Non-Catholics, would you feel comfortable at a CC Mass?

[TinaG]

Just asking, cause I honestly don’t know the answer. Will any Church, protestant or not, allow someone to just walk in and take communion?

Hi!

Many churches have open communion: any Christian is welcome.

Ours is that way.

-Tina

 

[Anna_Scott]

Just asking, cause I honestly don’t know the answer. Will any Church, protestant or not, allow someone to just walk in and take communion?

Many Protestant Churches do invite all Baptized believers to take communion or the Lord’s Supper. We are reminded to examine our hearts and to repent of sin and ask forgiveness to prepare us for this sacred remembrance of Christ.

Anna

 

[Teneas]

Hi!

Many churches have open communion: any Christian is welcome.

Ours is that way.

-Tina

Cool, wasn’t honestly sure. I was Presbyterian for awhile growing up, before my parents took us to a Catholic Church, and I recall some bread and grape juice that we got to eat and drink. Other than that, I have had no experiences with communion in another church.

I must say, that I, myself, would not take communion in another domination’s church, simply because I would not be in full communion with that church’s teachings. Would be wrong of me in my opinion. Almost like a slap in the face. That is just my opinion however, and how I would react/behave to the situation.

Thanks for the answer!

 

[TinaG]

Cool, wasn’t honestly sure. I was Presbyterian for awhile growing up, before my parents took us to a Catholic Church, and I recall some bread and grape juice that we got to eat and drink. Other than that, I have had no experiences with communion in another church.

I must say, that I, myself, would not take communion in another domination’s church, simply because I would not be in full communion with that church’s teachings. Would be wrong of me in my opinion. Almost like a slap in the face. That is just my opinion however, and how I would react/behave to the situation.

Thanks for the answer!

If you came you would be welcome. But if you asked me if you should take, I would remind you that as a Catholic you cannot. But we do not regard Communion as a statement of being in full communion with the church’s teaching. We do not have to subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith to be members, for example. To take Communion is between you and Christ, essentially, and in taking Communion you are stating that He is Savior and Lord of your life. People are encouraged not to take if it would violate their integrity, and not taking is regarded as a sign of integrity. There are times when I abstain because I need to work something out.

-Tina

 

[Teneas]

If you came you would be welcome. But if you asked me if you should take, I would remind you that as a Catholic you cannot. But we do not regard Communion as a statement of being in full communion with the church’s teaching. We do not have to subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith to be members, for example. To take Communion is between you and Christ, essentially, and in taking Communion you are stating that He is Savior and Lord of your life. People are encouraged not to take if it would violate their integrity, and not taking is regarded as a sign of integrity. There are times when I abstain because I need to work something out.

-Tina

So, why as a Catholic would I not be allowed? Or did you add a word by mistake in this sentence…

We do not have to subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith to be members, for example.

Did you mean you do have to subscribe?

Ooo or do you mean from my own Church’s teachings I am not allowed?

 

[BrassCricket]

Do you think you would feel comfortable coming to a Catholic Church for Mass?

If you have come, what is your experience?

I would say somewhat comfortable. I have gone to three or four Catholic masses in my lifetime, one of which was when I was younger and I barely remember, but the other three were over the summer.

I was at an internship in London, and it was hard being away from home and dealing with an uptight boss and other issues. So one day to blow off steam I decided to walk back to the flat instead of taking the tube. As I was walking down the sidewalk, I’m in the middle of a bunch of stores and suddenly find myself standing in front of a huge cathedral. It was Westminster Cathedral, sandwiched between two office buildings for all its magnificence. I thought I should at least do a bit of tourist-ing and went inside. And I’m rather glad I did.

I was able to wander the church and the various side-chapels and watch two masses (one in the main part, the other in a little ancillary chamber). The whole place was large and grand and old. A comforting old, something where you know this was here before you and it will be here after you. After several tumultuous days, the cathedral gave me some much-needed peace of mind, body and spirit. I spoke with one of the resident priests who was as friendly as could be and gave me a blessing for guidance. I even knelt in St. Andrew’s chapel and made several attempts at the Lord’s Prayer. I mangled it and couldn’t remember a good chunk, but I tried. I sat in the back of mass and enjoyed the atmosphere and feeling more than I was actually listening to the content. I don’t even remember the topic of the sermon…

So, long story short, some awkward kid in a suit wandered in off the street and was greeted warmly and kindly welcomed. Now I’m back in the States and looking more seriously at becoming properly baptized, so that I can get that peace back. I live just a few doors down from a parish church, and I’ve been meaning to go for a while, but I’m unsure if they have a different policy back here.

