FAQ

I’m a Protestant student, but I normally attend Mass in my hall or at the Basilica. Can I receive Communion in the Catholic Church?

This is always a tough question, and it makes most Campus Ministers uneasy… how do we balance our desire to be welcoming and pastoral to anyone who comes to Mass (regardless of denomination) with the necessity to hold fast to Catholic Church teaching regarding the Eucharist and intercommunion among Christians? On this note, I’ll try to give an explanation of both sides, and end with a suggestion.

The Catholic Church welcomes everyone to the Mass, which the Church professes to be the highest form of worship that we humans can possibly give to God. The Mass is the re-presentation of the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, and at the same time is a celebration of the saving work of Jesus still present and active in the world and in the people around us today. When the Catholic Church assembles for worship, she gathers in the name of Jesus, who is Love. In this spirit of love and fellowship, the Catholic Church invites anyone who is a member of a Protestant denomination to come forward to receive a special blessing from the Communion minister. (You normally indicate this by crossing your arms over your chest, with your hands on either shoulder, as you approach the Communion minister.) It is the sincere hope of the Catholic Church that this blessing in the name of Jesus Christ be a symbol of love, welcome, and peace, and that it might lead all of us, Catholic and Protestant, into a renewed effort to break down what divides us as Christians.

At the same time, the Catholic Church has a very specific understanding of what Holy Communion is and how a person should prepare before receiving it. The Church understands Jesus’ words at the Last Supper (“This is my body…This is my blood…”), as well as His teachings found in John 6, to be the foundational statements of the traditional Christian belief that the bread & wine actually become the Body & Blood of Christ. Belief in this “Real Presence” of Christ in the Eucharist is paramount to being a Catholic, but is one of the major beliefs that separate Catholics from Protestants. Even for Catholics, reception of Communion is not a right; one must undertake a certain amount of preparation (including an examination of one’s conscience for any sin, confession, and fasting) before receiving. To Catholics, the reception of the Eucharist is also the unifying element of membership in a particular Church (the universal Catholic Church), such that when a Catholic responds “Amen” to the priest at Holy Communion, they are not only responding “I believe” to the statement “The Body of Christ,” but are also responding in faith to all the Catholic Church believes, teaches, and professes. Thus, those who are not united for whatever reason (whether theologically, morally, or ecclesiastically) with the Catholic Church are normally not admitted to Holy Communion, the sign of the oneness and unity of the Church’s faith, life, and worship. And rather than using Communion as a means of portraying a Christian unity that in reality hasn’t yet been achieved, the Catholic Church would prefer to work towards unity first and preserve the celebration of the Eucharist as a sign of a perfect, realized union.

Now, one suggestion: keep attending Mass with your hall community! During Communion, go forward to receive a blessing. Pray for the unity of all Christians, as Catholics do at every Mass. Finally, try to enter into a deeper sense of spiritual communion, whereby you unite yourself with the Lord and with those present around you through your prayer and the prayers of the Mass.