Grape juice and buns

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This thread is straying a bit. Please keep the OP and the OP’s original needs/concerns in mind when posting. Thank you all.
 
To the OP: it’s already been stated that you should not have done this, because it implies that you are in “communion” with this group. But talk to a priest, go to confession, and get back on track. To commit a sin, we must intend to do wrong. Not wanting to go to Mass was your conscience pricking you about the communion, but don’t skip Mass. I don’t think you intended to do wrong, but working with this other group sounds like it is confusing you.

God bless!
 
sphilomena said:
To the OP: it’s already been stated that you should not have done this, because it implies that you are in “communion” with this group. But talk to a priest, go to confession, and get back on track. To commit a sin, we must intend to do wrong. Not wanting to go to Mass was your conscience pricking you about the communion, but don’t skip Mass. I don’t think you intended to do wrong, but working with this other group sounds like it is confusing you.

God bless!
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I would rephrase “to commit a mortal sin…”. The lack of intent will lessen the culpability.
 
To the OP:
  1. We are not permitted to receive Holy Communion in churches that are not in full communion with the Pope, and nor are they allowed to receive Holy Communion in our Church.
  2. While we are permtted to attend Protestant services on rare occasions, such as for the funeral of a family member or friend, or some other special occasion, we are not allowed to make a regular habit of doing this.
  3. We are required to go to Mass every Sunday; we are not required to be in the state of grace when we go, and obviously if we are not in a state of grace, we should not receive Holy Communion.
  4. We are required to receive Holy Communion once a year around Easter time, after making a good Confession.
  5. It is gravely sinful to receive Holy Communion in a non-Catholic church; if you knew or should have known at the time that it was wrong, and if you did so without being forced, then you do need to go to Confession and mention this.
  6. It is also gravely sinful to miss Mass on a Sunday, unless for some reason it was physically impossible or unreasonably difficult for you to go; if you knew or should have known that this was wrong, and if you could have gone, then again, you need to go to Confession and mention this.
 
jmcrae said:
To the OP:
  1. While we are permtted to attend Protestant services on rare occasions, such as for the funeral of a family member or friend, or some other special occasion, we are not allowed to make a regular habit of doing this.
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This topic has come up in many conversations that I have had with other Catholics, could you provide some documentation?

thanks.
 
DallasCatholic said:
This topic has come up in many conversations that I have had with other Catholics, could you provide some documentation?

thanks.
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This is the advice that I received from several priests when I was first converting, since I had, at that time, an idea in my head that I would “double time” - go to my old Protestant church as well as to Mass every Sunday.

Every priest to whom I mentioned this idea said, “No, no. Once you become a Catholic, you will no longer be allowed to make a regular habit of attending your Protestant church.” They did say that if someone dies or if there is some kind of special occasion, then we can attend at those times, but not otherwise.

PS: Even the most liberal, ecumenical priests were telling me this; I was not singling out ultra-conservative priests for advice on this.
 
saurav said:
Besides attending Holy Mass,I also take part in services at a Protestant (“inter-denominational”) community.
Today they had the monthly Communion Sunday and since I sing with the “worship leaders” every Sunday Service,I was also there.They partook of the grape juice and bun and it was offered to me.I took the communion,telling myself,“There is nothing more than bread and juice in it anyway…it would both be idiotic and rude to refuse…”
After the Service,I was supposed to go over for Mass;but I didn’t,for reasons you can guess.I have absolutely no intention of even momentarily turning my back on the Holy Church.
Please tell me if I was wrong; and if so,why?What difference does it make at all?
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Ah, even though Church teaching is that you should not receive communion … you did and that feeling that you had afterwards…oh, you knew your own answer didn’t you …

You are right, it is really only grape juice and a bun, but in a different context it becomes a symbol , you do not believe in this symbol, you believe in the Eucharist that is the body and blood of Our Lord.

I think you’ve learned your lesson…😃 Also, I would see it as a chance to share what Apostolic Succession means and the Eucharist with your friends who are Protestants.

I’ve not entered the Church yet. Since the day that I said “I’m becoming Catholic” which was about a year ago, I haven’t received Eucharist in the Episcopal Church…because, that’s not my belief anymore.

👍
 
DallasCatholic said:
This topic has come up in many conversations that I have had with other Catholics, could you provide some documentation?

thanks.
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I think that has to do with a paragraph of canon law about the exposure to wrong doctrines. However, I need to find the reference.
 
lizaanne said:
What is demeaning about telling the truth? It’s not Jesus, so therefore it is only just food. As I told someone this weekend at a birthday party we went to - regardless of what YOU get out of it, it’s still just oyster crackers and grape juice.

I’m not about to sugar coat reality for a lapsed Catholic (the woman at the party, not the OP). Christian Charity means getting them to heaven - not giving them a warm fuzzy about their juice and buns. :rolleyes:

~Liza
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You are hiding behind the Church to justify being just plain rude. Nice try :rolleyes: I don’t buy it. I’ve heard this rubbish before. There is a middle ground between warm and fuzzy to hitting someone over the head with a hammer. And there is never a need to make rude comments about how Protestants serve communion or what they use. Going on about how wrong they are or belittling what they use to serve communion is only spreading intolerance. The Church does not teach us to do this.

The OP was worried she made a mistake taking communion in a Protestant Church, she received answers that she indeed was wrong. I did not get the impression she was a lapsed Catholic.
 
