Why can’t non-Catholics receive Holy Communion in our church? Have you ever wondered why that is? I get this question quite often. Some would even say that he or she is Christian and believes in Jesus as we do. Or – he or she is a better person than many Catholics that go and receive holy communion each Sunday, so why no communion for those who are not Catholic? We Catholics want to welcome everyone to worship with us. We don’t want to exclude anyone. However, when it comes to holy communion, we have a different belief than other Christian churches. We believe that after the moment of consecration the host and the wine truly become the body and blood of Christ. It is not only a symbol, it does not become the body and blood only for a moment, but it remains as the body and blood of Christ. It is no longer simply a host nor wine, but the body and blood of our Lord. This is why we carefully purify the vessels and keep the body of Christ in tabernacles. And what happens when you come to receive holy communion? You hear the words -- the body of Christ, and you say AMEN, or I BELIEVE. And even though you may think those words are meaningless, yet they become your profession of faith: Amen, I believe that this is truly Jesus I receive. I believe in the teachings of my church. So, the person who doesn’t fully believe in them, should not come to receive communion in our church and say AMEN, because he or she doesn’t exactly believe in what we believe. When that Greek woman - a non-believer - asked Jesus to heal her daughter, He said: “Let the children be fed first.” We Catholics don’t want to exclude anyone, we welcome each person, but he or she must first believe they are fed with the real body and blood of Christ.
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