Why can't a Non-Catholic receive the Eucharist?

[Pondero]

At a retirement home I visit occasionally to get the people downstairs in wheel chairs to Mass in a hall, I talked with one woman in a wheel chair who attends Mass, athough she isn’t Catholic. She said.“My mother says there is only one God, and I attend the Catholic Mass here on Fridays as well as the Salvation Army …” She mentioned one more church service she attended.

I thought that was very commendable until I noticed later on that she received communion. I was sitting far from her and was surprised by her action. I don’t want to tell her she can’t do that, but I don’t she can. However, I can talk to the priest next time I see him and talk to him about it. Is this a wise decision?

 

[Devon_Caffran]

These links should answer all of your questions on the Eucharist. If you have any further questions or concerns that are not answered by these links, please contact Catholic Answers directly.

Recommended Reading:
The Eucharist is No Mere Symbol
This Is a Hard Teaching: Why Christ Meant Literally What He Said About the Eucharist by Jason Shanks

The Real Presence from the Catholic Answers Library
Christ in the Eucharist from the Catholic Answers Library

Ecclesia de Eucharistia
Redemptionis Sacramentum

May I receive Communion with Lutherans?
Why can’t Catholics receive Protestant communion?