How to respond to this?

[erinelf88]

On another forum I’m on, there was a discussion brought up about the “secret Vatican tribunal” articles that have been popping up in the past couple days. Okay, fine, talk about it. But one comment in particular sent serious red flags up:

“I’m a Mormon raised Catholic who still believes in transubstantiation. Actually “still” isn’t really accurate because during most of my adult life I was an atheist. But somehow when I became religious again, that came back to me from my childhood Catholicism, and I still like to go to mass occasionally and take communion there.”

How should I respond to this? Knowing that’s happening is seriously bugging me, but… I’m twenty years old, virtually a child on that forum, and the poster is a well-known member of the community. I still feel like I should say something, so… what do I do? Please, help.

 

[latingirl]

You can ask that person that if they believe in the true presence, why don’t they look into it more? It sounds like this person is split between two churches but they really need to decide where they want to take communion. If they want Catholic communion that bad- then they should return to the Church.
If they ask why they have to choose, tell them that if they truly believe in the real presence that they should respect it.

 

[BSHoop96]

On another forum I’m on, there was a discussion brought up about the “secret Vatican tribunal” articles that have been popping up in the past couple days. Okay, fine, talk about it. But one comment in particular sent serious red flags up:

“I’m a Mormon raised Catholic who still believes in transubstantiation. Actually “still” isn’t really accurate because during most of my adult life I was an atheist. But somehow when I became religious again, that came back to me from my childhood Catholicism, and I still like to go to mass occasionally and take communion there.”

How should I respond to this? Knowing that’s happening is seriously bugging me, but… I’m twenty years old, virtually a child on that forum, and the poster is a well-known member of the community. I still feel like I should say something, so… what do I do? Please, help.

I would just tell him that according to the Church that he occasionally goes to when he wants to receive communion he should not be doing this unless he is in “full communion” with the Church. Obviously he isn’t. If he really believes in the true presence that is offered at the Catholic Church he should not disrespect the Church in this manner and you are sure he would not want to do that now that he knows. Not to mention the fact that now that he knows, it would be a sin.

 

[passus]

On another forum I’m on, there was a discussion brought up about the “secret Vatican tribunal” articles that have been popping up in the past couple days. Okay, fine, talk about it. But one comment in particular sent serious red flags up:

“I’m a Mormon raised Catholic who still believes in transubstantiation. Actually “still” isn’t really accurate because during most of my adult life I was an atheist. But somehow when I became religious again, that came back to me from my childhood Catholicism, and I still like to go to mass occasionally and take communion there.”

How should I respond to this? Knowing that’s happening is seriously bugging me, but… I’m twenty years old, virtually a child on that forum, and the poster is a well-known member of the community. I still feel like I should say something, so… what do I do? Please, help.

Well, I’m 16, so I guess that makes me more of a child than you are.

Anyway, as always, you should pray that the will of the Holy Spirit may be done in effecting a greater understanding and thereby appreciation and respect for the Eucharist in the hearts and minds of Christians everywhere.

You are not morally obligated to do anything in the situation considering that you’re simply posting on an Internet forum and have no method of assurance about whether this individual is even telling the truth or not. However, if you wanted to, you could simply make aware to him or her the Church’s teachings regarding the reception of Holy Communion and the grave consequences such abuses pose upon the souls of the individuals who neglects those laws. Let him know that by receiving Holy Communion while not properly disposed, he is receiving none of the sacramental or sanctifying graces that Holy Communion would ordinarily dispense.

What I don’t get is why someone would subscribe himself to the Church’s teaching of transubstantiation (which is rooted entirely in faith) but not her other teachings which are written right out in Scripture or backed up by historical fact.

Pray for this person.

 

[erinelf88]

I got a response, one that bugs me even more than the original post…

"Well, I thought I explained it with my post, but I guess I didn’t do a very good job. I consider myself a Catholic AND a Mormon. Being LDS to me doesn’t negate my membership in the Catholic church. I prayed about it and received revelation that for me it’s okay to do that. God isn’t nearly as picky about these things as are humans, it seems. He just wants us to find the best way to be connected powerfully to Him. At least that’s what the answers to my prayers tell me for me personally. I’m sorry that it’s bugging you. Please understand that I’m not being disrespectful in the least, since I also consider it the body and blood of Christ, and receive it as communion in the same manner, or rather, in a much more reverent and appreciative manner, than I did when I was a child.

One of my very best friends in the world is Catholic, and he’s very sainted. I go to mass with him sometimes, and he comes to LDS sacrament meeting with me. We both participate in each other’s sacrament (communion) when we do that. We both find it meaningful to do that.

From my reading and study through the years, I’m also a bit Vaisnava Hindu, and Taoist (philosophically speaking) as well as Buddhist. And I’m just a small bit Islamic as well. I guess I find meaningful worship within all these faiths, and see the many aspects of God more clearly for having varied views of the Deity from different perspectives. I find that lessons from one religion often shed more light on teachings of another one. To me they all are worshipping and following the same God.

