SPLIT: My church uses grape juice--am I bad for receiving it?

[rinnie]

From my experience and sharing with Jewish people wine for pass over is very important as i understand from them wine is a symbol of freedom and thus is important we remember what we are delivered from and into.

I respect that we are all at different places on the faith journey but personally (no disrespect to you) find it very hard to see why so many Catholics think what they receive is still wine. As people do though it brings to mind, I think for the great apostle Paul (pbuh) that we should obtain form what causes our brother to fall. A hard teaching for a man who is raised in a culture that celebrates with wine / alcohol and does not have a problem.

Where i live many priests have fallen on alcohol and i reflect how this can happen. If the narrations in the bible teach alcohol is for the sorrowful it is maybe our fault. Priests offer so much of G-ds love to us and we or I at least fall so short so often. I must make it hard for them and surely it would sadden them or at least contribute.

I have a close friend who is a priest that had fallen to alcohol it was a very hard time for him and i know that the sacrament became difficult for him. We need to be close to our priests and walk with them as brothers and sisters realising they are human like us. When we are aware their faith in the sacrament is weakened by alcohol addiction and cover them in prayer.

IMO it is not the priest that changes the state of the gifts but it is G-d who does so the sacrifice is at His hands not the priests or better understood the sacrifice is at all of our hands.

While i dont see what we receive as alcohol i was shocked that a Catholic poster said along the lines if you dont see it dont go back. I am not receiving the same as them for what / who i receive wants you back to the fullness offered but will grow in you the faith that will serve His will to His glory.

From a personal view point i would encourage Catholics who believe they receive wine to consider it may not be best to discuss it as anything other than weakness so publically. It may be better with your priest, prayer group or people that are physically close to you or by PM with your CAF brethren. Dont stop asking or seeking, hiding from what we dont understand is not a good thing to do.

If the Catholic church teaches the Eucharist is the source and the summit of your faith and you aspire to this teaching, what Catholics receive is truly not wine.

“I will be what I will be”, you have free will so choose who you see

What a wonderful response. And I agree with what you are saying, It is not the point of what Jesus used to change imto the living sacrafice, the point is what that sacrafice is transformed into. And you are correct it is the Piriest that has the aurhority to change the wine and bread into the living Christ to give us the eternal life in him.

But if I could honstly also make a quick point, it is never the wine that is taken by the priest at communion that makes him a alcoholic though. When a person abuses anything no matter what it is, it has nothing to do with the act itself it is the inner pr oblem in the person and the act is a way of acting out on the problem on the outside because you have the problem you are having a hard time dealing with on the inside.

Because if it was the wine that was the problem we would all have the same problem. When drinking is used to self-medcate oneself that is when it becomes a problem.

But when someone truly can give up the problem to God he can help us overcome any sin. And I also agree with you, a Priest is also only human as we are, and just like we alll need an escape they also do. But like we all know when you use the escape of a way of dealing with reality is when you get into trouble.

 

[Mikeoffaith]

But the fact still remains that grape juice is not Wine, and Wine was used by Jesus. And as you quoted here the Pope made this as an extraordinary condition. He has the right to do this in special instances. But I did not see where it is used for us at Church. I am not saying that it has never happened or that it cannot happen, only that I have never saw it.

ANd as you described above only certain exceptions are permitted.

Well no you didn’t say that it cannot happen, and you didn’t claim earlier that you never saw it, but you did say that it is not permitted, ref:

Grape juice is not wine nor permitted in the RCC only wine.

But either way the good Cardinal actually announced that not only can it happen but can be permitted in certain circumstances with approval from the local bishop. So just because you personally haven’t witnessed it as happening, doesn’t automatically make it anathema in the RCC, otherwise we would be questioning the Resurrection itself.

 

[rinnie]

Well no you didn’t say that it cannot happen, and you didn’t claim earlier that you never saw it, but you did say that it is not permitted, ref:

But either way the good Cardinal actually announced that not only can it happen but can be permitted in certain circumstances with approval from the local bishop. So just because you personally haven’t witnessed it as happening, doesn’t automatically make it anathema in the RCC, otherwise we would be questioning the Resurrection itself.

And you are right!! And YOU GOT ME THERE But let me go back and check in a little deeper okay? Because what I read it was permtted for the Priests with a problem, but I saw nothing about US. Let me do some investigating okay.

 

[Mikeoffaith]

And you are right!! And YOU GOT ME THERE But let me go back and check in a little deeper okay? Because what I read it was permtted for the Priests with a problem, but I saw nothing about US. Let me do some investigating okay.

Go for it Rinnie! For me personally, I think wine is the only way to go.

 

[rinnie]

Go for it Rinnie! For me personally, I think wine is the only way to go.

Found it buddy, and I agree with you and so does the RCC When we dine we use wine.

Grape juice that has not undergone ANY form of fermentation at all which is not at least mustum is not permitted in the RCC.

So Mike grape juice is a no no. Mustum is although at a minimun is fermented. So there is a small trace of Alcohol.

So no juice for the RC’s

 

[Maso]

I don’t think you could lose the love of the Lord, just because your church uses grape juice…
It’s just a fact: Some churches use wine and some use grape juice…
My church uses grape juice as well.

The question is whether this fruit of the vine (a.k.a. grape juice) was fermented or not. That is an ongoing debate, but I don’t see the problem with taking it either way.
Grape juice is the fruit of the vine, whether it’s fermented or not.

Okay…

I get it. Thanx, everybody.

Let me leave you now with the imortal words of… “Big Momma” Thorton, who said:

Ain’t no harm…
ya’ take a little nip…
Don’t fall down…
Bust yo’ lip…!