tiber swimmers: does the eucharist FEEL different?

[AlwaysAsking]

Hello,

If you have taken communion outside of the Catholic church, as well as eucharist at a mass…

…would you say that you feel a difference?

My husband grew up Catholic and I’m asking him, if transubstantiation really happens, did you make a good trade? Trading Christ’s body for a symbol of it? He says he always thought that teaching was silly.

I know from personal experience that Jesus is happy to speak to me over grape juice and matzohs, no question. But… I don’t know if eucharist really brings people closer to Jesus. What has been your experience?

 

[chris_molter]

The eucharist is not about feelings. It’s about objective reality.

How it feels is irrelevant to any discussion of its validity.

 

[AshleyBelle]

Hello,

If you have taken communion outside of the Catholic church, as well as eucharist at a mass…

…would you say that you feel a difference?

My husband grew up Catholic and I’m asking him, if transubstantiation really happens, did you make a good trade? Trading Christ’s body for a symbol of it? He says he always thought that teaching was silly.

I know from personal experience that Jesus is happy to speak to me over grape juice and matzohs, no question. But… I don’t know if eucharist really brings people closer to Jesus. What has been your experience?

 Hello again, AlwaysAsking! :)

I want you to know how refreshing it is to listen to your questions…It is evident that you are asking out of sincerity and genuine interest! So often, people come here asking questions, but not “really” caring what we believe…They would just rather tell us why we’re wrong. I want to say thank you…because you’re a reminder to us all that God really does use these forums to reach people who are seeking answers

I would like to try to answer this question for you, but there are many layers to what you're asking.  I can speak from experience, having been a firm, evangelical protestant most of my life, and later being led by the Holy Spirit into the Catholic church. These are my own thoughts on the subject, and I'm by no means an authority! But I will do my best to speak from my heart:)

 Worship in the protestant church is very different from worship in the Catholic church.  We don't focus on the sermon, the music, or the "feelings" we get at mass... We don't come to be inspired or to "get" anything.. We go to mass to simply BE with our Lord.. To worship the Lord as He asks of us.. To participate in His ongoing work of salvation...to offer ourselves and share in the mystery of His death and resurrection.  

The true presence of Christ in the eucharist is the summit and center of our faith.  I'm sorry that your husband always felt it was a "silly teaching..."  But he wouldn't be the first Catholic to say so.  It takes a LOT of faith in the words of our Lord and in His Church to believe that when we partake of communion, it really IS Him... I have met a lot of men and women who "grew up Catholic" but never truly understood what was happening in the mass.  Your husband, (and I'm sorry to make assumptions, I am speaking in general from my experience with other Catholics) may never had made that connection in faith...never had anyone in his life express to him the MIRACLE that was before his eyes in every mass.

I know many, many Catholics don’t believe in their hearts that it is truly Jesus in the eucharist, even when they take communion! And many who think that “it’s a silly teaching.” or “nobody REALLY believes that anymore…” But if they really understood, they would see the amazing gift our Lord left for us when He instituted the eucharist!

Let’s not forget…that even when our Lord spoke “those who eat of my flesh and drink of my blood will have everlasting life… If you do not eat of my flesh or drink of my blood, you have NO LIFE within you…” Many of His disciples left Him! They said “this is a hard teaching, Lord! Who can believe this?”
Even then…there were Christians who believed in Jesus, and yet considered the great GIFT of the eucharist as “a silly idea…” Or “hard to believe…”

There's no saying how hard it was for me at first to understand this mystery.  And it is by NO means something we can figure out with our weak, human understanding. But some things must be taken on faith... And I believe the words of Christ are worth BELIEVING in! :)

 As a protestant, I remember taking communion....   Our pastor always taught that we should seek to resolve our conflicts before coming to the Lord's table.. I would often sit back in the pew because of conflicts I had with others in my life, and I took this teaching to heart.  In a sense..I was doing exactly what the Catholic church teaches...only under a different guise.  If I felt I was in a state of sin..I knew I shouldn't take communion. But does that make any sense for a protestant who believes the "once saved always saved, guranteed heaven" mentality? Why should I have stayed back from communion if God had already forgiven my sins, even if I'd not repaired the damages of them with my neigbor?

In the Catholic church…this is why we have the sacrament of reconcilliation. The command to be “right” with your neigbor is taken very seriously… As Christ Himself warns us that whoever takes communion in a state of sin draws judgement on himself!

