Not sure how to respond to this

AndreM73 · Mar 20, 2014

My friend (who professes to be Catholic) said this:

“…since I have indeed received Jesus in my heart, I have no need of receiving Him in my stomach…receiving Communion does not guarantee that we have a relationship with Him.”

How do I respond to this?

AustralianMitch · Mar 20, 2014

I would say that they’ve missed the point of Communion myself but I’m rather unknowledgable so I don’t have much of a response. I would implore them to read up more on the Holy Communion.

Dorothy · Mar 20, 2014

When we prayerfully prepare to receive Him in the Eucharist with faith, hope and love, we become more like Him. We receive the risen, glorified Christ! We need to allow Him to sanctify us.

You can pray and explain to your friend, but if he/she keeps coming back with protests, just let it go and just pray that he/she will be receptive to the truth.

ServusHumilis · Mar 20, 2014

Sounds like an excuse for him to remain living in mortal sin. If he isn’t receiving the Blessed Sacrament, why should he bother going to confession and remain in a state of grace? If we’re not constantly keeping ourselves in check by going to confession and receiving Holy Communion then we have no shot at eternal life.

Tell him to look at John 6: 51 & 53-54 & 56

Jesus goes on to say…

and…

agnes_therese · Mar 20, 2014

If he doesn’t think that Jesus telling us to do so is enough reason, there’s probably nothing you can say.

Loving_disciple · Mar 20, 2014

So he thinks he can have a better relationship with Jesus without having the Eucharist which is Jesus. That is like saying I can text you whenever I want so I have no reason to do anything physical with you

RPRPsych · Mar 20, 2014

Ask him to have a long look at John 6, preferably with a Catholic Bible commentary.

OraLabora · Mar 20, 2014

Exactly.

That said, what his friend said was true: receiving communion does not mean we have a relationship with Him. Some folks go through the motions but…

I don’t see how it’s any of his, or our, business what the state of his soul is or what his motivation is.

What the friend said could also simply be baiting. The wise man doesn’t take the bait, answers “I see”, and leaves it at that, and continues to receive himself and practice his faith faithfully. However if asked why he thinks communion is important, explains in a charitable, non-judgmental manner such as “I just need the power of His grace offered through the sacrament to help get me through life, overcome sin, etc.”, that is put the focus on what nourishment YOU get out of it to help you overcome your OWN weaknesses, not on what the other is missing.

There’s a saying: for those who have faith, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t, no explanation is possible. Clearly the friend lacks faith in the sacrament. It’s not something that can be debated, alas.

odhiambo · Mar 20, 2014

Tell her Jesus Himself, at the Last Supper, instructed us to eat His Body and drink His Blood:

" While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body…”

Matthew 26:26

Origen52 · Mar 20, 2014

I think I would very gently suggest that if that is how he truly feels, he should seek a spirituality more in keeping with his private conscience. In my opinion, one is better off being a good Baptist, or Evangelical, than a fake Catholic.

josh987654321 · Mar 20, 2014

I would respond by saying “If you have recieved Jesus in your heart, than why do you distance yourself from his eucharistic presense, wholly and fully present body, blood, soul and divinity? Wouldn’t someone who has accepted Jesus in his heart be racing to the tabernacle to embrace him?”

I would tell him *"For love of souls, Jesus remains a prisoner in the Holy Eucharist, so that in our sorrow and grief we are being consoled by the most tender of Hearts, by the best of Fathers, by the most loyal friend. But that Love, which is consumed for the good of mankind, isn’t returned.

Jesus lives amongst us sinners to be our salvation and our life, our doctor and medicine; yet in return, in spite of our sick nature, we distance ourselves from Him.

He waits for us night and day at the Tabernacle. He will not reproach us for our crimes; He will not throw our sins in our face. What He will do is to wash us with the Blood of His wounds. So do not be afraid;"*

Thank you for reading
Josh

mommy_k · Mar 20, 2014

Not to receive communion is experiencing Jesus in an incomplete way, and your friend is not welcoming Him. Your friend is limiting Jesus just to his heart. Jesus wants to dwell in a person’s entire being, in ways your friend cannot comprehend. Your friend needs to become more educated in this profound miracle.

JRKH · Mar 20, 2014

I think you have a very good basis here for a very good conversation - -

I would say that the second part of the statement is quite true. Receiving communion does not guarantee a relationship with Jesus.

However - The first part of the statement is a bit more troubling.

If one truly receives Jesus into their heart, then they wish to Love Him and to be obedient to Him. Things like Sunday mass and receiving communion are a part of that love and obedience.
So the conversation might evolve around what it really means to have received Jesus into one’s heart - and what that should illicit from us in response.

Peace
James

lux_in_tenebris_1 · Mar 20, 2014

Say “great, wonderful I am happy for you, but if the Jesus goes through the trouble to make his physical presence on Earth and available to you, why wouldn’t you want to want to run to greet, honor and receive him?”

Blue_Goose · Mar 20, 2014

Are you sure your friend has not been investigating protestant religions? If your friend is a practicing Catholic, has received church training in communion, and is confirmed, then there is not too much you can do to influence your friend’s thinking. She apparently made a conscious decision to reject that what the church has tried to teach her.

The best you can do is to live your faith such that you inspire her to emulate your example.

MtnDwellar · Mar 20, 2014

There are so many reasons for receiving Christ’s body that I would have trouble knowing where to begin answering this question.

The replies are great.

When we participate in the Mass we are engaged, along with all of the saints and angels in heaven that make up the Church, in the sacrifice of the Son to the Father. It is a totally incredible opportunity. Consuming the meal is part of the participation.

AndreM73 · Mar 20, 2014

Thank you all very much. I would like to calrify a few things that some of you had suggested about my friend: he says he’s “Catholic” but he has been influenced very powerfully by the Evangelicals, considering this quote from him: " Most Catholic people I know get technical and defensive when talking about faith. That’s why I hang out with Evangelicals. They don’t judge, decide for other people, none of that; they accept and love just as God isn’t picky!" He also has espoused heresy in denying the dogma of the Immaculate Conception which to the best of my knowledge is also a mortal sin (to the best of my knowledge what he has said is heresy, but if anybody with a better knowledge of these things cares to correct me, I welcome them to do so). I hope I have not revealed too much about his spiritual state, and if I have then I welcome someone to correct me.

ffg · Mar 20, 2014

After reading that first post, I have visions of CAF members rubbing their hands together in preparation for a words per minute record, though in the ‘shortest responses necessary’ award category.

"Most Catholic people I know get technical and defensive when talking about faith. "

With regard to this, ask him to drop words 1,2,3, and 5.

Then present him with his words from your OP as support.

Netty1 · Mar 20, 2014

This below might help? I will pray for your friend, that he finds his way back home.

(Written at the time of the new translations in the Mass)

A few beautiful changes have been made to the translation of the prayer at Mass that comes shortly before Holy Communion is distributed.

The priest has been saying, “Happy are those who are called to his supper” as he held up the Eucharistic host. But the new translation of this prayer is more robust. The priest will say, “Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb.”

These new words certainly command our attention. And they underscore how the Eucharist is no ordinary meal, for they recall a climactic moment in the book of Revelation when Jesus comes to unite himself to his people in a great heavenly wedding feast.

In this scene, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is depicted as a bridegroom joining himself to his bride, the Church. An angel announces this loving union by saying, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). In the new translation, the priest at Mass more clearly echoes this angelic invitation to the heavenly wedding feast.

When you hear these words in the liturgy, therefore, you should realize that you are, in a sense, receiving a wedding invitation! And at this great marriage feast, you are no ordinary guest. ** When you come down the aisle to receive Holy Communion, you come as the bride, as a member of the Church. And you come to be united with your divine Bridegroom who gives Himself to you in the most intimate way possible here on earth—in the Holy Eucharist. **

**Here, we see how the Eucharist involves an intimate, loving communion with our Lord Jesus—one that is likened to the union shared between a husband and wife. Indeed, Holy Communion is a participation in that heavenly wedding supper of the Lamb, which celebrates the union of the divine bridegroom, Jesus, with his bride, the Church. **

*Dr. Edward Sri, holds a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Professor of Scripture and Theology. *

JRKH · Mar 20, 2014

Josh,
is the italicized quote above something you wrote, or is it someone else’s? It’s beautiful.

James

Not sure how to respond to this

AndreM73

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AustralianMitch

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