Stuck between churches: My Eucharist problem

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Lief_Erikson

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I have a difficulty I’d appreciate having advice about. I am a Protestant but am moving toward Catholicism, and I am sure that I will become a Catholic fully. I’m simply waiting on making it official until I learn more about Catholicism.

I am ideologically in accord with those church teachings I know about, including the teaching of Real Presence in the Eucharist.

I’m seeking to become Catholic, and Catholics have a closed Communion, which shuts me out. However, I know that Catholics refrain from partaking of Protestant Communions. So where does that leave me? Should I wait out the months before I become Catholic without taking Communion anywhere?
 
Have you considered initiating the process to become a Catholic yet?

If you have I would think your first place would be the parish where you will be entering the faith.
 
I will probably do that soon. But in the interim, I should probably go without Communion, right?
 
I’m in the same situation, and I have to say it’s put me in a great deal of spiritual difficulty, because the Eucharist was always an important part of my faith, even as a Protestant.

Are you currently enrolled in RCIA? If not, get enrolled, some parishes will take enquirers this late in the year, but the Rite of Elections will always take place before Lent, which is coming up soon, and new converts are always received at Easter, so if you don’t hurry up, you will miss the boat for 2008.

It’s difficult not being able to receive communion. 2 pieces of advice that were given to me that I will pass on are:

Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament. Any Catholic Church that has an altar with a lamp burning has the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle behind it. Or you can find a parish that has the Sacrament exposed in a monstrance (a glass case on the altar with the consacrated Host inside. Just sit and pray and consider what an amazing mystery it is that Christ comes to us in this way.

Make an act of spiritual communion. Go to Mass regularly, and when people are receiving communion, pray “O my Jesus, I believe that you are truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity in this Blessed Sacrament. Though I am unable to receive you physically at this time, I pray that you might come to me spiritually in my heart. Amen”

Also, you can fold your arms and go up for a blessing from the priest during Mass (in the modern rite, not in the old Latin Mass).

Welcome to the Tiber swim team!
 
You should not participate in Communion at your protestant church either. If you believe what the Catholic Church teaches about the Eucharist then participating in communion at another church is pointless and may even be improper.

As far as going up for the blessing with your arms folded…not that it hasn’t been discussed a thousand times here. but…I suggest you stay quietly in your pew and pray for a spiritual communion while you wait for reception into the church… Many will argue this point but it is a practice that is not recognized by the Vatican and no mention of it is anywhere. It is somthing that likely started as a fad. In some dioceses and parishes the practice is not allowed (like mine). However going up for a blessing is far from being sacrilige you may find yourself in an embarassing situation. Also Extraordinary ministers of holy communion cannot bless you any more than the person sitting next to you in the pew. I hope not to start another “divisive” thread.

Oh an most importantly WELCOME!! HOME!
 
Many of us were in your situation once! The best thing you can do, when everyone else goes up to receive the Eucharist, is to stay in the pews and make an Act of Spiritual Communion:

*My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.*

And even though you feel really pulled to, getting Communion at a Protestant church is a bad idea, for those reasons listens above. 🙂

God bless you, you’re in my prayers!
 
Lief_Erikson said:
I have a difficulty I’d appreciate having advice about. I am a Protestant but am moving toward Catholicism, and I am sure that I will become a Catholic fully. I’m simply waiting on making it official until I learn more about Catholicism.

I am ideologically in accord with those church teachings I know about, including the teaching of Real Presence in the Eucharist.

I’m seeking to become Catholic, and Catholics have a closed Communion, which shuts me out. However, I know that Catholics refrain from partaking of Protestant Communions. So where does that leave me? Should I wait out the months before I become Catholic without taking Communion anywhere?
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Yes.
 
the Eucharist is a privilege for those who are in full communion with the Catholic Church, the only Church founded by Jesus Christ, precisely because it is the visible sign on Earth of that union with Him as His Mystical Body on Earth. Obviously the answer for a baptized Christian who desires to complete that union and overcome the sad historical fact of sectarian divisions, is to speedily remedy the break and come into full communion. Your impulse and feelings are the right and natural ones: hunger for Christ in the Eucharist.

