I am a baptised and confirmed Presbyterian. While visiting Catholic Mass, am I allowed to take Communion?

Sincerely,

Jeremy

-- Jeremy O'Kelly (jokelly@earthlink.net), February 05, 2003

Answers

I'm sorry, Jeremy, but you're not. Only Catholics who are in a state of grace are allowed to receive the Eucharist in the Catholic Church. As a Presbyterian, you probably don't share the same belief in the Real Presence (i.e., that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ), and unless you believe that, you can't receive the Eucharist. Hope this helps! :-)

-- Christine L. :-) (christine_lehman@hotmail.com), February 05, 2003.

Hi Jeremy,

The people at Catholic Answers have answered your question and so I thought you might be interested in reading what they had to say. They said:

"Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law. . . . " Scripture is clear that partaking of the Eucharist is among the highest signs of Christian unity: "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor. 10:17). For this reason, it is normally impossible for non- Catholic Christians to receive Holy Communion, for to do so would be to proclaim a unity to exist that, regrettably, does not. Another reason that many non-Catholics may not ordinarily receive Communion is for their own protection, since many reject the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Scripture warns that it is very dangerous for one not believing in the Real Presence to receive Communion: "For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died" (1 Cor. 11:29––30)...

...The circumstances in which Protestants are permitted to receive Communion are more limited, though it is still possible for them to do so under certain specifically defined circumstances. Canon law explains the parameters: "If the danger of death is present or other grave necessity, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or the conference of bishops, Catholic ministers may licitly administer these sacraments to other Christians who do not have full Communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and on their own ask for it, provided they manifest Catholic faith in these sacraments and are properly disposed" (CIC 844 §§ 4)."

Hope this helps.

-- Ed Lauzon (grader@accglobal.net), February 05, 2003.

Christine writes:

"you probably don't share the same belief in the Real Presence (i.e., that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ), and unless you believe that, you can't receive the Eucharist."

Just to clarify, even if a non-Catholic believes in the Real Presence, he/she still may not receive the Eucharist at a Catholic Church.

For those who are in the process of converting, receiving the rites of initiation (Baptism/Confirmation), they wait in joyful anticipation for their full membership into the faith so that they may receive Our Lord in the Eucharist.

For more info, here is some relevant information from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

God bless you,

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), February 05, 2003.

Mateo,

You say that a non-Catholic cannot ever receive The Eucharist even if they believe in the true presence of Jesus. That's not quite true. A member of the Greek Orthodox Church may receive the Eucharist, just as we may receive the Eucharist in their church, if for example we have gone on holiday to a place where no Catholic Mass is available. Like us they do believe in the presence of the Risen Jesus in the Eucharist.

-- Sara (Sara@yahoo.com), February 06, 2003.

Sara, I thought that Orthodox are Catholic, just not Roman Catholic, i.e. that they recognise all the sacraments but just don't hold rome to be the head of the church, namely through the pope. If that is such, they wouldn't really be the non-catholics mateo was referring to I think...

-- Oliver Fischer (spicenut@excite.com), February 06, 2003.

You are quite right, Oliver. There are Eastern Rite churches in full communion with the Catholic Church, and anyone in the Roman Rite may receive in the Eastern Rite Churches, and vice versa.

-- Christine L. :-) (christine_lehman@hotmail.com), February 06, 2003.

What do you mean Christine? That the guy is not in state of grace? Because he isn't catholic? Did you get hit with a brick on head recently?

-- (alter17@river.stream), February 06, 2003.

That isn't what Christine said. She said that only Catholics who are in a state of grace may receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. That is a true statement. I might add, that we may only receive Holy Communion when we are in a state of grace and have observed an hour's fast.

-- Anna <>< (FloweroftheHour@hotmail.com), February 06, 2003.

Oliver, you may be confusing the Greek Orthodox rite of the Orthodox Church (which remains is schism with the Holy See) with the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church(which remain in Communion with the Holy See). You can read more about both groups of Eastern Churches (ie. those in Communion with the Holy See and those not in Communion) at the Catholic Encyclopedia on Eastern Churches here:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05230a.htm

I didn’t include a portion of the reply from the Catholic Answers site I referred to earlier that dealt with the Orthodox Churches (those in schism) in my first post as the original question was about the Protestant faith only. The article agrees with Sara that Eastern Orthodox Christians could receive the Eucharist but only under certain circumstances and it read as follows:

“However, there are circumstances when non-Catholics may receive Communion from a Catholic priest. This is especially the case when it comes to Eastern Orthodox Christians, who share the same faith concerning the nature of the sacraments: "Catholic ministers may licitly administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist and anointing of the sick to members of the oriental churches which do not have full Communion with the Catholic Church, if they ask on their own for the sacraments and are properly disposed. This holds also for members of other churches, which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition as the oriental churches as far as these sacraments are concerned" (CIC 844 §§ 3). Christians in these churches should, of course, respect their own church’’s guidelines regarding when it would be permissible for them to receive Communion in a Catholic church."

