Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: oracle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Brian T. Coughlin) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: open communion Message-ID: Date: 7 Feb 90 05:51:51 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH Lines: 69 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , ejalbert@phoenix.princeton.edu (Edmund Jason Albert) writes: >I fail to see why the Catholic Church does not permit members of other >denominations who have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and >Holy Ghost to receive communion. Since a valid baptism can be performed >by any baptized Christian if he uses this form, why is someone who has b >een validly baptized barred from communion. >As an Episcopalian, I believe my church permits all baptized persons to >receive. I however would not receive at a Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc. >church, because I believe their ministers not to be in apostolic >succession and therefore the consecration of the elements to be invalid. Hi, Jason! [Speaking from opinion only,] I believe that the answer to your question lies not in the domain of Faith, but in the more Earthly domain of Human Tradition. It seems (to me) that the Catholic Church wishes to close Communion for the sake of keeping its purpose clear and undiluted. Personally (and I *do* acknowledge that the Vatican might disagree, here!), I believe that the "distinction" [Catholic Communion vs. Protestant Communion] is unnecessary, and somewhat of a throwback to darker, less enlightened (?) times. (Use your own judgement to decide how "enlightened" we are, now! :) ) I [personally] believe that the Celebration of the Eucharist is (perhaps) the highest form of adoration/respect for the commandments and sacrifices of Jesus Christ. Put simply, those who celebrate the Eucharist believe that It, and everything It represents, is true. I certainly believe that celebrating this Feast is good for one's relationship with God (and therefore good for one's soul, IMHO... :) )... but I do NOT believe in the dogmatic view that, should the Eucharist be denied me, that my soul will shrivel and die. Woe to me if I ever get stranded on an island without a lifetime supply of consecrated Hosts! :) I believe that if one DELIBERATELY denies the Eucharist [through some sort of rebellion], that could harm the loving relationship between God and that person. Through all this, my point is this: I believe that the Eucharist is a symbol [and perhaps a confirmation] of a loving, personal relationship with the Almighty God. Being a PERSONAL relationship, I feel that no Earthly boundaries (Catholic vs. Methodist vs. Lutheran vs. unaffiliated(!), et cet.) should be allowed to interfere with that. Speaking practically, no priest or minister would be able to TELL whether a recipient of the Host was Catholic, Protestant, or anything else, unless that distributor actually KNEW the recipient in question. Ultimately, the Celebration of the Eucharist has guidelines that cannot be met by any Church... they must be met by the human soul. Riddle me this, should you disagree [taking the Catholic Church as example, for a moment]: can you not conceive of a "churchgoing" Catholic who is jaded, and takes the Eucharist in his/her mouth just out of habit? Can you also not conceive of a "non-church-goer" who, through some spiritual urging, would take the Eucharist with all the love and dedication that he/she could muster? Tell me, then, which one would be more fulfilled. The Eucharist, as well as all paths that lead to God, certainly wasn't meant to divide the world. It was meant to bring TOGETHER all people who felt themselves called to the Celebration. IMHO, it would greatly behoove the world to stop thinking up new and old ways to exclude others... and try to welcome ALL people with a willing and understanding heart. "If one of you has a son or an ox and he falls into a pit, will he [the parent/owner] not immediately rescue him on the Sabbath day?" (Luke 14:5) Take care! Sincerely, Brian Coughlin oracle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu