ok, i can't recieve the eucharist, but can i still ENTER the church?

Question

im a protestant, and i think to learn more about my faith i have to learn about others, so i am thinking about going to a catholic church for the first time in my life instead of walking around it scared and afraid................
my purpose is not to become catholic (catholics put too much power in the hands of the pope, saints, and mary) but to SEE exactly what happens in a catholic church
im scared, what do i wear? where do i sit? do i bow before going in the church? what happens when they want me to take the eucharist - and i refuse it since catholics believe that they are eating holy skin and drinking holy blood when we are too sinful to EAT christ's skin off of his body.............
do i say "no"? is that disrespectful to catholics? please tell me what to do and wear to the church - i don't want to look foolish - this is my first time going to a catholic church as a VISITOR.

Answer 1

lol,yes you can enter the church just dont go up when the bread stuff is served. you wouldnt like it anyway,it sticks to the roof of your mouth

Answer 2

Ok I'm a life long Catholic and I can give you some advice....
You are always invited and welcome to the Catholic church.... after all we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.... we all have the same beginning.

Wear what you wear to your church. Whatever you are comfortable in. I usually wear something dressy-casual. You can sit where you feel comfortable... no one is going to look at you funny so if you normally sit in the front then you can sit there.

You don't bow before entering the church. Catholics genuflect infront of the tabernacle on the altar which is where the Eucharist is kept that is our sign of respect for the Eucharist. But you don't have to do that.

When the time for communion comes they aren't going to want you to take it. A line will form down the aisle and people choose to get in line or not. So just remain in your seat and those in your pew who want to go to communion will walk by you. No one will ask you to get communion and no one will ask you why you didn't go. It's actually respectful for you not to recieve Eucharist because you are not Catholic.

it may help if you have any Catholic friends for them to go with you so they can explain things and you can follow along. If not, it's not that hard to follow.

There are usually books in the pews with a section in them called "The Order of Mass" and it has everything written out all the prayers and when we stand and sit and it explains it so maybe you could read along.

Also if you are interested in learning about Catholic faith through the eyes of a Protestant read Scott Haan's work it's really objective and pretty good!

Answer 3

Wear something nice and clean and modest. You should be welcomed and treated with courtesy, if I am not mistaken. I have been to Catholic churches and that was the case. No, I don't think you have to bow before entering. I never did. And the people usually go down to the front to take the Eucharist, so just remain sitting. I don't believe they pass it around the audience like in Protestant churches. If they do, just pass it on. No one should take offence. They will assume you are a visitor. But I don't believe that will be a problem. I would sit near the back, but that is always a preference of mine.

Answer 4

Sure, go to a service. You wear basically the same things you would wear in your protestant church. Sit anwhwere you like (except at the altar). As far as bowing or kneeling, follow the lead of others. Don't worry about the Eucharist. You have to get out of the pew and walk to a common area of distribution. Catholics do not pass the Eucharist through the aisles like some Protestants do.....it's a "responsorial" service and you can follow along with a missalette that is in the pews....don't feel nervous, you will be fine.

Peace, Love, and Blessings
Greenwood

Answer 5

The Catholic Church would happily welcome you. Any one can come inside and sit in a pew and listen. Or participate in prayer and song. Non Catholics and Catholics with moral sin on their soul cannot receive Holy Eucharist. As a Catholic, I would have to receive the sacrament of Reconcilitation before I receive Communion if I have a moral sin on my soul. The Sacrament of Communion forgives all venial sins.
Catholics don't put too much power in the pope, Jesus did that, starting with Peter and His apostles. We pray to saints and Mary only to ask them to intercede for us. Like I can ask you to pray for me and my illness. And we admire them because they gave their lives to God completely and we can learn great life lessons from them. We do not worship them like gods. This is a huge misconception.
Just wear nice clothes like you would wear to your church service. I wear clean jeans and a blouse or slacks and a blouse. I usually wear tennis shoes or sandals, I don't have dress shoes. But honestly, we have parishioners that have blue dyes hair, mohawks, riped jeans, short shorts, mini leather skirts, half-shirts so their midsections show, etc. Jesus accepts all believers. But for the most part, people over 25 dress nicely.
There's hoy water when you enter the church. We stick our index and middle finger in it and make the sign of the cross, blessing ourselves. If you do that at your church, you can do that at ours. I'm not sure if your believe in the Holy Trinity. As far as the time of the Eucharist, just stay sitting or kneeling. Some Catholic no longer kneel, so new buildings don't have kneelers in them, people sit. Just sit in the pew and watch what people do around the church. And pray to the good Lord.
We do not believe we are eating holy skin and holy blood. Another huge misconception. During the time of the Concegration, the priest says certain prayer words that asks Jesus to come down to us and become one with the bread and wine. This is called "transubstaniation". The elements of the bread and wine change to be Christ but they remain looking like bread and wine. When examined in a lab, they still are chemically bread and wine. But there have been a few times when a host has actually changed into human skin and the wine changed into human type A blood. These have been put under lock and key are are still in the churches that it's happened. This is very, very rare. But as a Catholic, I've never witnessed this.

