Protestant taking Catholic mass

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Early this month I was confirmed and received into the Catholic Church and I was so looking forwards to going to midnight mass at a Catholic Church at a different church that I normally go to. Unfortunately two non Catholic Christians told me afterwards that one crossed their hands for the bread but then went on to drink the wine whilst the other deliberately took both bread and wine as he says it’s just symbolic and he is a Christian and can take it. Obviously at Christmas mass with so many strangers and visitors it’s hard to tell, but it took me 3 years to get through RCIA and journey through being ex communicated etc by Pentecostal friends and suffer whilst these Christians just take Catholic mass like lining up for coffee (everyone’s invited). Is this ok?
 
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Did you or anyone explain to your friends why they cannot recieve communion before you all went to Mass?
 
One of them crossed his hands and received a blessing after being told but he thought the wine was ok. The other person was told 3 times.
 
Inbetweener said:
One of them crossed his hands and received a blessing after being told but he thought the wine was ok. The other person was told 3 times.
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For the first one, I presume you told him after this happened that the wine was “not OK” and that he will follow the rule properly in the future now that he knows.

The second person sounds like they are just going to do what they want and don’t care who they disrespect or hurt. You fulfilled your duty by telling them 3 times. You can express your upset or hurt that they went ahead and did it anyway and tell them you don’t appreciate their lack of respect, but ultimately you cannot force them to not go up to Communion. If they made a regular practice of this, such as by attending a particular Catholic church, you could say something to the pastor there, but if this was an occasional thing for a holiday then I’d say you’ve done all you can do.

It’s not “okay” that they do this (especially the second person that is doing it willfully - the first one sounds like they tried to follow the rules but made a mistake). Pray for them like we pray for all sinners. And continue to emphasize to them that it isn’t okay.
 
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One of them meant to be respectful, and he was merely confused. The other went out of his way to disrespect the Church and her rules. In the first case, it was a mistake, and you shouldn’t hold that against them. Just remind them to not receive either next time. As for the second person, his intent was to ignore our rules and disrespect our beliefs, and you can blame them for that.

For this second individual, I have some timeless advice for you:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." Matthew 18:15-17
 
They don’t go to Catholic Church only once a year for midnight mass. I heard Steve Ray preach that Protestants can’t have take communion because their life is in danger. I did speak to the 2nd person afterwards about John 6 but he just says it’s remembrance and then I started quoted St John’s disciples letters about the Eucharist and the Jewish Bread of the Face (presence)
 
Inbetweener said:
the bread but then went on to drink the wine
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First of all, after the consecration we refer to the elements as the Body and Blood of the Lord. They have been changed/transubstantiated and only retain the appearance of bread and wine.

Second, communion is received, not “taken”.

Third, receiving communion as your two friends did is a sacrilige. You were right to wait as long as you did, and the fact that their behavior bothered you demonstrates how much respect you have for the Eucharist.

Fourth, pray for them, that their minds and hearts may be converted from the heresy that it is"just symbolic" and they will join RCIA! You can sponsor them.😃
 
And while we’re at it we should pray for Catholics whose numbers might be larger than we think who receive the Eucharist not just at Christmas or Easter, but on any given Sunday when they should not be.
 
If you’re getting Bread and Wine at a Catholic Church service, it’s not Mass I promise. It ceases to be Bread and Wine at the words of consecration.
 
Hi @Inbetweener , Pope Francis just co-celebrated mass with the leader of the “German Lutheran Church”. So communion (and Ecumenical dialog between denominations) has much more to it than meets the eye. There are 1000 protestant denominations, what 1 protestant holds as law might be contrary to 1 other protestants view…

As for communion, be at peace with your own conscious. That is what matters!!!

Some rites and liturgical variation exist, you might find yourself in a catholic mass where things are done slightly different. By no means does that signify any invalidity, as time goes on one gains experience in these matters. Especially if you have the privilege of discovering other parishes.

OHHH, and many congratulations on your confirmation!!!..😇
 
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I was raised and confirmed in the Methodist Church. While I was studying at a Catholic university in Japan a friend of mine there was killed in a hit-and-run accident. He was a teacher there. The university held a mass for him. He wasn’t Catholic. I was upset by his death and felt the need to commune so despite protestations from a Catholic girl in my class I went and received. I wasn’t going to be able to attend the funeral in the UK so this was my only opportunity be as close to God as possible while remembering him with everyone else.

In my church we say the Nicene Creed of 381 where we say we believe:
“In one holy catholic (=universal) and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

Is the Nicene Creed of 381 therefore no longer applicable?
 
I am a convert. Before I converted a Protestant friend told me how he knowingly and purposefully received communion at Midnight Mass. I was greatly disappointed. As I sat in Mass for two years longing to take communion I’d sometimes think about it. It made me a bit angry and envious. But, do I want to follow God’s will or mine? Do I want to be holy or a sinner (a grave sinner at that)?

But let’s think about this the Protestants are Protestants. They don’t follow the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. They follow the church of their own making. They make up their own religion. They then impose it on everyone else claiming it is the one, true religion. The Catholic Church and her claims to be the one, true Church stand in opposition to them. This is true whether they acknowledge they are a Protestant or try to evade the issue by insisting they are not. Some will insist on being able to take communion anywhere they want to. Those that do are bothered by the fact the Church excludes them. They in some way do care what the Church says, even if they wish to subvert it.

I don’t think you specified it, but if these are friends you took to Mass I’d never take the one who insisted on taking both species to Mass again. And I’d explain to him that what he did was wrong and offensive. Regardless of his opinion you don’t go to someone else’s place and violate the rules. That is at the very least rude in any situation.
 
My dad goes up for communion, even though he’s Jewish. He joined a confraternity. I mentioned Catechism in a discussion and he was saying he should teach it if no one wants to.
It gets me angry so I do my best not to think about it. He doesn’t get that he should convert first. He thinks he can just do everything.
 
One does not “take” Communion. One receives it.

I understand the some feel that the Church excludes them. However, the Church does not exclude them. The Church says that Communion is a sign of unity of faith; and if there is not a unity of faith, then honesty requires that they do not share with us. The exclusion is not on the part of the Church; it is on the part of the individual who is not in union with the Church.
 
The Creed is still applicable. However, the Methodists broke off from the Anglicans, and the Anglicans broke off from the Catholic Church.

There are a lot of emotions which can run fairly high over the matter of Communion; but Communion is the deepest sign of unity, and any honest appraisal of the matter of unity between the three (Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist) will admit that there is not unity.

There are far more matters in which we agree than in which we disagree, but the matters upon which we disagree are significant, and disrupt unity.
 
Hereiam said:
And while we’re at it we should pray for Catholics whose numbers might be larger than we think who receive the Eucharist not just at Christmas or Easter, but on any given Sunday when they should not be.
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Absolutely! Any frequenter of the confessional will see that there is a disproportional line as compared to Communion!
 
Having grown up prior to Vatican 2, the lines were not all that much longer; and confession did not go on for hours. I remember many times going to confession and the line had maybe 4 or 5 people ahead of me.
 
IMO; the lines for confession are longer now than they have ever been

i’ll just add; that many people who go to confession seem to be seeking “counseling & advice” from the priest like they are going to see Dr Phil

this clogs up the confession line & blocks & discourages many of the folks behind them from wanting to go to confession to just confess, do penance & receive forgiveness
 
The Eucharist is the real body and blood of our Lord, as a Protestant they have a different belief that it is a symbol. At a Protestant service they have a cracker and juice. At the Mass we have the real presence of our Lord under bread and wine. So absolutely not for a Protestant to receive the Eucharist at a Catholic Mass. They can observe our 2,000 year tradition.
 
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