So, after the previous priest who was helping us with the marriage preparation decided to leave the priesthood, we have now been referred to a new priest at the same church. We had our first meeting with him, and I am at a loss as far as what to think. Most of my family is not Catholic, and so the previous priest had said we should put something in the program about not receiving communion, and that he would mention it in his homily. Our new priest assured me that it “didn’t matter” and said he wouldn’t know who was Catholic and who wasn’t, so he didn’t mind them coming up to recieve. I am not sure what to do about this. I’m just at a loss. Thoughts?
The new priest is wrong and the former priest had it right. Holy Communion is reserved for baptised Catholics and not for those who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church.
“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.” [1 Cor. 11:27]
Regarding this Bible verse, the Catholic Church teaches that Catholics must receive the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace. Catholics must go to Confession prior to receiving Holy Communion if they are in a state of mortal sin. For it is serious to consume the Holy Eucharist without believing that it is truly the Body (the Real Presence) of Jesus. To do so is a desecration.
In 1 Corinthian 11:27, Paul says that eating or drinking in an unworthy manner is equivalent to profaning (literally, murdering) the Body and Blood of the Lord. If the Eucharist was but a symbol, as the Protestant believe, one could not be guilty of actually profaning (murdering) Jesus in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We cannot murder a symbol. But here, in this verse, Saint Paul, the divinely inspired apostle of God, makes it clear that when you receive Communion in an unworthy manner, you are profaning the Body and Blood of Christ. Such a behaviour is total disrespect for the Sacred Person of Christ.
In the same Chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul continues by saying, "“For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against tehmselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” [1 Cor. 11:29-30] In other words, those who receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in an unworthy manner, in a state of mortal sin, they can expect to be punished by God by illness or death.