See your closest priest and begin more formal preparation whereing you can answer your remaining questions and doubts, which have kept you away up until now, and undergo spiritual formation to complete your Christian Initiation. Oh and welcome home, the closer it gets, the more excited and happy we get. (they don’t have a giggle smiley so consider it smiled)

It takes a while (as long as it takes) to get to the decision stage and RCIA is designed to guide you during that time, go for it. Meanwhile if you have decided your heart is Catholic, you also have to decide when it is no longer with your current denomination, and begin attending Mass with your fellow Catholics, and like all those separated temporarily from the sacraments, make an act of spiritual communion.
 
Lief_Erikson said:
I have a difficulty I’d appreciate having advice about. I am a Protestant but am moving toward Catholicism, and I am sure that I will become a Catholic fully. I’m simply waiting on making it official until I learn more about Catholicism.

I am ideologically in accord with those church teachings I know about, including the teaching of Real Presence in the Eucharist.

I’m seeking to become Catholic, and Catholics have a closed Communion, which shuts me out. However, I know that Catholics refrain from partaking of Protestant Communions. So where does that leave me? Should I wait out the months before I become Catholic without taking Communion anywhere?
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RCIA is exactly where you need to be to learn more about the Catholic faith and if you act now you can look forward to your First Holy Communion at Easter Vigil! 👍

As far as the Eucharist - look at it this way. If you’re engaged to be married, and hopefully you and your intended are committed to being chaste until after the ceremony, you’re not going to be jumping in bed with your old girlfriend until you can have sex with your wife, are you? :eek: When you understand the parallels between marriage and the Eucharist, it makes total sense to wait.
 
I agree with what’s been said. As for going up for a blessing, be sure that the priest is doing these blessings before you go up or you will be at a loss if he offers you the Eucharist instead. My pastor was asked why he doesn’t do the blessings and he said because he isn’t supposed to.

I don’t want to start a discussion about whether giving a blessing instead of communion is a good idea or not, please let’s not get into that.
 
Hi Leif,

Receipt of the Eucharist at Mass is a practice of communion with both Christ, & the other members of His body, the Church. To do so fraudulently (before you are a member of the Catholic Church) would be similar to having sex before marriage. (I heard a really interesting talk awhile back about Marriage and the Eucharist, how they are similar in nature to one another in the aspect of communion. (Here it is - biblechristiansociety.com/download/mp3/marriage_and_the_eucharist.mp3_)

Protestants see communion as a merely symbolic act, eating a cracker and thimbleful of grape juice, but they do not recognize nor believe in the presence of Christ.

If you recognize & accept the Real Presence, & are sincerely on the road to joining the Catholic Church, I would avoid Protestant communion as well. Personally, since Protestant communion is not sacramental, I find little point in it. As a boy, (before I knew that Catholics should not participate in Protestant communion,) I had experienced it, but was confused as to why they bothered, since it wasn’t “real communion” like I always received at Mass. 🤷

I heartily second everyone’s recommendations to get to RCIA asap, & to make an act of spiritual communion at Mass in the meantime! 👍

God Bless!

Chris
 
Lief_Erikson said:
I have a difficulty I’d appreciate having advice about. I am a Protestant but am moving toward Catholicism, and I am sure that I will become a Catholic fully. I’m simply waiting on making it official until I learn more about Catholicism.

I am ideologically in accord with those church teachings I know about, including the teaching of Real Presence in the Eucharist.

I’m seeking to become Catholic, and Catholics have a closed Communion, which shuts me out. However, I know that Catholics refrain from partaking of Protestant Communions. So where does that leave me? Should I wait out the months before I become Catholic without taking Communion anywhere?
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If you are serious about becoming Catholic yes you should. You are shut out because you are not yet a member of the Church not for any other reason. Many Catholics, myself included often cannot receive Holy Communion due to being in a state of Mortal Sin at the time. Not being able to receive Holy Communion worthily in no way takes away from the fact that you want to be Catholic or that a baptized Catholic is indeed still Catholic.

As far as receiving communion in another denomination, very few except the Orthodox Churches accept the belief in the real Presence. Their ministers lack the ability to confect the Eucharist and all you would be getting is bread or a wafer and grape juice or wine anyway. Until you have decided to become a Catholic though, and are serious about pursuing it, I would see no problem in receiving communion in another denomination as long as you understand it is not the Body and Blood of Christ that you are consuming.
 
