Wolfman said:
RicOlie_2 said:
Wolfman said:
In an Anglican church, we invite everyone to take communion whatever denomination, if they are are in good standing with their church.
If I enter a Catholic church, why can I not take communion ? Am I not good enough ?
To answer that question, I would like to ask what your beliefs are regarding communion. There are three different beliefs among Anglicans, so my answer may depend on which belief is held in your church. One of the beliefs is that of transubstantiation, the belief held by the Catholic Church, in which we believe that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, not symbolically or spiritually, but in every way aside from appearance. Another Anglican belief is that Christ is completely present in Communion, but that the bread and wine are not Christ himself. The third belief is that of consubstantiation in which Christ is believed to be present in the sacrament to those who "permit their souls to be radiated with the Holy Spirit at the time of the sacrament."
The first from your list. Simply, The bread and the wine become the actual body and blood of Christ.
Well, the answer is certainly not because you aren't good enough or anything like that. The Catholic Church prefers to share communion only with those who share the same beliefs and church practices. Some outside of the Church are granted access to the Catholic sacraments such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, due to the similarities in their sacraments to those of the Catholic Church. One of the reasons Catholics practice closed communion is that many Protestant denominations don't have the same beliefs regarding the sacrament, so there is a concern that visiting Protestants won't have the same reverence or disposition to receive it as they should or that they won't be baptized, which is an essential requirement for reception of Communion in all but extreme cases. Of course many Catholics don't have the proper reverence or disposition either, and it is sad that the respect for the Eucharist has plummeted so far, but we believe God will take care of any injustices against his sacrament. There are rules to decrease these injustices though, and closed communion is one of them.
Obviously, because you believe in transubstantiation, you would likely know to show the proper respect when receiving it, but if you think about what the word "communion" means, you might understand this a bit better. Communion means "union", so the sacrament of Communion is a symbol of the unity of our beliefs and worship in the Catholic Faith. If you are not a member of the Catholic Faith you don't have the same beliefs as we do and are therefore not really in "communion" with the Catholic Church and the parishioners at the specific church you are visiting. Our intention is not to make you feel unwelcome, but considering that the sacrament is also symbolic of our unity, it is preferably shared only among baptized members of the Church.
There are exceptions to this rule though. If a non-Catholic is in danger of death or the local Bishop decides that their is a grave need, then members of other Churches/denominations can receive the sacrament if (a) they are not able to receive it from ministers of their own denomination, (b) they ask for it of their own accord, (c) they demonstrate a belief in the Catholic teachings on the Eucharist, and (d) they are properly disposed to receive the sacrament.
Hopefully that clears it up a bit for you. Our restrictions on reception of Communion are not because of a holier-than-thou attitude (or at least that is not an attitude endorsed by the Catholic Church), so please don't feel unwelcome at a Catholic Church because of closed Communion.