how come if u r not Catholic u can't recieve communion?

Question

i go to an Episcopal Church but whenever i visit a Catholic church u can't recieve communion if u r not Catholic. but at my church n e 1 can take communion y is this?

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.

Catholics 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

Catholics have a very specific belief about the Eucharist which we receive in Holy Communion, and that belief is central to our faith. We believe that what we are receiving is indeed THE Body and Blood of Jesus; nothing more, nothing less. It is not a symbol of the B&B or a sign of it or some other representation - it is what we say it is.

Currently, none of the other Christian denominations hold this exact same belief. (Although we are getting closer to an "agreement" with the Lutheran church and perhaps even the Anglican Church.) It has been decided that only those who truly hold this belief and belong to the Catholic Church may receive the sacrament. It is also considered one of the three sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church (along with a Christian baptism and Catholic Confirmation).

It is pretty exclusive, no question, but not without theological reason.

Answer 3

Non-Catholics may not receive communion in the Catholic church because their understanding of the Eucharist is different. Most Protestants regard the bread and wine as symbols of Christ, or at best, they consider Christ to be present IN the symbols. Catholics officially believe that the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ. It's a serious doctrinal divide, hingeing on the Bible verse about "receiving the body and blood of the Lord unworthily". A respectful Catholic would not receive in a Protestant church out of respect for the different beliefs. It may sound counterintuitive in some ways but that's dogma for you.

Episcopalians are perhaps the closest denomination to Catholicism, and perhaps they believe as Catholics do, but there is an historical problem in that Rome can't verify that there is a continuous succession of proper ordination among English bishops. It is a sore point that both churches are trying to overcome but there are always sectarian sticklers impeding the process.

Looked at another way, "communion" means "union with". If you are not an actual member of the denomination, you should not participate on that level. It's not a big deal to them if you don't come forward.

Answer 4

Here's it in a nutshell... The priest distributing communion (or another Eucharistic minister) holds up the Body of Christ and announces "the Body of Christ", to which the receiving person must respond "Amen". This Amen means "I Believe". Believe what? Believe that the bread truly is the Body of Christ. That is what Catholics mean by "the Body of Christ. So if you truly DO believe that, then come on up, no Priest will deny you. But if you DO believe that, then you might as well be Catholic, because that's the biggest difference. We believe in Transubstantiation, which is true Body under the appearence by all senses of it still being bread. Consubstantiation (what Lutherans, and some other protestants) believe it is truly Jesus' body, but WITH the bread at the same time. (con=both together). seems like a small difference, but obviously not. What I don't understand is if you're not Catholic, why do you want to participate in this sacrament, when you don't even believe in it? When I go with inlaws to their Baptist service, and every so often they have the Lord's Supper, I am invited to participate, but decline, becasue I don't want to suggest to anyone there that this is my belief. I practice MY BELIEF in MY CHURCH, and I respectully watch another denomination's beliefs while in their church. Seems logical.

Answer 5

I really don't know about the official church position on the matter. I am not a Catholic, but I attended a service in a Catholic church and received communion, even though the priest knew well I was not a Catholic.

Answer 6

You know what? You can go up and get communion if you want. If you attend mass with other Catholics - they will probably tell you not to do it - but if you really want to do it - who is going to stop you???? If you don't go to church there regularly - how would the priest know you're some Episcopal guy trying to get a Catholic Communion wafer???? The Catholic religion (which I grew up in and am no longer a part of) has a BUNCH of rules. One of them is that you have to go through the sacraments - and they are very much full of tradition and ritual. Cathollic kids make their "First Holy Communion" - it's one of the sacraments - and in order to receive communion you have to learn a bunch of prayers and go to confession (another sacrament) and go through classes - etc. The Catholics think that if you didn't do it their way - then you can't have the host in their church. But really - I say - just go and get one if you want to do it. If you're doing it with peace in your heart - and your intention is good - what difference would it make to God???

Answer 7

Jesus left only two rites for the church to follow -communion & baptism. Each denomination has it's own view of how these services are to be administrated. Unfortunately some Christian faiths insist that only church members partake. This is based on scripture that states that an unsaved person brings condemnation upon himself if he partakes of mass unworthily. To limit the number of those who take communion and are unsaved some denominations have decided that it would be better to limit participation to those who attend church and have definately at least sat under sound preaching. The problem with that is that a saved person who has every right in God's eyes to participate can be excluded based on mans opinion of those who worship in spirit but not in thier buildings.

Answer 8

Thats how the Catholic faith is established, around the sacraments. In the Catholic faith, unlike Episcopal, the bread is believed to be turned into body and the wine into blood (regardless of how it actually tastes), this is much more than just the communuion of the church but the communion with Jesus, for which Catholics must prepare for.

Answer 9

First, Catholics can't recieve communion at all because we call it Eucharist (formerly).

The OFFICIAL CATHOLIC STANCE on non Catholic recieving Eucharist:

It is entirely up to the Priest. In large masses they have no way to proove your religious background. Unless the Priest knows otherwise. At my Catholic School we had a Lutheran who was an ordained Catholic Eucharistic Minister. She distributed the waffers or wine. Only one Priest ever refused her communion, which he had a right to do, this made her furious as well as most of the student body who didn't like the old goat of a priest anyway.

It is entirely up to the Priest. They also sometimes choose to refuse Catholic abortion-supporters like Nancy Pelosi, Open Homosexuals, or other Mortal Sinners, Catholic or not.

Entirely up to the Priest. Find a different one.

Also note (ANGIE): Catholics are typically confirmed in in their teens. They get first communion typically in second grade. For adults the time between may be only 6 months.

Answer 10

All the Roman Catholic churches I've attended have quietly, not rudely, indicated that only Catholics are welcome to receive communion. I don't feel slighted, though. When I attend my friend's synagogue, I don't expect to be invited up to read from the Torah. I'm a visitor and am glad to respect the rules of the house.

Answer 11

Because the Catholic Church is an un-biblical cult. They don't follow the Bible with 90% of what the Catholic Church teaches not being found anywhere in the Bible. It's "church tradition" over God's Word. If you want communion, join the cult. I don't recommend it.