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Michael
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I am a 23-year-old male who lives in the United
States. I come from a non-denominational Christian
background and am currently in a RCIA program
at my local parish. I have a (question/dilemma)
I was hoping you could help me with.
As I
said, I grew up in a non-denominational, non-Catholic, Trinitarian
church, (it was more of a local gathering
of Christians; we didn't even have a building
we owned), where we celebrated what we would
call communion or breaking
bread.
I have always been aware of the closed nature
of Holy Communion of the Catholic Church.
However, I was recently made aware that I
would not be able to partake in breaking
bread
if I wanted to join my family or visit with
them at my former congregation. (They break
bread more than every Sunday, sometimes at
Bible studies or plain, old get-togethers).
- Is it true that I would not be able to
break bread with my own parents?
I guess as a soon-to-be Catholic,
I pictured that the future would look like
this:
I would view the Eucharist as the true
interpretation of Scripture and that the
Eucharist is actually Jesus. As a Catholic,
I would believe that no other church without
valid Apostolic succession has a valid eucharist.
However, I would not bar myself from receiving
bread and juice with my family because
I would openly acknowledge and know that
what I am receiving is just bread and juice
in remembrance that Jesus died for my sins,
and not the proper celebration of what
Christ instituted.
Moreover, my parents
would know that I have faith in the Catholic
Eucharist and would understand that I see
it this way. While they have just a symbolic
interpretation of communion, they would
know that I believe the Eucharist administered
by the Catholic Church is more than what
it is at their congregation. |
As a Catholic, I don't see the problem in
eating bread and juice with my family and
old friends in order to remember Jesus. I
wouldn't be denying my faith in the Eucharist,
nor would I be omitting my beliefs among others.
- Am I correct in saying that at a non-Catholic church it is
really just bread and juice?
- What could be wrong in remembering our
Lord with other Christians over some bread
and juice, even if not they're not Catholic?
To me its really no different than taking
a second to pause and reflect about Our
Lord over a dinner meal with my family.
I feel really anxious about this because my
reading of Church Canon law 844 seems to imply
I am not able to celebrate a remembrance ceremony
with non-Catholics. On top of my feelings
about not being able to do this, it would
wound my parents and sister in a deep way
because they are devout non-Catholic Christians
who don't always see the truth about the Church,
but love Jesus with all their heart. For me,
to not be able to celebrate with them, would
be like telling them that Jesus will reject
them, or that I don't see them as a true believer
in God. They would take this as a most painful
slap to the face. If the Church prohibits
me from doing this, I don't see how this fosters
the unity, love, and peace of Jesus Christ
that the Church proclaims in every other area.
- Can you please bring clarity to my dilemma?
I feel really distraught about this. My father,
who happens to love Jesus with all his heart, but hates all religious institutions, claims
that this is a perfect example of how institutionalized
religion keeps people from loving each other
as Christ does. I'm not sure how to defend
the Catholic teaching here because I'm just
not sure I agree with this restriction.
- What are your thoughts about this situation?
Michael
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| {
As a future Catholic, why
can't I receive communion at my previous
church with my family? }
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Mary
Ann replied:
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Dear Michael —
Partaking in the ecclesial community's
function of breaking bread is
an act of communion with that community,
which is a community of belief.
The act, itself, is an expression
of a unity of faith among believers. So to say
that you are one in faith, when breaking bread at your family's congregation,
would be a lie.
It is respectful and honoring of
your family that you do not partake
with them, because it shows that
you honor their faith community,
their consciences, and your own conscience.
Now, if there were a Bible-study
preceded by an informal breaking
of the bread that is not liturgical,
you could share in that, unless it
would be a symbol that you share
in their concept of Bible interpretation.
Be proud of who you are, of the body
of Christ to which you belong, one
Faith, one Lord, one Baptism: one
Body that we truly share in Eucharist.
- Why not just go to Catholic
things while they do their Protestant
things?
It wasn't long ago that Catholics
were forbidden to worship with Protestants
because there was a time when the
law in England required mere attendance
at the Church of England to avoid
fines and death. It became a statement
of faith to be maintained at all
costs.
Now, however, we may worship
with Protestants, as long as we don't
do things that objectively contradict
our faith (such as receiving communion).
Mary Ann
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Mike
replied:
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Hi, Michael —
You said:
My father,
who happens to love Jesus with all his heart, but hates all religious institutions, claims
that this is a perfect example of how institutionalized
religion keeps people from loving each other
as Christ does.
With due respect, to your loving
father, I would rephrase what he
is saying differently.
Any organization that has as many
members as the Catholic Church does,
has to discern an ordered way to
ensure all the faithful:
- believe in the same doctrine,
and
- worship in one accord, the same
way.
When you have 1.2 billion
members who believe in the same faith,
you have to have a vehicle that has
a logical structure where a certain
order can be maintained. The downfall
of any large organization is that one sin
of a member at a high level can effect many
others in the Church at a
lower level, but let's remember, it's the sin that keeps the people from loving each other, as Christ
does, not the institutionalized religion.
You said:
For me,
to not be able to celebrate with them, would
be like telling them that Jesus will reject
them, or that I don't see them as a true believer
in God.
I disagree. For you to celebrate
at different churches would be an
acknowledgement that, although everyone believes
in Jesus and loves the Lord with
all there heart, what you believe
about Him and the Church He established
on St. Peter and His successors,
differ. The reason good friends are
good friends is because:
- they can agree, to agree, on
certain issues and
- they can agree to disagree,
on other issues .... while still
being good friends or, in your
case, still have a loving (father/son)
relationship.
The most important thing both, you
and your father can do, is respect
your differences of opinion on various
doctrinal issues of the Christian
faith. If you can develop a good
family cohesion among family members
it can lead to good faith-sharing
discussions and conversation . . . if
you remember one thing:
We don't convert anyone. We share
the faith and let them decide:
- if we are a bunch of nut cases,
or . . .
- maybe we make some sense.
If he falls into a category where
he is saying something like:
I
can't see how anyone would ever want
to become a Catholic!,
tell him to check out some of my web pages on my Favorites page:
Hope this helps,
Mike
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