But why did this matter, if communion as a protestant was more of a "symbol?"  I also believe, Jesus speaks to us through communion, no matter what church we are a part of.  I know this because, for an unexplainable reason, I always KNEW in my heart that communion was a "bigger deal" than it was portrayed in my protestant churches.  I couldn't explain why, but it always seemed incredibly IMPORTANT... I didn't understand why it was only once every month or two that we celebrated communion...

The “feeling” I got as a protestant, was that when I took communion, I was sharing in the unity of the body of Christ with all the Christians in my church. It made me feel connected in a mysterious way to them, and it made me search my own heart, to make it “right” with the Lord. “Do this in memory of Me…” It made me feel connected in a special way, to Christ
(continued)

 

[AshleyBelle]

(2 of 2)

I participated in a Bible study with a group of wonderful friends… We loved to study God’s Word in the Bible, and we would often try to find new, exciting ways to live our faith. We were all very active in the music ministry at our churches, we would study the Bible at the state forest/reserve to be surrounded by God’s beautiful creation as we studied… we would delve into the history and context of the Bible…we would sing hymns as a group…we even had a sort of “church service” atmosphere when we gathered in each other’s homes.

One weekend in particular, my dear friend asked us if we would like to begin celebrating communion together at our studies. He volunteered the wonder bread and grape juice, and said we could start it the next week! My friends were all very excited about this idea! I thought…it “sounded” good… but there was just SOMETHING about it that felt very very wrong.

I apologized, but explained to Him that I felt in my heart it was not something we should do. I couldn’t explain why…but I know now that it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me. Communion is not just something we can whip up out of any bread and juice in somebody’s back yard… It is not just a symbol of unity… it is not just a good “feeling” of Christian love…

Thankfully, God must have been speaking to my friends as well! We had the bread/juice all ready to go the next week, and before we started, they ALL decided we shouldn't continue with the notion.   Non coincidentally, God has lead over half of my friends from that Bible study into the Catholic church! :)

Partaking of Christ in the Eucharist is not about the feeling we get...or about spiritually remembering Jesus... . It is about being THERE with Him...it actually brings us, in a mysterious way to the EVENT of Christ's work on the cross! We believe His salvation is ongoing.. it was not a one time event that ended.. His work on the cross is what offers us salvation, and we must participate in His death and ressurection in order to participate in His gift:)  When  we "remember" we are actually re-living the event!  It unites us to one another as the body of Christ.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly… The Eucharist is a SACRAMENT in the Catholic church. The purpose of a sacrament is to convey grace… When we partake of our Lord, we are RECIEVING His grace! It is not just a symbollic action, but a physical transformation within us… Jesus enters into us, physically and spiritually, and transforms us from the inside out, filling us with the grace conveyed through the sacrament!

Recieving the eucharist as a Catholic,  never "feels" the same as when I was protestant.  There are some days that it really does take a LOT of will to make myself believe that I am truly partaking of Him, present in the bread and wine.  But this is what He asks of us...   We don't go to mass to "feel" more connected to Christ.. we come to mass because we have obediently consented that we CHOOSE to follow Him..that we choose to stay connected "through Him, in Him, with Him. In the unity of the Holy Spirit."   It is a consent of our will and our hearts, to stay united in Christ:)

I hope that made some sense! The eucharist is one of the greatest mysteries of our faith! It is not something you will ever believe just because somebody told you… it MUST be revealed by the Holy Spirit… Some people struggle their whole lives to “feel” like it is really Jesus…Even Mother Theresa said that she struggled with this. But faith is not about "feeling, " It is about trusting, believing, and obeying

God bless you! I am praying every day for you and your family!:hug1:

 

[AshleyBelle]

I know I’ve already said a ton… but there was one other thing I wanted to add

The feeling I get now…as a Catholic partaking of the Eucharist… is more an overwhelming gratitude and amazement… I feel so unworthy and little…and yet Christ still offers Himself for me. We pray before taking communion as the scriptures teach us:

“Lord, I am not worthy to recieve You. But only say the word and I shall be healed.”

When I partake of the eucharist, I remember that I am not worthy of the great gift Christ is offering to me… But I know that if I come to Him in faith, accepting my own unworthiness and acceptign His gift of grace…He will work from within me, and transform me to be worthy of His salvation, by His grace alone

The feeling I get most, would be summed up in “humility, faith, and obedience.”

