Is it a sin to pray with Protestants?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Paxvobis
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Paxvobis

Guest
Does the ban on communicatio in sacris mean that it’s a sin to pray with Protestants?

And, while we’re on the subject, what is the Church’s position on prayer in public schools?
 
I am very humble in my prayers. I wouldn’t want to hear anyone speaking in tongues or being boisterous.
 
I don’t know the answer to the latter question and really am not informed enough to adequately answer the first, though through brief research (about five minutes maybe) in getting a general idea of what communicatio in sacris means, I would have to guess that it depends greatly. Some protestant or non denominational groups might not practice anything heretical (simply that they are not in the fullness of Christ and His teachings). Unless of course that is considered heresy? Though I’m not sure. I would assume that what it means is for those ecclesiastic communities such as some baptist churches who have a mock eucharist (not that they insult it) but simply that they feel it is symbolic and take it very lightly, if they practice it at all (this is where it’d become, I would imagine, heretical) to knowingly take part in a false eucharist, a false communion. I can see how participating in these kinds of services would be sin, but just to pray with protestants in the sense of like a group prayer or something? I can’t see the harm in that so long as it is done in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy spirit and not just one or two. But again, that’s all my best guess based on maybe five minutes of research, so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come along soon and give you a more appropriate response. God Bless!
 
How would it ever be a sin simply to pray w/ anybody?

If you were to participate in their worship, that would be another matter.

ICXC NIKA
 
As long as their are tests, there will be prayer in schools!
 
Morgan_Hiver said:
I am very humble in my prayers. I wouldn’t want to hear anyone speaking in tongues or being boisterous.
Click to expand...
Not all protestants boisterous or believe in speaking in tongues, in fact those that do are in the minority. But hey thanks for using false info to lump us all together.

God calls all his people to pray and to pray together and for each other. Spouses in interdenominational marriages are incouraged to pray together. My husband’s priest has prayed with us before and I’m not Catholic.
 
Paxvobis said:
Does the ban on communicatio in sacris mean that it’s a sin to pray with Protestants?

And, while we’re on the subject, what is the Church’s position on prayer in public schools?
Click to expand...
I think you have to be more specific about what you mean when you state “to pray with Protestants”. If you mean to fully participate in other denomination worship services, it might be problamatic.

But if you mean just simply saying a prayer with another protestant, like saying grace before a meal, or even the “Our Father”, or offering up prayers for a loved one, that’s not sinful. We are encouraged to reach out to other denominations and find common ground, and I don’t know what better way to begin that than to pray together the “Our Father.”
 
Alix1912 said:
Not all protestants boisterous or believe in speaking in tongues, in fact those that do are in the minority. But hey thanks for using false info to lump us all together.

God calls all his people to pray and to pray together and for each other. Spouses in interdenominational marriages are incouraged to pray together. My husband’s priest has prayed with us before and I’m not Catholic.
Click to expand...
Spouses in interdenominational marriages are encouraged to pray together so that the protestant will eventually convert to the true church. This is why the couple makes a promise to raise the children Catholic.
 
Communion in sacris refers to that which is sacred, usually the sacraments. For example, we have full communion with the Orthodox when it comes to sacraments. They are the same sacraments, equally valid and equally licit.

On the other hand, we are not to receive Holy Communion at an Orthodox Divine Liturgy nor are they to receive Holy Communion at a Catholic mass unless expressed permission is given by the proper authority. It must be understood that the Orthodox are not Protestants either.

With the Protestants, the only sacrament that we have in common is Baptism. Because they do not have validly ordained priests, they cannot validly celebrate any of the other sacraments. We don’t as close a communion on matters that are sacred as we do with the Orthodox. However, we do have communion in other areas such as Sacred Scripture, our faith in Jesus Christ and many of our moral laws.

As to praying with Protestants, it’s never a sin to pray with anyone. Prayer is prayer. If the other person is a pagan, you can certainly pray alongside them, but not engage in their prayers or rituals. It’s a little different with Jews and Muslims, since Christians, Jews and Muslims worship the same God, albeit that Jews and Muslims do not understand the Trinity nor the Incarnation, but it does not make him a different god. It’s an incomplete or imperfect understanding of God. Therefore, you will see the Holy Father pray along with Protestants, Jews and Muslims, as well as other saintly people.

Partiicpating in Protestant rituals is a little tricky. There is nothing wrong with visiting a Protestant community and praying with them. We often do it when we go to a funeral service, a wedding or even a Baptism, if they have a special Rite of Baptism. These are very special occasions and these are rituals that we have in common: marraige, Baptism and funerals. A Catholic does not need to attend a Protestant service on a regular basis, because everything that he will find in such a service + more is already found in the mass. It’s kind of silly to attend mass and regularly attend a Protestant church just to pray with Protestants.

Other opportunities present themselves to pray together. I work in pro-life ministry. We work very closely with many Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Orthodox Jews and Muslims, because all oppose abortion. We pray together outside of abortion clinics. It’s always funny, because the Catholics always pray the Rosary. It never fails that one of the non-Catholics comes over and joins us in the rosary, especially the Protestants. The Jews and Muslims shy away from it, because of the msyteries and because we say “Mother of God”. That’s a stumbling block for them. But they are always very respectful while we pray the rosary in front of these slaughter houses. We’re very respectful as they pray. It’s actually eaiser for us to join them, because there is nothing in their prayers that is a stumbling block for Catholics. They Muslims don’t pray to Mahhamed. The Jews don’t use audible prayers. The Protestants pray to Christ. That’s an example of shared prayer with non-Catholics.

I hope that helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
Morgan_Hiver said:
Spouses in interdenominational marriages are encouraged to pray together so that the protestant will eventually convert to the true church. This is why the couple makes a promise to raise the children Catholic.
Click to expand...
Actually, couples are encouraged to pray together to strengthen each other, to ask for God’s blessing on them and their loved ones, for his help in trials, for his healing for those who need it etc. If my husband was only praying with me because he wanted me to convert and not for God’s help with anything else, it would cheapen the idea of praying together.

Also not every interdenominational marriage was entered into with the “promise to raise kids Catholic” if your spouse converts afterwards there is no such promise.
 
A little history lesson should really put an end to all these protestant denominations and bring them all home. I can definitely understand how people were able to get roped in to believing all the misinformation being taught during the reformation…people weren’t able to read and no one was able to communicate with others in foreign lands very easily. However, once libraries started making unbiased books readily available to the public, and especially now with the internet, there really is no reason for all of these denominations to hold on to their errors.
 
A little history lesson should really put an end to all these protestant denominations and bring them all home. I can definitely understand how people were able to get roped in to believing all the misinformation being taught during the reformation…people weren’t able to read and no one was able to communicate with others in foreign lands very easily. However, once libraries started making unbiased books readily available to the public, and especially now with the internet, there really is no reason for all of these denominations to hold on to their errors.
 
I don’t know if my last post was deleted or not but when I came back to this thread I saw it was missing. When I refreshed the page it reappeared but under a different time. I did not get a message from the moderator, so I am assuming it was some sort of glitch. Besides, I really do not see anything wrong with the content of the post that would be cause for removal.
 
Morgan_Hiver said:
A little history lesson should really put an end to all these protestant denominations and bring them all home. I can definitely understand how people were able to get roped in to believing all the misinformation being taught during the reformation…people weren’t able to read and no one was able to communicate with others in foreign lands very easily. However, once libraries started making unbiased books readily available to the public, and especially now with the internet, there really is no reason for all of these denominations to hold on to their errors.
Click to expand...
Wow…way to drive off converts.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top