-- Ed Lauzon (grader@accglobal.net), February 06, 2003.

I’d like to further clarify something Sara said in the foregoing. While it is possible for a Catholic to receive the Eucharist in an Eastern Orthodox Church (Canon 844) they are to be aware they must seek specific and special permission from the pastor of the parish concerned in advance. I believe this is done out of respect for the close “near-communion” the two Churches enjoy and out of respect for the other’s practices and beliefs in that, they may possess more restrictive disciplines in this matter that a recipient should be aware of.

One of the principle concerns of Vatican II was a desire to reemphasize the Church’s position of actively pursuing Christian unity - Ecumenism. In keeping with this desire and as a result of changes in the Code of Canon Law of 1983 and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches the Vatican revised the Ecumenical Directory. In it, the Vatican issued new norms concerning the reception of the Eucharist in special instances for admissions of non-Catholic Christians to communion at Catholic Eucharist as well as guidelines for Catholics receiving the Eucharist in Eastern Orthodox Churches. Since each Catholic diocesan bishop is responsible for the sacramental life of his diocese it was left incumbent upon them by the Holy See to determine the extent of implementation of these changes in their own particular local situations.

Lest anyone get excited however about this news and think the Church has drastically revised its’ norms in this area it is important to remember the sacraments of the Eucharist, Penance and Anointing of the Sick may only be administered to any baptised Christian who: 1.) does not have recourse to a minister in his/her own particular faith 2.) asks for the sacrament(s) on his/her own initiative and 3.) manifests Catholic faith in this sacrament(s) and be properly disposed. For example, those individuals who do not possess a belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist as Catholics know it are not permitted to receive the Eucharist under any circumstances.

As a side note to all of this, there are some other interesting changes that have occurred as a result of these revisions. For example, an Eastern Orthodox Christian (not in full communion with the Holy See) may stand as one of the Godparents (and not a witness) of a person at Baptism (the other of course, must be a Catholic in good standing). Likewise a Catholic may stand as a Godparent for a person who is being baptised in an Eastern Orthodox Church. (This topic was discussed recently in this forum on another thread.)

If anyone would like to read the directory in its entirety it can be found here:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/docume nts/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_25031993_principles-and-norms-on- ecumenism_en.html

-- Ed Lauzon (grader@accglobal.net), February 07, 2003.

I see the last address I gave for Directory on Ecumenism doesn’t work. For those who wish to read it if you go to this site:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/

and scroll down to the Directory For the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism (1993) and click on it you should be able to find it.

Sorry for the inconvenience, I am not as computer literate as I would like to be.

-- Ed Lauzon (grader@accglobal.net), February 07, 2003.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have a code thats says as long as you believe what Catholics believe in the sacraments than you may recive it in the Catholic Church, you cannot deny any thing they teach about the sacraments. This is all 7 you must believe in.

-- John White (njguyjp1988@netscape.net), August 16, 2004.

Non-Catholics may not receive Holy Communion in a Catholic Church under ordinary circumstances. Period. The Conference of Catholic Bishops' statement allows for the granting of special permission in extraordinary circumstances, to Christians who believe in the Real Presence. Those who do not believe in the Real Presence may not be granted permission under any circumstances. Such permission would constitute sacrilege.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), August 16, 2004.

The reception of Holy Communion is not the same as receiving a magic cookie. Nor is the reception of Holy Communion to be considered as a social event. When a Catholic receives Holy Communion he is stating that he not only believes in the teachings of Jesus but also accepts that Jesus is fully present in the Holy Eucharist — body, blood, soul, and divinity. It is hypocrisy to receive Holy Communion without this belief and a very grave sin will have been committed. One's personal belief to the contrary will not be relevant on judgement day.

-- - (David@excite.com), August 16, 2004.