So, if I may ask my own question (which I believe on topic): What’s the best way for an unbaptized, non-Christian, total newbie, to go about comfortably attending mass? Mind you, in a parish church rather unused to newcomers, not the local student parish or a big tourist church like Westminster.

 

[4Squarebaby]

So, why as a Catholic would I not be allowed? Or did you add a word by mistake in this sentence…

Did you mean you do have to subscribe?

Ooo or do you mean from my own Church’s teachings I am not allowed?

It is by the rules of the Catholic Church. I’m not sure if “full communion” is the book standard. But rather be what the Catholic Church considers a Priest receiving his orders from a Bishop who the the Catholic determines has had valid apostlic succession

 

[TinaG]

So, why as a Catholic would I not be allowed? Or did you add a word by mistake in this sentence…

Did you mean you do have to subscribe?

Ooo or do you mean from my own Church’s teachings I am not allowed?

We do not have to subscribe to the WCF. Many members don’t.

By your own church’s teaching you are prohibited from taking communion in any church except a Catholic one. By our teaching we recognize you as a fellow Christian and so you are welcome. We would not want you to violate your conscience by taking Communion with us if it causes problems for you with your church.

-Tina

 

[Bbigam]

I would say somewhat comfortable. I have gone to three or four Catholic masses in my lifetime, one of which was when I was younger and I barely remember, but the other three were over the summer.

I was at an internship in London, and it was hard being away from home and dealing with an uptight boss and other issues. So one day to blow off steam I decided to walk back to the flat instead of taking the tube. As I was walking down the sidewalk, I’m in the middle of a bunch of stores and suddenly find myself standing in front of a huge cathedral. It was Westminster Cathedral, sandwiched between two office buildings for all its magnificence. I thought I should at least do a bit of tourist-ing and went inside. And I’m rather glad I did.

I was able to wander the church and the various side-chapels and watch two masses (one in the main part, the other in a little ancillary chamber). The whole place was large and grand and old. A comforting old, something where you know this was here before you and it will be here after you. After several tumultuous days, the cathedral gave me some much-needed peace of mind, body and spirit. I spoke with one of the resident priests who was as friendly as could be and gave me a blessing for guidance. I even knelt in St. Andrew’s chapel and made several attempts at the Lord’s Prayer. I mangled it and couldn’t remember a good chunk, but I tried. I sat in the back of mass and enjoyed the atmosphere and feeling more than I was actually listening to the content. I don’t even remember the topic of the sermon…

So, long story short, some awkward kid in a suit wandered in off the street and was greeted warmly and kindly welcomed. Now I’m back in the States and looking more seriously at becoming properly baptized, so that I can get that peace back. I live just a few doors down from a parish church, and I’ve been meaning to go for a while, but I’m unsure if they have a different policy back here.

So, if I may ask my own question (which I believe on topic): What’s the best way for an unbaptized, non-Christian, total newbie, to go about comfortably attending mass? Mind you, in a parish church rather unused to newcomers, not the local student parish or a big tourist church like Westminster.

I’m glad to hear it was such a pleasant and refreshing experience! I must say I’m a little jealous, I would love to visit Westminster Cathedral, I’ve heard they have some of the best choirs and music for Mass in the whole Catholic world.

Please feel comfortable going to Mass at the local parish! For starters, you can just come in, sit in the back, and take it all in. People may not greet you but they might, don’t worry if they don’t, traditionally Catholics don’t talk much inside the church. You can show up early and thumb through the missalette to learn the structure of the Mass. Begin to participate as you feel comfortable doing so - just don’t go forward at communion time, but you can do everything else in the Mass. When you feel comfortable doing so, introduce yourself to the priest after Mass. I hope he’s a friendly and faithful one! I’ll be praying for you.

 

[Teneas]

We do not have to subscribe to the WCF. Many members don’t.

By your own church’s teaching you are prohibited from taking communion in any church except a Catholic one. By our teaching we recognize you as a fellow Christian and so you are welcome. We would not want you to violate your conscience by taking Communion with us if it causes problems for you with your church.

-Tina

Thanks! Wasn’t sure what you meant by I wasn’t allowed, then after I posted it dawned on me that you might of actually known that I wasn’t allowed by my own Church to partake in another’s communion.

Again, thanks for the answer.

 

[RomanCath379]

Hi!

Many churches have open communion: any Christian is welcome.

Ours is that way.

-Tina

Just wondering why your religion says “Conservative Evangelical with Catholic sympathies”. Shouldn’t it read “Conservative Catholic with Evangelical sympathies?”

