Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!bcm!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: dragon!cms@gatech.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Infant Communion Message-ID: Date: 17 Dec 90 04:45:37 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Computer Projects Unlimited Lines: 114 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , ecmath!tim@uunet.uu.net (Tim McLarnan) writes: > Our recent discussion of infant baptism has set me to > thinking about a related issue. In the Orthodox Church, > infants are baptized, chrismated, and first receive > communion all during the same Liturgy. Subsequently, > they continue to receive communion regularly, even in > periods of our history when adult communion has been > rather infrequent. > > Naturally, this query is directed mostly at people from > traditions which baptize but do not commune infants; > but I would also be interested in comments from people > in denominations that baptize only adults. How do you > explain to your kids that fundamentally the church is > an adult affair? What do you do with Christ's > injunction about allowing the little children to come > to him? How do you feel about all this? In the Roman Catholic Church, we were allowed to receive communion after our first confession. I went to my first confession a bit late at the tender age of 8 (most begin at 7). After I talked to the Father, and he asked me a series of questions, and we discussed the Roman Catholic/Orthodox split because of the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son issue (I was bright), he asked me "three important questions," worded something like this. 1. Do you believe in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Yes. 2. Do you believe that Jesus died on the Cross for your sins in fulfillment of the Scriptures? Yes. 3. Do you believe Jesus rose again from the dead according to the Scriptures and will you take up your cross and follow him all the days of your life? Yes. "Okay," he said, hitching up his pant leg and perching himself on the corner of his desk, "I'm ready to hear your first confession." That morning I received communion for the first time. My parents were rather nonchalant about the whole thing, which isn't unusual for the second child, but it was the most important event in my life. It's when I accepted Jesus as my God and Saviour and decided to "take my place as a soldier for Christ," in my words to Father. While I have very fond memories of the Roman Catholic Church, as an Episcopalian, I also agree strongly that all baptized persons should be allowed to receive communion. I understand the reasons why many people feel strongly that one should attain the "age of reason," first, however, I feel that communion is a passionate experience rather than a reasoning one, a gift from God to the baptized regardless of reasoning ability. Thus, although many Episcopalian parents choose to have their children wait until Confirmation (about 11 in the Episcopal Church), many parents allow their children to receive from infancy (or toddlerhood). One of my fellow layreaders, who's been at Saint Bede's for ages and ages, told me that he saw a woman intinct, drop the blood on her infant daughter's tongue, then consume the body herself. As for me, my two older kids are 7 and 5 and they both receive, but my 2 year old doesn't. This is for practical reasons as much as anything else. When my second son was younger, I allowed him to receive, but when we got back to our place in the pew, I discovered that he'd taken it out of his mouth. He said, "Yucky," and I couldn't get him to eat it. With *great* reluctance, I consumed it myself. Yucky was right :-). So, it's a good idea to wait at least until they're old enough to know obedience :-). > In Christ, > Tim McLarnan ecmath!tim@uunet.uu.net > Dept. of Mathematics, Earlham College, Richmond, IN 47374 > > [Generally the concern is that the communicant must be able to > "discern the body", as Paul said. This is normally taken to mean that > if they are not able to understand the significance of the act at > least at some level, they ought not to participate. (How much > understanding is needed is a matter of judgement, but at a bare > minimum it seems that they should understand it as bringing them into > contact with Jesus, and have a basic idea of who Jesus was.) > Different groups have different criteria. The Presbyterian Church > (USA) seems in practice to allow parents to decide when the children > are ready, but encourages fairly young children to participate. Not > infants though. --clh] Generally, I interpret "discern the body" to be a reference to the Real Presence. The dispute seems to be similar to the infant baptism question: Is it a free gift or must you be of an age to accept it? The gift of baptism is freely bestowed although adults make vows to raise the infant/child in the Christian way and life. I tend to look at communion in a similar light. Christ gave his body and blood for the disciples and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Can we deny the body and blood, the forgiveness of sins, to those too young to comprehend it? I might ask the same question of the retarded. Can we deny the body and blood, the forgiveness of sins, to those too retarded or mentally deficient to comprehend it? Can we deny Confirmation to such persons? Can we deny absolution to such persons, without confession or contrition but based on what we perceive to be the goodness of their hearts? Does Reconciliation truly mean reasoning or passion especially when none of us can truly comprehend God's love but only accept it? Thomas Aquinas, bless his heart, would probably say that allowing such persons to receive would be "unlawful but valid." Jesus might say, "Children have faith greater than adults, become like children before you receive, and let the children receive," but be aware Jesus didn't say that, that's my supposition. Kierkegaard would say, "Our laws have drained the mystery out of religion by changing wine into water. No one's as great as Abraham, except children, who can understand them?" -- Sincerely, Cindy Smith _///_ // SPAWN OF A JEWISH _///_ // _///_ // <`)= _<< CARPENTER _///_ //<`)= _<< <`)= _<< _///_ // \\\ \\ \\ _\\\_ <`)= _<< \\\ \\ \\\ \\ <`)= _<< >IXOYE=('> \\\ \\ \\\ \\_///_ // // /// _///_ // _///_ // emory!dragon!cms <`)= _<< _///_ // <`)= _<< <`)= _<< \\\ \\<`)= _<< \\\ \\ \\\ \\ GO AGAINST THE FLOW! \\\ \\ A Real Live Catholic in Georgia Although not a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court, I am: A Real Live Southern Catholic in the Anglican Communion.