 

[SDA2RC]

Always asking… Absolutely it is different for me…

I remember sitting at Mass before I was brought into the Church… wishing so much that I could go partake of the Eucharist… it became a draw for me… something I wanted more than anything… Looking at it now, I am sure it was the presence of Christ…

Still today, over 4 years later… the humility and true sense of “at oneness” with God that I feel with the Eucharist is something that I never felt before.

Brandon

Hello,

If you have taken communion outside of the Catholic church, as well as eucharist at a mass…

…would you say that you feel a difference?

My husband grew up Catholic and I’m asking him, if transubstantiation really happens, did you make a good trade? Trading Christ’s body for a symbol of it? He says he always thought that teaching was silly.

I know from personal experience that Jesus is happy to speak to me over grape juice and matzohs, no question. But… I don’t know if eucharist really brings people closer to Jesus. What has been your experience?

 

[YADA]

Let me tell you this story …

Some years back our priest was speaking about the local group of ministers … they have a monthly meeting … they get together to discuss … well lots of things … issues in their congragations, seven of our local churches operate transitional homes together, spritual issues, scriptures - whats happening … our current priest hates December - they alays want to tour the chruches and look at how they are decoratd for Christmas - of course we are in Advent - Christmas for us - with all the celebration and decorations is always after the meeting … but I digress…

This previous priest said that there were a couple of the other ministers that came to our parish church to pray … he would not reveal who they were … but when he would come across them in the church, they always seemed to think they needed to attempt to explain why they were there …

They always said they felt compelled to come there, that they felt closer to God [even though they had there own sanctuaries] … the felt that they could hear God better and that God could hear them better … One man said that he often felt he had to stop in and pray as he drove by … and he would do so …

Father said that Jesus was present in our church in away he was not at theirs … Jesus was present in the Euchairst and they felt him there … Father knew what it was that brought them to the sanctuary, it was Jesus in the Eucharist …

In my experience, the Eucharist is very different than communion in any of the various denominations I attended … but I thought that the above story better illustrated the difference because these ministers were not “partaking” … they were just reacting to the presence of Christ as he reached out to them … it is true that God is everywhere … but it is not true that God is equally ‘present’ everywhere …

 

[NDfan]

Hello,

If you have taken communion outside of the Catholic church, as well as eucharist at a mass…

…would you say that you feel a difference?

No difference whatsoever!!!

My husband grew up Catholic and I’m asking him, if transubstantiation really happens, did you make a good trade? Trading Christ’s body for a symbol of it? He says he always thought that teaching was silly.

I know from personal experience that Jesus is happy to speak to me over grape juice and matzohs, no question. But… I don’t know if eucharist really brings people closer to Jesus. What has been your experience?

Partaking in the Lord’s supper is a Christian’s outward profession of their faith in Christ. If you don’t believe in Christ you won’t take communion. Well I guess you could but what’s the point:shrug:

I took communion in the Catholic church for years and have taken it outside for years. No difference at all. Actually I personally take it more serious now than I ever had.

PEACE

 

[AlwaysAsking]

love these answers!

thanks everybody for taking the question seriously.

 

[fbl9]

love these answers!

thanks everybody for taking the question seriously.

in my youth i had lost my faith,…As a family we attended the pentacostal church one sunday,they were having communion that day and i partook,thinking to myself "at last the real thing"to my dismay it felt empty, nothingness. This really puzzled me. However though i had lost my faith i still retained a beleif in the real presence, a false one though…and as i got older my presence at mass was less frequent…till i would only go whenever i felt i needed to recieve the Eucharist,this was my only beleif of the church’s teaching (the Eucharist)…by feeling the need to recieve,i mean if i felt i was close to being too ugly for even myself,and trust me i wasn’t a pleasent person to come across,inside especially(of myself ie thoughts etc…)now that is past today i am a struggling christian (i have my faults but i am not ugly inside anymore)…now i recieve the Eucharist only in His church(yes the Catholic church)and words can not fully express what it means to recieve the Eucharist…humbled yet blessed…thankful yet sorrowful…worthy (because of His grace)yet unworthy by my weakness…the power of God yet meakness…loved yes loved

 

[graceandglory]

But… I don’t know if eucharist really brings people closer to Jesus. What has been your experience?