 

[TinaG]

Just wondering why your religion says “Conservative Evangelical with Catholic sympathies”. Shouldn’t it read “Conservative Catholic with Evangelical sympathies?”

Interesting.

To some degree this is semantics. I consider myself a catholic, that is, I attempt to line up what I believe with what the universal church has historically taught. We should conserve what is right and good and proper in history, most especially the Scriptures, and those traditions and beliefs of men that flow from it. At the same time I cannot get away from the firm belief that forensic justification, for example, is plainly taught in Paul, and that the Reformers were, for the most part, right in their critique of the Catholic Church. Something has gone very badly wrong in church history and we need to figure out how to fix it if we can. Church history is a big hairy mess and doctrinal disputes go into weird territory that I get quickly lost in. So that is the best I can do to describe myself.

I note you call yourself a Roman Catholic. Many on this forum do. There was a thread recently in Apologetics roasting Protestants for using the term as a slam against Catholics.

I do wish we were all in one united visible church - EO, OO, Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc. I think that is the Lord’s desire, but a lot of people who were in positions of power made bad decisions. I also enjoy the dignity and the depth of the Catholic Church. Thus my “catholic sympathies”.

-Tina

 

[kalt]

Just asking, cause I honestly don’t know the answer. Will any Church, protestant or not, allow someone to just walk in and take communion?

I don’t know of any mainline Xian church that allows just anyone to recieve communion. A person has to be a Xian (baptized) to recieve.

Are there Xian churches that have what we would nornallly call an “open table”, meaning that anyone can approach?

 

[Bbigam]

I don’t know of any mainline Xian church that allows just anyone to recieve communion. A person has to be a Xian (baptized) to recieve.

Are there Xian churches that have what we would nornallly call an “open table”, meaning that anyone can approach?

This is a little off-topic… but many non-denominational types don’t consider Baptism to be necessary to be a Christian, even if they do by custom practice it. They say that anyone who believes is a Christian and that’s the only requirement.

 

[Publisher]

Catholics believe that truth is knowable. We don’t believe that we know all of the truth that God knows.

And a general pondering -

I wonder where these misconceptions of Catholicism come from. It seems that others have a glimpse of Catholicism and, though they say that they can’t know truth, seem to have no problem building a myth on a factoid and calling it the truth about Catholicism, even going so far as to argue in the face of the actual truth about Catholicism.

Truth can be known…even if not articulated in finite language…all our expressions of Truth are not the Truth itself…but mere shadows of what lies Beyond. Truth is something one lives…not codified in dogma and tradition…dogma and tradition points to Truth…but the human finite words are lacking. We know Truth Inwardly…our spirits commune with His Spirit and our needs are made express even before we can verbalize them with “groanings that cannot be uttered”.

If Truth is known fully in this life…then it is expressed in deeds and words of compassion and self sacrifice…not in dogma and doctrine.

Truth is lived out in the daily of life…not expressed perfectly or fully through religious language…“though I speak with the tongue of men and angels…and have not love…it profits me nothing…”

 

[4Squarebaby]

I don’t know of any mainline Xian church that allows just anyone to recieve communion. A person has to be a Xian (baptized) to recieve.

Are there Xian churches that have what we would nornallly call an “open table”, meaning that anyone can approach?

The United Methodist Church is generally considered mainline. They may be the link between mainline and evangelic? They do not require baptism nor proof of baptism. By stepping forward to receive you are proclaiming yourself a Christian.

 

[kalt]

Truth can be known…even if not articulated in finite language…all our expressions of Truth are not the Truth itself…but mere shadows of what lies Beyond. Truth is something one lives…not codified in dogma and tradition…dogma and tradition points to Truth…but the human finite words are lacking. We know Truth Inwardly…our spirits commune with His Spirit and our needs are made express even before we can verbalize them with “groanings that cannot be uttered”.

If Truth is known fully in this life…then it is expressed in deeds and words of compassion and self sacrifice…not in dogma and doctrine.

Truth is lived out in the daily of life…not expressed perfectly or fully through religious language…“though I speak with the tongue of men and angels…and have not love…it profits me nothing…”

I know what you’re getting at, but it’s a little too “hippie” for my taste. Truth can be known, and it is expressed in our world in deeds, thoughts, and in words.
You seem to unaturally want to take words out of the equation.

No deed will ever express the fullness of truth or love that God is. Does this also mean that deeds, like words, because they, when performed or spoken by mere mortals, can’t attain the level of love and truth that is God, aren’t truth?

And if dogma can’t express truth, how does someone’s words of compassion express truth? You seem to think the dogma has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit.

