Why Can't Catholics Participate in Protestant Open Communion services?

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pismopal said:
Why should I…as a Catholic, partake of a cracker and some grape juice while knowing in my heart that it is nothing more than that? The Church has Holy Communion… the Body Blood Soul and Divinity of Christ through the miracle of the Mass and Transubstatiation. This sacrament is the centerpiece of the differences between the Church and the tens of thousands of sects who to one extend or another…call themselves Christians.
I mean no disrespect but why would I want to do that…seriously? If you are in a protestant gathering for one reason or another…just let the cracker and juice go by and say a silent prayer for those we believe do not have Holy Communion that their eyes will open…that is a better use of your time IMO.
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Let me reiterate again for everyone.

I am not asking for myself but for my friend.

We both sing in a choir once a month at a Protestant church (yeah, yeah, I know, but that has been discussed on other threads). I spoke to her over the weekend about not receiving. She told me that her priest said in the case of that particular church, it is okay since they just see it as a sign of unity. I told her that the Catholic Church forbade it. However, I don’t think I did a good job explaining why it was still not a good idea even if they don’t believe in transubstantiation anyway. By the way, she is a cradle catholic and very serious about her spiritual life. She just needs cathechesis in a few areas.

When the communion plate came around, I passed it on. I didn’t want to crane my neck to see if she received or not. I believe my bringing it up is making her rethink her beliefs. I just want to be armed with the best reasons why, since her priest gave her contradictory teaching.
 
TrueLight said:
She told me that her priest said in the case of that particular church, it is okay since they just see it as a sign of unity. I told her that the Catholic Church forbade it.
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The reason her priest gave for allowing her to participate is EXACTLY why the Church forbids it. It is indeed a sign of unity, and it is a “unity” which does not exist between the Church and any protestant group. One cannot profess a union which does not exist.
Earlier, you stated that your friend thought it was ok because it was simply a show of community. I would explain that community means a group of people who hold certain things in common. If the communion service is meant to show a sense of community, then that would mean that what the bread and wine (or juice) represent is one of those signs of commonality.We do not share that idea, and thus are NOT a part of their community (nor they ours).
The words “common”, “communion”, “commonality”, and “community” have the same root meaning-- something belonging to or shared by all the people. The Eucharist is clearly not one of those things.
 
juno24 said:
The words “common”, “communion”, “commonality”, and “community” have the same root meaning-- something belonging to or shared by all the people. The Eucharist is clearly not one of those things.
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Good answer. Thanks!
 
juno24 said:
The reason her priest gave for allowing her to participate is EXACTLY why the Church forbids it. It is indeed a sign of unity, and it is a “unity” which does not exist between the Church and any protestant group. One cannot profess a union which does not exist.
Earlier, you stated that your friend thought it was ok because it was simply a show of community. I would explain that community means a group of people who hold certain things in common. If the communion service is meant to show a sense of community, then that would mean that what the bread and wine (or juice) represent is one of those signs of commonality.We do not share that idea, and thus are NOT a part of their community (nor they ours).
The words “common”, “communion”, “commonality”, and “community” have the same root meaning-- something belonging to or shared by all the people. The Eucharist is clearly not one of those things.
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I love priests but they are MEN and even as trained and well meaning as most are one cannot and should not, take everything a priest says to the bank. I believe the Catechism touches on this subject and the Catechism is a better source of Church doctrine than just one man. At any rate…bad advice is bad advice…no matter who gives it…yep:)
 
SmokeRing said:
This still really doesn’t make sense in some circumstances. If one went to a liturgy at a Lutheran or Episcopal parish I could see how it would be very wrong for a Catholic to receive Holy Communion in such a setting because Caatholics do not believe their have the Real Presence yet they believe they do.

