Why must you be a catholic to receive communion?

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dustdev14

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Hey y’all. As a recent convert to Christianity who largely argrees with catholic ideas, I simply want to ask why you must be a member of the church to receive communion? Why are non members left out of such an important part of the faith? I’m not well versed in scripture, but Jesus told us to consume his body and blood (during the last supper I believe). Isn’t it wrong to prevent people from following Christ’s teachings until a certain point?
Thanks, Kaden
 
For starters, to make sure the recipients are aware that they are receiving the ACTUAL Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and not just symbolic bread and wine.
 
There are many theological reason why, but the practical reason appeals to me the most.

The scriptures say that if anyone partakes unworthily they are guilty of Christ’s blood. That is a pretty weighty condemnation. Therefore, it is for our own good that we do not partake unless we are properly disposed. The Catholic Church has no way of knowing if non-Catholics are properly disposed, so to be safe, our communion is closed.
 
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The short answer is when you receive Holy Communion you are actually receiving the living Body and Blood of Christ. You should receive Communion worthily, in a state of grace.

Also, when you receive Holy Communion you are professing you believe in everything the Catholic Church believes and teaches. That is why you say “Amen” when you receive Communion.
 
I will be honest, when I was a new Christian I did take communion at a Catholic Church as I just ‘turned up’ and didn’t realise it wasn’t all just the same thing as we were doing In the Methodist church. I am now in the RCC many years later. So it isn’t always spiritually dangerous. There is a world away from ‘I’m gonna take this, as I see it to be a way to get close to God’ not knowing differently and ‘ I’m gonna take this as the Catholics are wrong and it doesn’t matter either way ‘
 
@halogirl What you did was innocent out of not knowing any better. God does not judge those in your shoes severely!
 
Passover was a sign of participation in God’s covenant with the Jews, yes? But the way you participated was that you were a Jew, generally speaking.

Communion is a sign that you are part of the Body of Christ, but it is called “Communion” (koinonia) because you are part of a company, corporate partnership, or fellowship (koinonia), which consists not just of Jesus and you, but of every other person who is in communion with Him and the Church.

Peter and his partners had a fishing koinonia, before Jesus came along. They ended up having to leave it and go fishing for men, in a very different koinonia run by Jesus.

So if you want to receive Communion, you have to join up with the company and become a partner and co-heir in the business. 😉
 
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I just knew then and still do that God loves and saves all those who acknowledge him as Lord and serve him as best they can. Holy Spirit still working in me to be better in very specific areas that he sharply points out to me. Enjoying my walk with the Lord and glad he led me to the RCC
 
Those who receive the holy Eucharist have to believe in the true presence of Christ. You also need to be in a state of grace. By receiving communion, you are saying you are a Catholic and agree with all of the teachings.
 
I think we to clear up some language errors. First the Catholic is always capitalized as it is a proper name. I do not like the word “member” in this context either. When converts come into the Catholic Church it’s not as though they are joining a club, they are making a life changing decision. They don’t become a member of the Catholic Church, they become one with the Body of Christ, his Church.

So why the wait to be able to receive the Eucharist? Because of the life changing effect initiation into the Body of Christ has on a person’s soul. In order to make such a life changing decision one needs to know what they are doing so there is a period of instruction commonly called RCIA. It is in RCIA (I would hope) you would learn about the Catholic faith and the Catholic Church. Once that period of instruction has been complete you can make an informed choice to continue on with becoming Catholic.

If you choose to go forward you will be initiated in to the Catholic Church by receiving the sacraments, however at this time you will know exactly what they mean.
 
Because they probably wont fully understand what they are receiving. Many protestants think it is only symbolic but for Catholics it is the real presence.
 
dustdev14 said:
but Jesus told us to consume his body and blood (during the last supper I believe).
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For one thing, they don’t believe it is his body and blood, but rather is a representation of it.

Second, they’re more than welcome to receive–provided they become Catholic. Bottom line is this: If you want to belong to the club, you have to play by the rules.
 
