Is it true NON catholic can receive the Eucharist at catholic Mass?

Question

My friend does it and she said she could.

Answer 1

At the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Take this bread. It is my body.” The he said, “Take this and drink. This is my blood. Do this in memory of me.”

Catholics believe this was the First Eucharist, that through some miracle the bread and wine actually became the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Catholic reenact the Last Supper during every Mass, where the priest, acting in place of Christ, changes the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This is a great sacrament of thanksgiving and unity of Catholics.

Anyone who does not believe in the actual presence of Christ and is not united with the Catholic faith is asked, out of respect, not to receive the Eucharist.

Catholics, out of respect for other Christian faiths, do not receive Communion in non-Catholic churches.

We pray that one day Christian unity will succeed and we will all be called to the same table.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

No, a non Catholic should not receive the Eucharist. Because Catholics believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist and if it is taken by someone who does not believe then this is a sacrilege. It shows disrespect.

Answer 3

A non-Catholic or a Catholic who is not in a state of grace (has an unconfessed mortal sin) should not receive communion.

On the other hand, no one is checking for ID at churches. Catholics don't even HAVE ID cards.

Does your frined believe in all of the things that the Catholic church believes, including that the bread and wine become the Body and blood of Christ? If not, then she is lying when she says "Amen" to the priest's words of "Body of Christ" If she does believe everything the Catholic Church teaches, then why is she not Catholic?

Answer 4

Non Catholics aren't suppose to take the Eucharist at Mass. However there are certain Masses that they are allowed if they truly believe in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Answer 5

If the non-Catholic is Orthodox then yes they can.

If they are Protestant, Unitarian, Mormon or Jehovah's Witness then no they cannot.

That said, no one checks identity cards to see what denomination they are from. It would be uncharitable to refuse someone communion. They are likely operating from either pride or ignorance. It probably is not your job to educate them on this. Speak with a priest about it. You would not want to embarras your friend, but they should understand the actions they take as well.

Answer 6

If you are not in full unity with the Catholic Church and her teachings you should not, keeping in mind St. Paul's warning for those who receive unworthly. They eat and drink damnation unto themselves.

Answer 7

The guidelines for receiving Communion, which are issued by the U.S. bishops and published in many missalettes, explain, "We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ’s prayer for us ‘that they may all be one’ (John 17:21).

"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).

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.

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).

It is important to remember that, under the rubrics specified above, even in those rare circumstances when non-Catholics are able to receive Communion, the same requirements apply to them as to Catholics.

Answer 8

Depends on the amount of the donation they gave the church. A big enough donation will let you do anything. And they say salvation isn't for sale.

Answer 9

They certainly can; you don't have to show proof of catholicism, but they're not supposed to.

Answer 10

you're really not supposed to...if you're not catholic.