I would say that if you’re uncomfortable with sitting out at BOTH churches, then it wouldn’t be completely unacceptable to receive in your Protestant church while you’re still in the inquiry stage of RCIA. However, once you have gone through the Rite of Acceptance, then you should definitely refrain. Personally I just refrained from both once I informed everybody of my decision to become Catholic. If you’re serious about becoming Catholic, then it doesn’t make much sense to participate in another church’s communion.

As for going up for a blessing: I would caution against it unless you are specifically told that it is alright to do so. Even leaving out the reasons that Communion is a time for the Eucharist, not blessings, the reality is that not all parishes employ this practice, and the LAST thing you want is an awkward situation in the Communion line.
 
Thanks for all the advice, everyone :).

What does RCIA stand for?
 
RCIA- Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

It’s a series of ceremonies and instruction leading to the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion. If you were already validly baptized, it would just be the last two.
 
ChrisWRIT said:
Hi Leif,
Protestants see communion as a merely symbolic act, eating a cracker and thimbleful of grape juice, but they do not recognize nor believe in the presence of Christ.
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Some Protestant churches, namely the Anglican and Lutheran churches for instance, do not see communion in this way. They believe in the real presence of Christ in their communions.
 
Lief_Erikson said:
I have a difficulty I’d appreciate having advice about. I am a Protestant but am moving toward Catholicism, and I am sure that I will become a Catholic fully. I’m simply waiting on making it official until I learn more about Catholicism.

I am ideologically in accord with those church teachings I know about, including the teaching of Real Presence in the Eucharist.

I’m seeking to become Catholic, and Catholics have a closed Communion, which shuts me out. However, I know that Catholics refrain from partaking of Protestant Communions. So where does that leave me? Should I wait out the months before I become Catholic without taking Communion anywhere?
Click to expand...
You should call your local parish priest and ask about joining RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). During RCIA, you will learn about Catholic beliefs, doctrine and dogma and will have the opportunity to discuss them when you have questions. Since the Church requires RCIA before you can be Confirmed, the sooner you initiate this, the sooner you can be Confirmed. You could learn all about the teachings of the Church on your own and know them all but still be required to go through RCIA. This would delay things for you unnecessarily.

You do not have to complete the Rite if you decide in the end that the Church is not for you. Entering RCIA is not a concrete commitment to join the Church. Think of it sort of like a noviate for someone entering Holy Orders before taking their final vows.

In the meantime, you currently believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Bearing that in mind, you should refrain from Communicating until you are Confirmed.

You are already convinced that the communion in your Protestant church is not the Real Presence and are not in union with them in your belief. Partaking of their communion service indicates that you are in union with them. Since this is not the case, you should not participate.

I know this is hard. When God first called me, through various circumstances, I had to wait more than a year from when I asked to be baptised, till when I finally was able to receive the Eucharist. I was convinced that I needed baptism in about April 1978, I first asked for Baptism in November 1978. I was not Baptised, Confirmed and received my First Communion until Easter 1980.

It was sheer torture, spiritual agony to know He is there and be unable to receive Him. I had to ask myself how much this meant to me. God had touched me and had called me to His Church. For me, it was ‘whatever it takes, I will do’. I only wish someone had told me about a Spiritual Communion at that time. Act of Spiritual Communion

The one thing I can confirm is that it was worth the wait.
 
Ella said:
Some Protestant churches, namely the Anglican and Lutheran churches for instance, do not see communion in this way. They believe in the real presence of Christ in their communions.
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This is certainly true for some Anglicans, but not all. Some Presbyterians also say they believe in the “Real Presence.” In addition, the Presbyterian, Lutheran and Anglican understanding of Real Presence is different from the Catholic understanding.

Presbyterians, to the extent they so believe in RP, believe it in terms substantially similar to the real presence of Christ when 2 or 3 are gathered in His name. Not merely symbolic, but no where near the Catholic understanding of transubstantiation. The classic Lutheran understanding is termed “consubstantiation” - the bread and wine are still bread and wine, but Christ is also actually mysteriously present in the elements. It’s close, (maybe even a semantic distinction) but not quite the Catholic understanding. The Anglican understanding varies from a mere symbolic act to something much closer to the Lutheran or even Catholic understanding. However, I think it’s fair to say the common understanding for Anglicans is NOT the Catholic understanding or transubstantiation - that the elements become the actual body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ.

Note none of this addresses the validity of orders, etc.
 
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