On the other hand if you went to another church that specifically said their “Lord’s supper” was 100% symbolic I don’t see the big-deal harm in shooting down a shot-glass of Welches and chomping Sara Lee cheesecake square if one was thirsty and hungry. I wouldn’t do it, but I certainly wouldn’t equate their self-described simulation as an attempt at Holy Communion.
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Clarification.
 
pismopal said:
Why should I…as a Catholic, partake of a cracker and some grape juice while knowing in my heart that it is nothing more than that? The Church has Holy Communion… the Body Blood Soul and Divinity of Christ through the miracle of the Mass and Transubstatiation. This sacrament is the centerpiece of the differences between the Church and the tens of thousands of sects who to one extend or another…call themselves Christians.
I mean no disrespect but why would I want to do that…seriously? If you are in a protestant gathering for one reason or another…just let the cracker and juice go by and say a silent prayer for those we believe do not have Holy Communion that their eyes will open…that is a better use of your time IMO. If you are Catholic and you don’t know the difference between Catholic Holy Communion and a protestant communion maybe a little prayer for yourself would be better.
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Many groups go to great pains to remind everyone that their simulated “Lord’s supper” is nothing more than grape juice and a cracker. They make absolutely no claim that it is Holy Communion. Quite the opposite in fact. You ask the question, why might you want to partake in their simulation? Two possibilities come to mind. Either you want to be courteous or perhaps you are legitimately hungry.

It’s YOU that is trying to compare their simulated Lord’s supper to Holy Communion, not them.
 
SmokeRing said:
This still really doesn’t make sense in some circumstances. If one went to a liturgy at a Lutheran or Episcopal parish I could see how it would be very wrong for a Catholic to receive Holy Communion in such a setting because Caatholics do not believe their have the Real Presence yet they do.

On the other hand if you went to another church that specifically said their “Lord’s supper” was 100% symbolic I don’t see the big-deal harm in shooting down a shot-glass of Welches and chomping Sara Lee cheesecake square if one was thirsty and hungry. I wouldn’t do it, but I certainly wouldn’t equate their self-described simulation as an attempt at Holy Communion.
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Then it means you are condoning that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is merely symbolic and not an actual turning of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Then it means you are condoning that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is merely symbolic and not an actual turning of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
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I saw my friend today and I told her I was asking about this on her behalf and she said, “Well, everyone does have their own faith.” So I told her the Church forbids it and by taking communion, one is stating that one is in agreement with their beliefs. And she said, “I know it is not the blood and body, and I asked a priest and he said it was okay.”

Well, all I can do is be a good example.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Then it means you are condoning that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is merely symbolic and not an actual turning of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
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No. I’m not entirely sure what you mean with your sentence but I will state this.

I’m simply not equating a simulated (by design and advertisement) Lord’s supper to receiving Holy Communion. Nor are they.

Whole different story if I was to receive communion in a Lutheran or Episcopal parish where they do make such claims.
 
SmokeRing said:
No. I’m not entirely sure what you mean with your sentence but I will state this.

I’m simply not equating a simulated (by design and advertisement) Lord’s supper to receiving Holy Communion. Nor are they.

Whole different story if I was to receive communion in a Lutheran or Episcopal parish where they do make such claims.
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The way I look at this is ask myself if a “simulated” Lord’s Supper would ever make sense if were conducted among a group of faithful Catholics. We Catholics always celebrate Communion in the context of the liturgy, with a priest connecting the Eucharist. To go through the motions of communion outside of the liturgy, even with a priest reciting the words of consecration would be wrong.

Now, as a Catholic, I’ve partaken in an Agape meal, which is a truly symbolic representation of communion. However, this takes place outside of mass, and with a loaf of bread instead of communion wafers. I suppose that one could participate in an Agape (Greek for the love God has for man) with Protestants, however, this would have to be outside of even a Protestant service to avoid the appearance of endorsing a defective version of Holy Communion.
 
The Catholic Church is not the only christian church that has a “closed” communion – only Catholics may participate – rather than an “open” communion – one in which anyone who wishes to participate may receive. Eastern Orthodox, some Lutherans, some Baptists, etc. also have “closed” communions.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_communion

There are a couple of good reasons that Catholics do not receive communion at protestant churches.

One is a real difference in belief about the validity of the sacrament.

A second reason is that there are important doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants about what the bread and wine mean. We simply don’t agree about what we are doing when we bless, break and receive the bread and wine.

