s better to be a Christian of some sort rather than an atheist or infidel.
 
Hi,

Well, I didn’t really mean to say that I understood Catholics to worship bread and wine, but the symbolism in the bread and wine. I have heard various interpretations of what is done during this particular ritual from various Catholics.

If you are worshipping Christ, then that is a good thing and I’m all for it because He alone is worthy to be worshiped and praised.

By the way, just an interesting incidental thing responding to another friend’s posted message…

“When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me,”

Paul McCartney has been quoted saying that when he wrote this song he was talking about his deceased mother - whose name was Mary - visiting him one night in a dream.

I don’t know Paul’s theology, but the lyrics of this song have apparently been misinterpreted for quite some time by both Catholics and protestants.

As far as bridge building between Catholics and protestants, these bridges aren’t going to be based upon religious doctrine or dogma. The bridges are built on shared SPIRITUAL experience: I.E., “taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
 
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