It feels like a wafer.

When I invite Jesus into my body when I go to Mass, it is reminiscent of being evangelical.

At the end of every good evangelical service there was always an “INVITATION.” An “Altar Call.” (It’s part of the “rubrics” of an evangelical service. It’s not in the bible, it is their tradition.)

Those who had never “invited Jesus” into their “hearts” could walk forward for someone to pray with them to “invite Jesus into their heart.” And from that moment on, Shazamm! They are saved. There was nothing else to do. No more ritual. No more tradition. No Sacramental reality, no catechesis. You get to have the “experience” of being “born again” ONCE. Jesus “figuratively” came into your heart that day when you first asked Him to.

And that is an AMAZING FEELING for new believers. They have been CONVERTED! Instantly. They have gone from hell bound to saved.

(In reality, they are only beginning the first baby steps of being saved. As Catholics we are saved we are being saved and we hope we will be saved.) As evangelicals, we are instantly ushered into the Heavenly gates based upon the prayer we prayed the day we made an Altar Call.

The comparison is that as a Catholic, if we are all converted in our hearts, we are in a good state to receive Jesus into our BODY any time we attend Mass. It could be weekly or even DAILY.

 

[graceandglory]

An earlier poster mentioned that it is a profound mystery.

A mystery is a mystery. The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.
is what we used to say as evangelicals.

I will change that to The Bible says it, the Church teaches it, I believe it, that settles it.

The Bread of Life Discourse
John 6
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”** The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.** Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

I do not have to understand why Jesus said what He said, it’s not up to me to understand it. In the same way I believed that Jesus actually came into new believers “hearts” the day they first “got saved,” I have even more faith that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, because HE SAID SO in the Bible! Literally is so much better than figuratively and symbolic.

As an evangelical we used to sing this song. I have since heard it sung at Eucharistic Adoration.
It impacted me so much I couldn’t help but sob.

youtube.com/watch?v=HeAwBmb_x28

It’s not all about me and my feelings anymore.
It’s all about Jesus.
The Eucharist is ALL about Jesus.
:bowdown:

 

[cat3gs]

I know I’ve already said a ton… but there was one other thing I wanted to add

The feeling I get now…as a Catholic partaking of the Eucharist… is more an overwhelming gratitude and amazement… I feel so unworthy and little…and yet Christ still offers Himself for me. We pray before taking communion as the scriptures teach us:

“Lord, I am not worthy to recieve You. But only say the word and I shall be healed.”

When I partake of the eucharist, I remember that I am not worthy of the great gift Christ is offering to me… But I know that if I come to Him in faith, accepting my own unworthiness and acceptign His gift of grace…He will work from within me, and transform me to be worthy of His salvation, by His grace alone

The feeling I get most, would be summed up in “humility, faith, and obedience.”

Hey all,

I couldnt have described it better for myself. Thats exactly what it is for me.

When I first converted to Lutheranism I was so excited to partake…I had never recieved before. But there was something lacking…I didnt know what it was…it just felt empty. I kept thinking that there should be more.

But then lucky for me the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Catholic church found me and brought me home. For me it is truly an exceptional experiance!! Some days Im brought to tears in anticipation.

JMJ

 

[strngrnrth]

I visited Mass with a friend in June '04 and felt the intense glow of power from the altar and when I went up for a blessing I felt the blessing intensely but I could tellt here was a more intense blessing in the Eucharist, which was not available to me, and I wanted it. I went into RCIA and when the time came I received communion for the first time in the Catholic Church. I felt different. Very different. It was a strong, glowing, wonderfully blessed feeling. I knew I was consuming God Himself and it didn’t feel anything like Protestant communion, the difference was like feeling the sun on your face versus sitting near a bright lightbulb – both are warm, but you know which is which. I wouldn’t go back for anything.

 

[ufamtobie]

Hello,

If you have taken communion outside of the Catholic church, as well as eucharist at a mass…

…would you say that you feel a difference?

My husband grew up Catholic and I’m asking him, if transubstantiation really happens, did you make a good trade? Trading Christ’s body for a symbol of it? He says he always thought that teaching was silly.

I know from personal experience that Jesus is happy to speak to me over grape juice and matzohs, no question. But… I don’t know if eucharist really brings people closer to Jesus. What has been your experience?