I don’t believe that truth can ever be fully known in this life. But truth can be expressed, though imperfectly because we don’t have the words to express it completely, in the spoken and written words. It’s not true that doctrine is outside of these expressions of truth, which include, as you aptly pointed out, honest expressions of compassion.

While we’re at it, let’s examine words of compassion. Can these words ever fully convey the compassion that we feel for someone in need? More often than not, we’re left with “I’m sorry.” as the best, though imperfect and incomplete, words to express what we really can’t with words or deeds. Compassion assumes knowledge and understanding of who the other is and feels. But can we ever have complete knowledge and understanding of another? We can’t, of course. So our words of compassion, though they are honest and true, can’t ever be complete. We can never have the compassion that God has for us, because we don’t have the complete knowledge and understanding that God has of each of us.

 

[RomanCath379]

Interesting.

To some degree this is semantics. I consider myself a catholic, that is, I attempt to line up what I believe with what the universal church has historically taught. We should conserve what is right and good and proper in history, most especially the Scriptures, and those traditions and beliefs of men that flow from it. At the same time I cannot get away from the firm belief that forensic justification, for example, is plainly taught in Paul, and that the Reformers were, for the most part, right in their critique of the Catholic Church. Something has gone very badly wrong in church history and we need to figure out how to fix it if we can. Church history is a big hairy mess and doctrinal disputes go into weird territory that I get quickly lost in. So that is the best I can do to describe myself.

I note you call yourself a Roman Catholic. Many on this forum do. There was a thread recently in Apologetics roasting Protestants for using the term as a slam against Catholics.

I do wish we were all in one united visible church - EO, OO, Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc. I think that is the Lord’s desire, but a lot of people who were in positions of power made bad decisions. I also enjoy the dignity and the depth of the Catholic Church. Thus my “catholic sympathies”.

-Tina

But the Reformers were not right, and to claim that the first 1500 years of the church were wrong is proposterous. The only thing that has gone wrong here are the “Glorious Reformers” who were heretics to try and change the Word of God. What audacity of these men to try and do just that. But they didn’t succeed because the church that Christ established still stands stronger than ever before. Other religions will never get it, therefore we will never have peace.

 

[Salonika]

I would feel both comfortable and not comfortable at a Catholic Mass.

Comfortable becasue I would have no feelings that I should not be there and becasue I know reasonably well what happen having been there before and from attending an Anglican Church in the past.

What I would be uncomfortable with is much of the doctine - but then I am uncomfortable about a range of Christian doctrines.

Unless there was a meaty homily (and some people can give one in 8-10 minutes) I would be uncomfortable that there was not enough “intellectual” meat for me to chew on during the coming week. This comes from both my Presbyterian upbringing and its stress on the sermon as learning and also from my personality.

Having once been to the Old Latin Mass (excuse me if that is wrong way to refer to it) it was entering another world. I didn’t feel uncomfortable as I could see its underlying form and therefore had idea of what was going on.

I went to the Latin Mass as I had heard so much about it and thought I needed to have experienced it before I could make comments on it.

 

[Publisher]

I know what you’re getting at, but it’s a little too “hippie” for my taste. Truth can be known, and it is expressed in our world in deeds, thoughts, and in words.
You seem to unaturally want to take words out of the equation.

No deed will ever express the fullness of truth or love that God is. Does this also mean that deeds, like words, because they, when performed or spoken by mere mortals, can’t attain the level of love and truth that is God, aren’t truth?

And if dogma can’t express truth, how does someone’s words of compassion express truth? You seem to think the dogma has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit.

I don’t believe that truth can ever be fully known in this life. But truth can be expressed, though imperfectly because we don’t have the words to express it completely, in the spoken and written words. It’s not true that doctrine is outside of these expressions of truth, which include, as you aptly pointed out, honest expressions of compassion.

While we’re at it, let’s examine words of compassion. Can these words ever fully convey the compassion that we feel for someone in need? More often than not, we’re left with “I’m sorry.” as the best,** though imperfect and incomplete**, words to express what we really can’t with words or deeds. Compassion assumes knowledge and understanding of who the other is and feels. But can we ever have complete knowledge and understanding of another? We can’t, of course. So our words of compassion, though they are honest and true,** can’t ever be complete**. We can never have the compassion that God has for us, because we don’t have the complete knowledge and understanding that God has of each of us.

You see, we agree much more than you believe we do. Yes, everything we do and understand is “through a glass darkly”. Truth is Experiential…beyond finite words…“groanings which cannot be uttered”…Even Friend Francis of Assisi understood…“Preach the gospel at all times…and when necessary use words.”