Jesus- as the new Passover sacrifice- has some rules. The first Passover (and subsequent ones, up to the time of Jesus) was restricted to those in the covenant community of Israel:

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the passover: no foreigner shall eat of it; but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No sojourner or hired servant may eat of it. In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry forth any of the flesh outside the house; and you shall not break a bone of it. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Exodus 12: 43-49

In other words, one had to become Jewish in order to eat the Passover. Similarly, if one wishes to receive Jesus, our new Passover, in the Blessed Sacrament, they must become Catholic, lest they eat and drink judgement upon themselves (1 Corinthians 11:29).
 
on_the_hill said:
Bottom line is this: If you want to belong to the club, you have to play by the rules.
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Honestly, this can solidify the feeling some (many?) non-Catholics feel when attending (with family, spouse, etc…). For some (many) non-Catholics we don’t always realize you don’t see us as, like you said, part of your club.

Disclaimer: I’m not saying your view of closed communion is right/wrong/indifferent…but that statement comes off sounding like non-Catholics aren’t part of the club and are therefore unwelcome…at least that’s how it can be construed…
 
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TC3033 said:
Honestly, this can solidify the feeling some (many?) non-Catholics feel when attending (with family, spouse, etc…). For some (many) non-Catholics we don’t always realize you don’t see us as, like you said, part of your club.
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Imagine how it must have felt when only full members of the congregation were not allowed to go past the Narthex. They could listen to the service from there, but not go into the church proper. I have only heard about this recently. How did they police this I wonder? Maybe by what serve as the ushers today?
 
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dustdev14 said:
Isn’t it wrong to prevent people from following Christ’s teachings until a certain point?
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No, because if people want to “follow Christ’s teachings” they can join the Church and be properly prepared to receive Christ in the form of the Eucharist. RCIA class is open to all.

The Church has never handed out the sacrament of Holy Eucharist to anybody who happens to walk in the door. You may not be aware of this, but until about the 1900s there were very strict regulations even on which Catholics could receive Holy Communion, and a lot of Catholics were often shut out though they were attending the Mass and had received Catholic teaching, etc. You had to have permission from your confessor, and you didn’t just get to go receive any day you wanted, or even any Sunday you wanted. It’s quite a blessing that Catholics are now allowed to receive so often.

This sacrament in which we consume the real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is super important; for many of us, the Eucharist is a main reason we are Catholic. We need to make sure that whoever is going to receive Jesus first, understands that they are receiving Jesus, as in his real Body and Blood; second, is fully prepared to receive Jesus, like not in a state of mortal sin and not taking this lightly; and third (in the vast majority of cases with very rare exceptions) is committed to the faith.

It’s frankly a bit rude for people to think they can just show up and receive like it’s no big thing. This isn’t a plate of crackers and juice we’re handing around.
 
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I’d never seen it from that perspective. So, thanks for that.

On the other hand, I can’t say that I change my stance.
 
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That’s fair, I don’t think you need to change your stance at all. I just wouldn’t be surprised that by hearing things like such non-Catholics don’t feel welcome.

Off handed comments are one thing that make me feel uneasy about going to church with my wife, and she hasn’t been a fan of it either.

It’s made us look at making some changes.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
You may not be aware of this, but until about the 1900s there were very strict regulations even on which Catholics could receive Holy Communion, and a lot of Catholics were often shut out though they were attending the Mass and had received Catholic teaching, etc. You had to have permission from your confessor, and you didn’t just get to go receive any day you wanted, or even any Sunday you wanted.
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I was not aware of this. Get permission from your confessor to go to communion? When did this happen, and where?
 
Short history here:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06278a.htm

The Nine First Fridays devotion, which was based on revelations to St. Margaret Mary in the late 1600s but didn’t get really popular till the 1900s, when she was canonized (1920), is viewed as trying to increase Catholics’ frequency of receiving Holy Communion, since you have to receive on nine consecutive Fridays to complete the devotion. A lot of Catholics would usually abstain from Communion, even if they’d recently been to confession, because they thought they were not worthy of receiving and some also thought that it was more proper to just venerate the Eucharist in Adoration rather than consume it into your body.
 
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