Alwaysasking,

Your husband has said it all, and that is that he was never truely a Catholic from the begining and that being said, it was easy for him not to trade but rather to betray Our Lords True Presence for a symbol, now that is silly or more like sinful.

You say you know from personal expirience, TRUTH is you know nothing until you have the GRACE from Jesus to truely believe and recieve the Body and Blood Of Christ at Mass a GRACE your Husband never recieved while being Catholic therefore he now recieves a symbol, so he is not a good candidate to ask!

The Eucharist changes lives! St. Paul said you must eat the Body and Blood being in a Worthy state. Eating the Body and Blood in an unworthy state will bring sickness.

St. Paul knew exactly that this is not a symbol but the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, therefore this is the reason why he said if you eat unworthy you will suffer the consecquences.

Therefore you and your husband have no worry if you eat the 'SYMBOL" unworthy at your Protestant church for it is just that a 'SYMBOL" what St. Paul said has no reference to you.

But in the other hand You miss something GREAT and that is Jesus Christ himself Body, Blood Soul and Divinity Not a symbol but the True Presence of Christ.

Our Lord came eating and drinking and at the “last super” it was wine that he drank and not grape juice, nor did Jesus turn the water into grape juice, but into wine.

I to am alwayasking, why do many protestant such as yourself drink grape juice as a symbol when Jesus drank wine and literaly said it was his BLOOD do Protestants think themselves higher because they drink grape juice?

Truth is you will never know If the Eucharist Brings one closer to Christ, in order to do so you would have to become Catholic.

May the Virgin Mary who is FULL of GRACE guide you to the True Presence.

Ufamtobie

 

[po18guy]

After entering the Church, I had only a vague idea of what I was partaking of. As time went along, and I learned more about the faith, my belief also increased. However, after a Life in the Spirit seminar and baptism in the Holy Spirit, I began to KNOW it was Him. I started going to Adoration and interceding before Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. I have seen and experienced minor miracles in prayer before Him. Now, many times I am crying when I receive, after pondering the suffering that I put Him through. However sorrowful that thought is, it is overcome by His love of us.

This is no mere observance, or memorial, it is Christ in the Flesh. I am in love with Him and can go nowhere else.

Christ’s peace.

 

[RebeccaJ]

Hello,

If you have taken communion outside of the Catholic church, as well as eucharist at a mass…

…would you say that you feel a difference?

My husband grew up Catholic and I’m asking him, if transubstantiation really happens, did you make a good trade? Trading Christ’s body for a symbol of it? He says he always thought that teaching was silly.

I know from personal experience that Jesus is happy to speak to me over grape juice and matzohs, no question. But… I don’t know if eucharist really brings people closer to Jesus. What has been your experience?

AlwaysAsking, I came from a religious tradition that uses water and Wonder bread. And then I was an atheist for a long time where I viewed all religious ritual, and whatever was believed about it, as just people believing whatever it was they wanted to believe.

When I first started going to Mass, that is how I believed communion to be. A bunch of Catholics lined up, I really had no idea what they believed about communion, but certainly I noticed that they were in a more worshipful state than I was ever taught, with water and Wonder bread.

It was beyond puzzling to me, to say the least.

As I studied Catholicism and what Catholics believed about the Eucharist, I was intrigued, but not convinced. I’d still sit there, nearly every Sunday, watching people, noticing the smell of wine as they came back to sit near me.

As I came to find faith in God, which I had none of, whatsoever, I would pray now and then in Adoration chapels. And my own feelings were that God there, physically present, was beyond profound. But my head was still struggling with the Real Presence. By the time I was baptized a Catholic, I trusted God, that He had led me to where I was supposed to be and that He and I would get it all worked out.

I read your question back when you posted it, but honestly, what I believe about the Eucharist I don’t know how to put into words. And I don’t know that “feels different” is the form of measurement that I would put to this. If I feel different, it is because I clearly know, and understand, that God is truly there, present with us in the Eucharist. When I am in an Adoration chapel, I often feel like I should just fall flat on my face and worship the One who offers Himself for us.

I never had such thoughts, or beliefs, or this absolute knowledge that I can’t deny, in the religion that I was raised. I never felt like I was worshipping. Remembering, yes, but remembering compared to the Eucharist? Light years apart.