Posted on 12/27/2008 2:48:02 PM PST by NYer
Q. Why can’t Protestants receive communion at the Catholic Church?
A. To protect them from Judgment.
1 Corinthians 11: 27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be
guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
Since, Protestants do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as we do, they do not discern or recognize that Jesus’ body is present under the appearance of bread and wine. We would be allowing them to eat and drink judgment upon themselves. The prohibtion is actually very charitable but, unfortunately, it is usually seen as a rejection.
Evidence of this interpretation of this passage is supported by St. Justin the Martyr :
“We call this food Eucharist; and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true…”
-Justin Martyr -FIRST APOLOGY, 66,20–(150 A.D.)
Q. Why do we call the bread “The Host”?
A. Our use of this term, to refer to the consecrated bread, comes from the Latin word hostia, which means ‘victim’. We believe that Jesus Christ is really present in the consecrated bread and wine on our altars. The mass is a re-presentation of the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. Therefore, Jesus is the victim of sacrifice and we call the bread the host/victim to help us remember that it is no longer bread but the Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ given to us to strengthen and keep us on the journey to Heaven.
They don’t need to have the actual bible in the pew because the missalette is in the pews. All daily bible readings are printed in that book from the bible. The whole Mass is in that book! Instead of flipping through the bible from book to book we have the readings printed together within a few pages for us to follow along. However, I’ve found that with little kids it’s just easier for me to listen. If I have to turn pages, the baby will grab it and it messes me all up! :0)
And my ex-mil who attends mass every Sunday is a liar, too? I then am a liar, also, because when I attended mass with her (minus her Bible) once, no one that I saw there carried a Bible?
If you are a Christian and your heart is right before Christ you can take communion wherever you please...its between you and Christ not what some church says.
And to Phil’s excellent answer, I will add this:
The Apostles who started the Church were once Jews. In the Jewish temples, one person would get up and read from the sacred scripture and all in the congregation would listen to the words. Christ got up and read the scripture in the Temple to the assembled Jews.
The Apostles began the new Church of Christ in the same way and the Catholic Church has continued their tradition through all times. Many of the things Catholics do at Mass have their roots in the Jewish traditions given to us by the Apostles. Christ was a Jew and we continue to honor His heritage in our Mass and customs.
Catholics are to study the Bible at home. We have missals in the pews we can use if we like to read along at Mass. At every Mass we read from the psalms, the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Acts or Letters from the Apostles. Our readings encompass Old Testament Jewish history and prophesy, Christ’s actions and words to us, the story of the early Church, and clarifications from the Apostles. In addition, the priest delivers a homily in which he highlights aspects of the readings of the day from the Bible.
Every Mass is a small, intense Bible Study, along with the re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice for us on Calvary.
I hope that helps. For all who would like to know more about our customs, I can recommend books by Tim Staples. He looked at them from a Protestant perspective.
why would you want to? I mean, I wouldn’t want to take communion in a church that did not believe what I did. Communion is a statement of shared beliefs as well. I would think the only reason to do so would be to cause scandal, which is a grave sin indeed.
Not exactly. Most confessional protestants practice some sort of closed or close communion. This is common among Lutherans and most Reformed churches. E.g., in my own case, weekly communion is preceded by instruction to the congregation that it is only for members in good standing of this or some other evangelical church. Even many Baptist churches practice some form of closed communion.
Did you bother paying attention at Mass? There are every day readings from the Bible, at the end of a year of daily Mass and Vespers EVERY VERSE is read out loud.
The lie is that Catholics “do not read their Bibles”. Total nonsense. First it is read OUT LOUD in the entirety (including the Books Luther excised) every year. Second, every parish I know has a Bible study group to which all are invited.
Do you honestly believe that it is right to go into ANY church service and disrespect it?
Would you want that to happen at your church?
I think the only reason a FReeper starts one of these threads is that they like to instigate arguments between Catholics and non-Catholics. I cannot see how these threads serve any helpful purpose. Everyone is firmly entrenched. Rarely are there any changes of heart due to something read in a thread like this.
If I as a protestant decided to attend a catholic church (I was raised catholic) and take communion...that’s between me and the Lord. The people there don’t know anything about me one way or the other, it has nothing to do with them.
Christ is for everyone...not just catholics. You guys are unbelievable.
I'd disagree...I'd say the Mormons are closest to the Catholics...Both their religions are based upon xtra-biblical heresies...
if you were raised catholic, then you know why you shouldn’t. If you choose to anyway, no one is going to know unless you announce it first. Why bother on here if you already know the answer. You will face your maker one day and if you decide to remain outside the church or take communion in it while not a member, its your problem, not anyone elses. Sin is sin, and if you know from being raised catholic its a mortal sin whether you like it or not.
I may add you were not raised an informed catholic or you would still be one. I am not going to answer any further posts, as you are here to disrupt and either you know better and just don’t care, or you want to incite. Either way, Pax Christi to you. Good day.
Why were the wedding guests who arrived without wedding attire cast out into the streets?
LOL I was in seminary for 3 years. You guys are something.
Before I was a Christian, I was given the wafer in a Catholic church, twice...No one asked if I was 'qualified'...They passed em out like candy on Halloween...
Oh, I’m not saying you can’t take it just walking in to mass, but if you notify the celebrant of your status as not confirmed nor Catholic you will be denied communion.
Well He is for everyone in a state of grace.Many non-catholic churches offer communion just go there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.