Topic: Why can’t other Christians take Communion in the Catholic Church?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: January 20, 2002

Moderator who originally posted this source: P.Leach

Question:  I have a close friend who is a Methodist; how do I explain to him why he can't take communion in the Catholic Church?  

Answer:

This is a tough question for most of us.   

We like to be really hospitable and welcoming.  And most of us usually feel that the “welcoming” thing to do is to let our guests do everything we do.   

Yet, authentic, true “welcome” doesn’t really mean that we let all of our guests do EVERYTHING we do.   

Think about, as an example, how the bride may feel if a guest at the wedding says, “May I kiss the groom?”  Being a welcoming person, the bride says, “Sure, go ahead.”  BUT, that bride has definite ideas about what kind of kiss is appropriate and what kind isn’t!  The bride wants to be welcoming to her guest, but she also knows that that welcome extends only so far!  And a good guest will understand that, in such a situation, a quick peck on the cheek is exactly the kind of kiss that is acceptable. 

The kind of silly example I just gave is an ‘analogy.”  And all analogies break down at some point – that’s part of the nature of what’s called ‘analogical predication,’ i.e. trying to draw conclusions from looking at a somewhat similar situation.  So, please don’t try to make too much of the analogy here and the situation with your Methodist friend.   Still, though, we can learn some things from the analogy. 

So, the first thing I would say in response to your question about your Methodist friend who may be distressed about not being able to receive Holy Communion in a Catholic context is the following:  Recognize that being TRULY welcoming and hospitable does not always mean that you have to let your guest do everything you do.  Some limits are acceptable in every relationship; in fact, some limits are necessary.   

And the truly welcoming attitude is to accept those limits without being apologetic.  At the same time, we, as Catholics, need to be able to explain those limits as honestly, as completely, and as helpfully as we can. 

The Catholic doctrine of the Holy Eucharist is a magnificent mystery which can, in fact, be explained rather thoroughly in human language.  But we have to work to understand that mystery in order to use language to help our friends, and ourselves, understand it more and more fully.  So, if your first effort doesn’t make you feel as good about your explanation as you would like: don’t despair; keep working at it, and, eventually, you’ll find the way to explain it in words that are appropriate to you. 

We believe that the Eucharist is the Real (transubstantiated) Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearance (species) of Bread and Wine.   

This fact, truly, is a miracle.   

Our belief is based on the unchanging Tradition of Christians since the very first days of the Christian community.  We have amazing evidence that in Rome, Christians, while still an outlawed and very small group, met around St. Peter’s Tomb to celebrate the Eucharist.  In the New Testament Scriptures we see how, in Acts, Christians would, “on the Lord’s day”  (i.e., Sunday) come together for the breaking of the bread.  From the very beginning, Christians have seen Eucharist as THE central act of worship, of communing with the Risen Jesus.  And one of the primary reasons for the centrality of Eucharist is that HERE, in this Sacrament Christians have come face-to-face with Christ Jesus and have been transformed by the grace of His Real Presence. 

Our belief is rooted in the example and teaching of the Scripture, as well.  We read at the end of Luke’s Gospel how, after the Resurrection, the disciples who had, unknowingly, been with Him on the road to Emmaus, come to know Him in the breaking of the Bread.  The Synoptic Gospels (i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke) each, along with Saint Paul (I Corinthians 11:23-26), all have the moving story of how Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took Bread and Wine, blessed them, and said, “This IS my Body; this IS my blood.”  Catholics have always taken Jesus at His Word; He really meant that the Bread IS His Body and the Wine IS His Precious Blood – truly, really.   

Perhaps the most awesome passage in the Bible on which Catholics have based our understanding of the Eucharist is the sixth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel.  While the entire chapter is filled with profound insight into what we believe about the Eucharist, chapter 6, verses 35, 48, 51, 53, and 55 are especially important.  A lifetime spent reflecting on the teaching of the Scripture here will inevitably lead a person to the conclusion that the Eucharist is truly the REAL PRESENCE of Christ. 

So, back to your Methodist friend who can’t receive Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. 

As Catholics we believe that approaching the Eucharist and receiving is a great statement that we believe what the Church teaches about the Eucharist.  When the Minister, whether Bishop, Priest, Deacon, or extraordinary lay Eucharistic Minister, says, “The Body of Christ!” and “The Blood of Christ”, we answer “Amen!”  That “Amen!” means, “I believe!”  That is, “I believe that what God is giving me through the human person who is ministering here in this place at this time is TRULY the REAL PRESENCE of the Risen Christ!” 

Now, with all due respect for your friend’s Methodist tradition, the Methodist Church does NOT believe that the Holy Eucharist is the Real (transubstantiated) Presence of Christ.  The Methodist Church is a wonderful community of faith, with real Christians, who do many charitable and just things, and we will find lots and lots of Methodists in heaven, no doubt.  But the Methodist Church does not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Without trying to speak for them, I believe it would be accurate to say that the Methodist Church believes, with most Protestant Churches, that the Eucharist is a sign, a symbol of Christ’s Presence – and ONLY a symbol. 

