Non Catholic Takes Communion

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I do try to explain from different angles but emotions always run high when the topic comes up…😔
 
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I understand your position but I do believe God has brought us together as friends for a reason…the theological differences are a bit of a challenge though…I can see why it’s really important for devout Catholics to marry other devout Catholics!
 
I was married to a Protestant for 23 years and we were together for 33 years total with no problem. He never once insisted on receiving Catholic Communion.
 
Since she is in your life and living with you it could be an opportunity for you both. Take the time to dig deeper into the mystery of the Sacrament and Christ in the Eucharist for yourself. The Eucharist is a Mystery none can gauge its depths. Dive in! He will give you the right words and the how’s/why’s for your friend.
 
Simply phone the priest before Mass and ask him to clarify things at Communion. Many priests explain at funerals and weddings, when there are many non-Catholics present, that you have to be Catholic and in a state of Grace before receiving Communion. You don’t have to do all the talking when the Priest is most qualified.

However, when this has come up for me, I explain to my friend that when we say “Amen” at Communion, it means we agree entirely with the Church’s teachings about the Eucharist and are in full Communion with the Church.
 
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Thanks! I’ll pray for the right words about it…I tried to approach it from different angles in the past and she was still indignant…I know she is very close to the Lord but she is very convinced on her position…None of her other Catholic friends told her about this guideline and I offered to send her articles on it but she said no. I’m just hoping that bringing her to Mass with me would not be a sin…I’ll keep praying about it…nothing is impossible for God
 
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Thx…im pretty sure I explained that way too…In the past, I also told her about how the priest made the announcement at last year’s Christmas Mass but she seemed still convinced of her own position…I just don’t want to sin by bringing her to Mass with me one day…Could the Lord still be working through this situation? I’ll pray about it…The conversation got so intense yesterday we were both in tears…she feels that im being unwelcoming and UnChristian by not inviting her to Mass…I explained she is always welcome but the sticking point was Communion…
 
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TC3033 said:
I think you’d be hard pressed to find a lot of Christians from open communion churches who understand the why of closed communion.
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Do those Christians need everything spoon-fed to them, or are they capable of opening Google to find out why the Catholic person in their life told them no?
 
MaryTherese1 said:
Thx…im pretty sure I explained that way too…In the past, I also told her about how the priest made the announcement at last year’s Christmas Mass but she seemed still convinced of her own position…I just don’t want to sin by bringing her to Mass with me one day…Could the Lord still be working through this situation? I’ll pray about it…The conversation got so intense yesterday we were both in tears…she feels that im being unwelcoming and UnChristian by not inviting her to Mass…I explained she is always welcome but the sticking point was Communion…
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Honestly, this sounds to me like she’s manipulating you a bit. If she was actually interested in receiving the Lord in Catholic fashion, she’d abide by the rules of the Church.

At this point, she is essentially making demands of both you and Jesus, and that doesn’t sound like something a friend would do; nor would a very holy person do this. None of this has the hallmark of being the Lord working in mysterious ways; it’s causing you distress and confusion, not peace.

Given everything you’ve done to try and explain to her, at this point I would say something like “It’s become pretty clear to me that you’re less interested in receiving the Lord in Holy Communion and more clear that you’re interested in simply having your own way, and I don’t feel like manipulating me with your tears into this is what a friend would do .Please take yourself to Mass from here on if you insist on receiving Communion, and know that you are making yourself more important than Jesus by doing so.”

Good luck.
 
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TC3033 said:
Disagree, nearly 100%. Most of us, that come from an open communion background, don’t even know that closed communion exists… let alone understand it. And, when we do find out all we’re told is “Well because you aren’t Catholic (or insert other closed communion church here).” With no other explanation (usually because the closed communion individual can’t) so that’s all they’re told.
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This. Closed communion is the single most difficult ecumenical issue where I live because the very concept of closed communion is foreign to my particular tradition. As someone said to me quite indignantly a few days ago, “I don’t get that. They have Jesus, and they want to keep it to themselves!”

When the topic come up, I mostly do what @OraLabora said – I mention the rules, I try to explain them as best as I can, and then let people, assuming they are adults, make their own choices.
 
Thanks…I feel like that would be OK for me on occasion…im just not sure if I want to invite her all the time to Mass with me…My priest said there would be no sin for me either way, since I explained Church teaching, so maybe I can be a bit more flexible than I’m currently being
 
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