by talesin 22 Replies latest jw friends
I attended a funeral on the weekend, and my friend asked me to go up with her for the wafer (no disrespect intended, I'm not sure of the correct term to use). She is RC herself, but was shy to walk up alone - it was a large funeral.
I did not, because I have been told in the past that it would be very disrespectful. She said that it was considered okay for a baptized person (of any faith, as long as you had been baptized by 'someone') to do so, RC or not.
?
thanks,
t
wish I could help with that Tal...when I was a practicing catholic we HAD to go to confession before receiving the eucharist....and you had to be catholic....now a days it would seem that it is no longer a sin...in fact you don't even need to go to confession at all now from what I can gather.
They even used to be fussy about putting in straight onto your tongue and not handling it...but we could hold it when I was a child...but of course you had to hold your hands a certain way.
I had to go through first holy communion also BEFORE I could partake of the eucharist.
What once was a sin is no longer...go figure
wafer= eucharist or host, as Still Thinking already said.
Hi Talespin,
I'm not Catholic but I do know that the Orthodox church and Catholics both have a closed communion system.
It is wise that you did not go and take communion. I think it would have been wrong for the priest to give it to you if he had known you are not Catholic.
However, respectfully I would say a Catholic here would need to answer your question.
Peace
Maksym
I went with a non Catholic friend to a Catholic mass recently. When it came time to eat the bread she would not get up and told me not to as well. When I said that I had been baptised as a Catholic as an infant, shortly before my parents became Catholic apostates and joined the Watchtower religion, she then told me it was ok to partake; so I did. What I found somewhat hypocritical was that the priest took the wine alone and would not let anyone else. Apparently Jesus' instructions are not good enough for the Catholic Church to actually follow, and since wine is expensive and may lead to abuse by alcoholics, only the priest follows that part of the ceremony in some Churches.
Apparently Jesus' instructions are not good enough for the Catholic Church to actually follow, and since wine is expensive and may lead to abuse by alcoholics, only the priest follows that part of the ceremony in some Churches.
Well, that's not the case around here. All receive wine if they want it.
Thanks to all for their comments.
Still Thinking - I wasn't sure if you were taking that from my story, or is it your understanding (as a recovering Catholic) that the practice has been changed?
poppers - are you a Catholic, and if so, are you saying this is correct?
tx
tal
I am high church Episcopalian. When I was very ill, I telephoned St. Patrick's Cathedral in NY to see if I could attend their healing service. The worst thing an Episcopalian could do is refuse communion to anyone. It is between God and the individual. I was told emphatically I was not welcome. Only Catholics in good standing. Around the same time, a man dying from AIDS wanted to marry. He was bisexual. The diocese refused to marry him.
I discussed the situation with the writer of A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle, a regular at the Episcopal Cathedral. She was the writer in residence. Her advice was that she frequently preaches in Catholic churches and, b/c of her view of Eucharist, always partakes. No priest has ever said anything to her. She said I made the mistake of affirmatively requesting Eucharist. She just goes and partakes. I could be a mole for the diocese and ensnare the priest.
When I worshipped at the Cathedral, Jesuit priests consecrated the E. Eucharist and received it. I believe it depends on the local priest. YOu should not take it if you don't want it. I always go up alone for Eucharist with massive amounts of people - thousands upon thousands. I live in a much less cosmpolitan place now and decided to partake in a local Catholic church. My nephew almost had a stroke from the horror. I was so uncomfortable I would not do it again here.
I've had Roman Catholic priests strongly encourage me. On the other hand, some of the "nos" were so emphatic. I believe they would physically restrain me if I persisted.
Thanks, BOTR, there seems to be little consensus on this point. hmmmm, verrry interesting.
tal
I was RC for a while. You are not supposed to take communion unless you have been confirmed by the RC Church. You can go up with your arms crossed against your chest and receive a blessing, though. Personally, I don't believe that the communion means anything, so if you did take it and it didn't bother anyone else, then who cares?It only matters for reasons of politeness.
There is a great book called "How to Be a Perfect Stranger" that explains how to act in religious services other than your own. It has helped me through numerous funerals and weddings.