A third is that receiving communion is a false sign of unity, since the churches that we represent are not unified but are separated by serious differences in faith and practice. It is better for us to encourage our church leaders to reach real agreement and real unity than to pretend that our churches are one when, in fact, we are deeply divided and have been divided for centuries.

Finally, and this is my personal view, it seems truly hypocritical for me for an evangelical Christian to argue that it is ok for a Catholic to receive communion at their churches, symbolizing our unity in faith, yet to argue that Catholics are not Christians because of differences in our beliefs and practices.
 
TrueLight said:
I saw my friend today and I told her I was asking about this on her behalf and she said, “Well, everyone does have their own faith.” So I told her the Church forbids it and by taking communion, one is stating that one is in agreement with their beliefs. And she said, “I know it is not the blood and body, and I asked a priest and he said it was okay.”

Well, all I can do is be a good example.
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Its not hard to debunk that if the priest himself gives error in his teaching. Seriously, if I do not know any better and you tell me one thing and a priest tells me another thing, I’d probably take the priest’s word more because he’s a priest.
 
Alan55 said:
The Catholic Church is not the only christian church that has a “closed” communion – only Catholics may participate – rather than an “open” communion – one in which anyone who wishes to participate may receive. Eastern Orthodox, some Lutherans, some Baptists, etc. also have “closed” communions.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_communion

There are a couple of good reasons that Catholics do not receive communion at protestant churches.

One is a real difference in belief about the validity of the sacrament.

A second reason is that there are important doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants about what the bread and wine mean. We simply don’t agree about what we are doing when we bless, break and receive the bread and wine.

A third is that receiving communion is a false sign of unity, since the churches that we represent are not unified but are separated by serious differences in faith and practice. It is better for us to encourage our church leaders to reach real agreement and real unity than to pretend that our churches are one when, in fact, we are deeply divided and have been divided for centuries.

Finally, and this is my personal view, it seems truly hypocritical for me for an evangelical Christian to argue that it is ok for a Catholic to receive communion at their churches, symbolizing our unity in faith, yet to argue that Catholics are not Christians because of differences in our beliefs and practices.
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The Catholic Church would share communion with other communities/groups/Churches that profess the same belief. An example is the allowance of inter-Communion between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Its not hard to debunk that if the priest himself gives error in his teaching. Seriously, if I do not know any better and you tell me one thing and a priest tells me another thing, I’d probably take the priest’s word more because he’s a priest.
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Yeah, I know what you mean.
 
ConstantineTG said:
The Catholic Church would share communion with other communities/groups/Churches that profess the same belief. An example is the allowance of inter-Communion between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.
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Note too that Anglicans in France have permission to receive communion in a Catholic church if they are too far from an Anglican Church. This agreement has been in place for almost 30 years.
 
TrueLight said:
Yeah, I know what you mean.
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Sorry, I meant it is NOW hard to do so. I mean, its not his fault because the reason priests are priests is because we expect them to know better. Sadly that is not the case always.
 
liturgyluver said:
Note too that Anglicans in France have permission to receive communion in a Catholic church if they are too far from an Anglican Church. This agreement has been in place for almost 30 years.
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I know that the Traditional Anglicans have more or less the correct belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Unfortunately they are lacking a valid minister.
 
pismopal said:
Why should I…as a Catholic, partake of a cracker and some grape juice while knowing in my heart that it is nothing more than that? The Church has Holy Communion… the Body Blood Soul and Divinity of Christ through the miracle of the Mass and Transubstatiation. This sacrament is the centerpiece of the differences between the Church and the tens of thousands of sects who to one extend or another…call themselves Christians.
I mean no disrespect but why would I want to do that…seriously? If you are in a protestant gathering for one reason or another…just let the cracker and juice go by and say a silent prayer for those we believe do not have Holy Communion that their eyes will open…that is a better use of your time IMO. If you are Catholic and you don’t know the difference between Catholic Holy Communion and a protestant communion maybe a little prayer for yourself would be better.
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I think in deference to charity with our Protestant brothers and sisters, it’s best not to use the terms “cracker” and “grape juice”. 🙂 Seems a bit…looking for the word…condescending?
 
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