However, the Methodist Church does not believe that the Risen Lord is truly, really Present – Body, Soul, Humanity, and Divinity in the Eucharistic Elements.  We, as Catholics, DO believe that!  When we say, “Amen!” that’s what we’re saying we believe! 

So your friend, precisely as a good Methodist, ought, in my opinion, not want to go up and say he believes something that, in fact, he really doesn’t believe.  He is, in all probability, a very good person – maybe a better person than I am!  But he, as a Methodist, doesn’t believe what we, as Catholics, believe about the Eucharist. 

And being a welcoming friend to him, I believe that you (and we) have an obligation to say, “Let us as Catholics affirm what we believe about the Eucharist; and you, as a good Methodist, should be true to what you believe.  Let’s not try to ‘pretend’ that we all believe the same thing; let’s be truthful about who we are.” 

Your friend is, of course, always welcome to worship with us, to sing with us, to pray with us, to listen to the Word proclaimed with us – because, in many ways, we have those things in common. 

But authentic ‘welcome’ means that we should not put him in a position of ‘pretending’ to believe something about the Eucharist that his Church just simply doesn’t accept.  A good host says, “I’m so glad you’re here!  Thank you for coming.  In our community, these are the things that we are comfortable in having everybody do; these are the things that our experience shows we have different beliefs about; we want to respect who you are and who your Church community is by admitting those differences.” 

So, when you are hosting a non-Catholic guest at Mass, you need to explain these things BEFORE you get to Church.  A whispered, hurried conversation as the Communion Procession begins is not helpful; in fact, it can be insulting.  With the information beforehand, the non-Catholic friend can make a more informed decision about whether she or he feels as if God is calling her or him to attend Mass with you.  That is being hospitable! 

Tell your non-Catholic guests that when you go up for Communion, they have two options.  They are most welcome to stay in their place; ask them to pray for you, to pray for our Catholic community; and ask them to pray for the priest.  We priests need all the prayer we can get!  Explain that people in the community will probably not even notice, but that those who stay in their seats are certainly not thought weird or anything like that. 

The other option for your guest is to join you in the Communion Procession.  Explain to them that they should, when approaching the priest or Communion Minister, cross their hands and arms over their chest and say in a voice loud enough to be heard, “I would like to have your blessing, please.”  Explain that, after the priest has said a short prayer over them, they should return to their seat. 

Again, hospitality requires that you, as the ‘host,’ give your non-Catholic guest these options BEFORE you get to Mass, so that they have time to think through what they want to do without being in a hurry.  You may want to give your guest a quick reminder of their options as the Communion Procession begins. 

And always remember to say THANK YOU to any non-Catholic who chooses to attend Liturgy with you.  Coming to a Catholic Mass requires a lot of courage for many people; as gracious and welcoming hosts, we need to express our genuine gratitude that somebody has taken the risk of joining us in prayer. 

A couple of last comments: 

Sometimes a non-Catholic will say, after you have explained what we believe about the Real Presence of the Risen Lord in the Holy Eucharist, “Well, that’s pretty much what I believe about Holy Communion.”  In that situation, a good Catholic host may need to probe a bit deeper, asking respectful questions, telling the non-Catholic friend that your own, limited understanding is that the Catholic teaching about the Eucharist is shared only with Orthodox Christians.  You might want to suggest that your non-Catholic friend talk to a clergy member from his or her own Church tradition to help clarify his or her thinking on this important subject. 

If a non-Catholic friend insists that her or his belief about the Eucharist is what you have described our Catholic understanding to be, then you probably should invite that friend to make an appointment with a priest or campus minister to discuss the topic.  Sometimes, when a person’s belief about the Eucharist is, in fact, very similar to the Catholic Church’s teaching about this central act of our worship, God may be calling that person to some further investigation of our faith – perhaps through the RCIA. 

And then about Methodists particularly…much that I’ve said here is applicable to many, maybe most Protestant Churches.  Some ‘Protestant’ Churches, for example what are called “Landmark Baptists,” have ‘closed Communion’ – that is, they only welcome members of their own Church to their celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  But the Methodist Church has a long tradition, which they more or less inherited from the Anglican/Episcopal Church, of ‘open Communion.’  They welcome any baptized person to the Table.  This fact, while very different from the Catholic Tradition, may make our understanding of Eucharist as ‘open’ primarily to those who share our faith especially difficult for Methodists.   

Still, we will all be better Christians if we enter into this dialogue about Holy Communion with genuine appreciation for each other’s legitimate differences and with gratitude to God for the privilege of talking together!