I hope that explains a little better. I’m sorry if to you it seems disrespectful. To me it most certainly doesn’t. "

What should I do? I tried to show her that as Catholics, it’s disrespectful… and what to do about the comment about her friend, who’s “sainted” and receives LDS sacrament?

 

[WhollyRoamin]

If a person is bound-and-determined to receive Communion, there’s not much that a messageboard is going to do to dissuade him. Having said that, this might be the door for him re-joining the Church. You might point him in this direction:

At baptism, your soul is indelibly marked. So he’s always going to be Catholic-- though now he’s a non-practicing or apostate Catholic. But still Catholic.

That said, he can get right with the church by talking to a priest about re-entry and making a proper confession. People do it all the time-- while it’s not exactly routine, it’s certainly not uncommon.

Mormons are funny on how they pick-and-choose their Bible readings, but you might do well to point him to 1 Corinthians 11:27-29:
Saint Paul:

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 and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment 14 on himself.

Unworthily coming to Holy Communion isn’t something with which to mess around. Luckily, he is in a position to straighten this out now.

 

[BSHoop96]

Well, I’m 16, so I guess that makes me more of a child than you are.

Anyway, as always, you should pray that the will of the Holy Spirit may be done in effecting a greater understanding and thereby appreciation and respect for the Eucharist in the hearts and minds of Christians everywhere.

You are not morally obligated to do anything in the situation considering that you’re simply posting on an Internet forum and have no method of assurance about whether this individual is even telling the truth or not. However, if you wanted to, you could simply make aware to him or her the Church’s teachings regarding the reception of Holy Communion and the grave consequences such abuses pose upon the souls of the individuals who neglects those laws. Let him know that by receiving Holy Communion while not properly disposed, he is receiving none of the sacramental or sanctifying graces that Holy Communion would ordinarily dispense.

What I don’t get is why someone would subscribe himself to the Church’s teaching of transubstantiation (which is rooted entirely in faith) but not her other teachings which are written right out in Scripture or backed up by historical fact.

Pray for this person.

Wow…I’m impressed. You’re a very wise 16-year-old.

 

[BSHoop96]

I got a response, one that bugs me even more than the original post…

"Well, I thought I explained it with my post, but I guess I didn’t do a very good job. I consider myself a Catholic AND a Mormon. Being LDS to me doesn’t negate my membership in the Catholic church. I prayed about it and received revelation that for me it’s okay to do that. God isn’t nearly as picky about these things as are humans, it seems. He just wants us to find the best way to be connected powerfully to Him. At least that’s what the answers to my prayers tell me for me personally. I’m sorry that it’s bugging you. Please understand that I’m not being disrespectful in the least, since I also consider it the body and blood of Christ, and receive it as communion in the same manner, or rather, in a much more reverent and appreciative manner, than I did when I was a child.

One of my very best friends in the world is Catholic, and he’s very sainted. I go to mass with him sometimes, and he comes to LDS sacrament meeting with me. We both participate in each other’s sacrament (communion) when we do that. We both find it meaningful to do that.

From my reading and study through the years, I’m also a bit Vaisnava Hindu, and Taoist (philosophically speaking) as well as Buddhist. And I’m just a small bit Islamic as well. I guess I find meaningful worship within all these faiths, and see the many aspects of God more clearly for having varied views of the Deity from different perspectives. I find that lessons from one religion often shed more light on teachings of another one. To me they all are worshipping and following the same God.

I hope that explains a little better. I’m sorry if to you it seems disrespectful. To me it most certainly doesn’t. "

What should I do? I tried to show her that as Catholics, it’s disrespectful… and what to do about the comment about her friend, who’s “sainted” and receives LDS sacrament?

You did try to inform her…perhaps that is all you can do. She has chosen to justify receiving a sacrament in the Catholic Church under circumstances which the Church would say make her “unworthy” of receiving it at that time. Also her sainted “Catholic” friend should not be partaking in LDS sacraments which also shows that this Catholic does not know her own faith or chooses to pick and choose which parts of it she does believe. Either way, she is in error.

Really, what else can you do? People can delude themselves about a lot of things and this they obvously have done. If you actually knew her and what parish she attended you could ask the priest to speak to her but since this is an online conversation perhaps you have done as much as you can.

 

[Aramis]

Tell the pastor of the church where she does this.

Its grounds for public excommunication.

Being a member of a non-catholic parish, other than in certain rare circumstances*, is the sin and delict of schism. In the case of the LDS, it’s not just schism, but heresy.

 

[malphono]

Maybe it’s just age, but I’m a little confused. Does the OP refer to a real live person who is actually know to you and that you’ve seen do this? Or is this from an anonymous chatroom/forum contact only?

In normal circumstances, (i.e. if you know that person actually does this) Aramis’ post is 100% correct.

OTOH, if this is from a chatroom/forum, and you do not know the true identity of the person, there is, as BSHoop96 said, not much you can do or say in reality, other than tell the person to stop. There’s no way to know if what the person says is true. Yes, it could be true, but it could also be simply bait for an argument. And there’d certainly be no way to know what church the person frequents in order to alert the pastor.