So, you don't have to refuse the Eucharist because you just remain in your seat/pew. But you can sit and stand when everyone does. Some churches hold hands during the "Our Father". Some kneel before Communion. They have missalettes that you can read from, follow along with during the readings and prayers and songs. You are even welcome to take a missalette with you when you leave so you can look through it at home during your own time.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about the Mass, the Church, the missalette. I understand you don't want to convert and that's fine. I've been to a Baptist service and a few Lutheran services (my sister-in-law is Lutheran). It's okay to see how the others do things. More knowledge, more power, right? Good luck and I hope your experience is a good one. God bless!

Answer 6

You bring up 2 factors that are significant. One is the exclusion from communion of Christians who do no longer profess the Catholic faith. the different is validity of consecration while the minister of the sacrament is in a state of sin. to your son, this is an especially teachable 2nd appropriate to the strenght of your faith and that of his different verify. Your faith does not assist you compromise for circumstances that are required which you may recieve communion. while you're disappointed and disagree with the justifications, you do no longer resent he or his father and the prepare of their faith. for sure he and his father do no longer think of you an evil man or woman and this is _not_ the reason you're excluded. that's a tragic and hisorical tragedy, besides the undeniable fact that that's besides the undeniable fact that that he and his father's fellow Chistians and you your self can't purely forget approximately approximately for now. We do pray and you may desire to inspire him to desire that some day those alterations will now no longer separate him and you and a super variety of others on the communion table. the instructions that the state of grace of the priest does not effect the validity of the sacrament replaced into desperate a while in the past while there have been schisms and monks have been in apostacy and there have been no monks to offer sacraments to the layity. The communions, baptisms, and confessions given by using those apostate monks have been valid. The priest represents Christ and not himself as minister of the sacrament. His very own sinfulness, whilst a scandal, does not invalidate the sacrament. you're maximum appropriate that if the priest does not intend to concecrate, the bread and wine isn't converted. many times this is to stay away from the misuse or choose for take care of bread it quite is on an ingredient table or off to the sting of the altar from being concecrated. Mosts monks intend any bread upon the altar and no different to be concecrated. back the point and power of the priest does not rely on his state of grace. The sacrament itself and your purpose to get carry of that's contrition for and forgiveness of any venial sins. purely mortal sins choose be confessed earlier receieving communion.

Answer 7

Kudos to you wanting to learn more about different denominations.

At communion, it is not required to go up and receive. In fact, many Catholics won't go up and receive if they haven't been to confession in a while or if they haven't fasted an hour before. No one is going to think twice about you not going up.

When entering anyone's church of a different denomination, you must respect their beliefs first and foremost. It is a grave matter in the Catholic Church for someone, Catholic or not, to receive who does not believe completely in the Transubstatiation (the changing of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ).

What to wear? - something nice.

Answer 8

Just wear nice clothes, nothing fancy. When they go up for the host just stay in your seat, some other people will be seated too. Since you didn't make your First Communion in the Catholic Church you can't receive communion in it.
You kneel before you enter the pew. Sit in the back if you don't want to be noticed.

Answer 9

im a Catholic, so just wear a nice shirt with a pair of kakies. and just sit in the pews, and bow to the front before u sit down. when you go up to take the Eucharist just cross your arms over your chest, and they will know that u havent had First Communion and all they will do is give you a blessing

Answer 10

Damn dude, it's a church. I am a protestant (Mennonite, actually) which does not get much more un-Catholic, but I have been to many, many Catholic services. It depends on the church where you go what is expected of you. Most places they are very open towards visitors and so you should be golden.

Answer 11

Do you get the Hallmark cable channel? They televise the Mass from Notre Dame every Sunday at 8:00 AM. You can then see what the service is like without others seeing you. (Does that make you an ecclesiastical voyeur?)

Otherwise, there might be a TV Mass on one of your local channels.