Too late to edit. I just realized I made a mistake. I now realize Lizzanne wasn’t talking about the OP when talking about a lapsed Catholics.
 
anamchara said:
You are hiding behind the Church to justify being just plain rude. Nice try :rolleyes: I don’t buy it. I’ve heard this rubbish before. There is a middle ground between warm and fuzzy to hitting someone over the head with a hammer. And there is never a need to make rude comments about how Protestants serve communion or what they use. Going on about how wrong they are or belittling what they use to serve communion is only spreading intolerance. The Church does not teach us to do this.

The OP was worried she made a mistake taking communion in a Protestant Church, she received answers that she indeed was wrong. I did not get the impression she was a lapsed Catholic.
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I made a mistake, I just realized Lizzane wasn’t talking about the OP when referring to a lapsed Catholic.
 
anamchara said:
You are hiding behind the Church to justify being just plain rude. Nice try :rolleyes: I don’t buy it. I’ve heard this rubbish before. There is a middle ground between warm and fuzzy to hitting someone over the head with a hammer. And there is never a need to make rude comments about how Protestants serve communion or what they use. Going on about how wrong they are or belittling what they use to serve communion is only spreading intolerance. The Church does not teach us to do this.

The OP was worried she made a mistake taking communion in a Protestant Church, she received answers that she indeed was wrong. I did not get the impression she was a lapsed Catholic.
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Heheh! I hear what you’re saying. But sometimes there’s just no way to sugarcoat a diplomatic retort without compromising the truth. We should always, as St. Peter puts it, respond “with gentleness and reverence.” That being said, we’d probably have a hard time with the likes of St. Padre Pio or St. John Vianney, who often told those who came to the sacrament of reconciliation to “come back when you’re ready to make a GOOD confession!”

Or St. Thomas More who would sadly but matter-of-factly identify people as heretics to their face.

It does little benefit to anyone to gild the lily if, in fact, someone is simply holding a weed.
 
1ke said:
Follow the link I posted to Ecclesia de Eucharistia.
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That only states that you can not SUBSTITUTE a protestant service for our Sunday obligation. I could not find anywhere that it states a Catholic cannot attend a Protestant service…as long as they still fulfill their Sunday obligation. To another poster’s point, I understand why many Priests would discourage going to a protestant service…if you are not strong and knowledgeable in your faith it would be easy to fall into heresy. Perhaps this should be another thread.

thanks.
 
DallasCatholic said:
I could not find anywhere that it states a Catholic cannot attend a Protestant service…as long as they still fulfill their Sunday obligation. To another poster’s point, I understand why many Priests would discourage going to a protestant service…if you are not strong and knowledgeable in your faith it would be easy to fall into heresy.
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A Catholic attending non-Catholic services would also have to be sure to avoid scandal.

If this (the issue of Catholics attending non-Catholic services) goes to another thread, post a link to it here, please.
 
Thanks all of you! I rushed to Confession and talked it out with the priest…he was a little doubtful about my attending a P church in the first place.I felt somewhat confused for some time,but I later decided I shall continue helping out at their services; however, i’ve just become a lot more wary about assimilating anything that they hold on to if it is at odds with teachings of the True Church.

I have always had a copy of the Catechism at home,but from tomorrow on,I shall start reading it for a change.😉
Thank you!
MATER DEI, ORA PRO NOBIS!
 
Irish_Saints said:
Heheh! I hear what you’re saying. But sometimes there’s just no way to sugarcoat a diplomatic retort without compromising the truth. We should always, as St. Peter puts it, respond “with gentleness and reverence.” That being said, we’d probably have a hard time with the likes of St. Padre Pio or St. John Vianney, who often told those who came to the sacrament of reconciliation to “come back when you’re ready to make a GOOD confession!”

Or St. Thomas More who would sadly but matter-of-factly identify people as heretics to their face.

It does little benefit to anyone to gild the lily if, in fact, someone is simply holding a weed.
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If your comfortable making snide comments about their service or communion style then be prepared to hear some snide comments back. How about Catholics are vampires? Or we worship different Gods? Or Catholics are idol worshipers? I mean come on…from their point of few “they are only telling the truth, sorry if it hurts a bit, oops…” :rolleyes:

And let me ask you, where does this lead us? Do we bring in the converts this way? No, we cause more rancor and more divisions. And make the Church look arrogant. Your faith is weak in my opinion if you have to make such nasty demeaning comments about Protestants. I understand educating someone but this should be done with respect to the person you are talking to.

You can twist this however you want but it still comes out stinking.
 
anamchara said:
If your comfortable making snide comments about their service or communion style then be prepared to hear some snide comments back. How about Catholics are vampires? Or we worship different Gods? Or Catholics are idol worshipers? I mean come on…from their point of few “they are only telling the truth, sorry if it hurts a bit, oops…” :rolleyes:

And let me ask you, where does this lead us? Do we bring in the converts this way? No, we cause more rancor and more divisions. And make the Church look arrogant. Your faith is weak in my opinion if you have to make such nasty demeaning comments about Protestants. I understand educating someone but this should be done with respect to the person you are talking to.

You can twist this however you want but it still comes out stinking.
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As someone who has been on both sides of the Catholic / Protestant divide, I can speak with pretty firm assurance from both sides when I say, “Truth trumps all!” Let’s not confuse directness with arrogance, nor soft-sell the glorious truths of our faith in the name of “eccuminism.” True eccuminism embraces the similarities, recognizes the differences without avoidance, and then attempts to build bridges of dialog. I’m noone’s friend by withholding truth from them, and I’m getting too old to sacrifice sound teaching on the altar of diplomacy.
 
saurav said:
Thanks all of you! I rushed to Confession and talked it out with the priest…he was a little doubtful about my attending a P church in the first place.
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I would strongly recommend that you follow his advice, to the letter, and without compromise. I know that this will be difficult at first, but your priest has the best interests of your soul in mind, here.
 
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