Hi, Jason —

Thanks for the question.

No you are not allowed. Receiving Holy Communion at a Catholic Mass is more than receiving the Body and Body of the Lord.

It is also an outward expression of those who partake in Holy Communion as having a communion or Common Union, in a common, divine faith.

No separated brethren can receive Holy Communion, not because Catholics are unecumenical or uncharitable, but because, although some, like you, may believe in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, there are other teachings that we disagree with. When we receive Holy Communion we are re-affirming a common Communion in Faith.

Sadly, this doesn't prohibit Catholics from dissenting from Church teachings because the Church respects their free will to scandalize the Church.

If you truly believe in the Real Presence of Our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist, that is a sign He is calling you to full communion in His Catholic Church.

If you affirm the words of Jesus in the Scriptures you should consider affirming the spoken words of His Apostles that have been passed down from generation to generation. Their teaching and the Church's teachings are the same and can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Learn, pray, and study some more. Despite scandalous members in our Church there are great reasons to consider becoming a Catholic. Here's just a few:

• My Favorites

Hope this answers your question.

Mike

Jason —

If you honestly affirm the words of Jesus, you also affirm His Commission to His Apostles and their successors, which means you affirm the power He gave them to fulfill the Commission, which means you affirm Catholic ordination and Catholic sacramental theology.

The bread and wine don't become His Body and Blood by accident, nor by our wish or prayer, but by God's power in His ministers.

• If you believe that, why aren't you Catholic?

The Eucharist is the sign and cause of unity of faith and life in the one Body of Christ.

Mary Ann

Hi, Jason —

They would be encompassed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Mike

Jason,

I wouldn't say more important. All the teachings are important. The Church holds certain teachings or doctrines in higher esteem. We call these doctrines, dogmas of the Church.

All dogmas are doctrines, but not all doctrines are dogmas.

in the same sense:

All Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics

. . . though Our Lord wishes they were: John 17:20-23

We have a sad state in our Church in that some Catholics think they can pick an choose what teachings they want to believe and still be a good Catholic. This is incorrect.

In order to be a Catholic Christian who is a living witness for Our Lord and His Church, we must believe all that Jesus said and that His Church teaches.

• Make sense?

Mike

B * I * N * G * O !!

Catholics love this word : )

Mike

Well, I can't help you there. What I can say is, any polarities you find in the Catholic Church are solely based on:

• either bad Catholics: e.g., Ted Kennedy, John Kerry
• uncatechized Catholics who were never taught the faith correctly or
• what I call mini-family fights we occasionally have.

Why? <Because we are human.>

Nevertheless, we would say that despite our occasional scandals:

We don't leave Peter (truth), because of Judas behavior.

Hope this helps,