The Lord's supper

[Willie T]

Probably the main thing we can say at this point is that all of this is quite atypical. And it does obviously cause someone to wonder. How, for example, could the priest put the host (wafer) into your hands, as you said happened, while you had them on your shoulders or chest?

Uh..... I'm not Catholic. We Protestants are allowed to move our hands.

I'm saying this because I think you possibly asked that in seriousness, since we have a fair number of ex-Catholics in our church, and it is interesting to watch them take Communion. They, almost to the man, clasp their hands in front of them after getting the wafer and juice, holding that position all the way back to their seats.

 

[Albion]

Uh..... I'm not Catholic. We Protestants are allowed to move our hands.

I'm saying this because I think you possibly asked that in seriousness, since we have a fair number of ex-Catholics in our church, and it is interesting to watch them take Communion.

No. I was just trying hard to make sense of the scene that you described to us--the priest says non-Catholics should cross their arms, yet when you did it he reached past that symbol and thrust the host upon you such that you had no choice but to take it?? That's the only way I can make everything you told us work...but if so, it seems to defy logic. The priest says you should identify yourself as a non-communicant but then he doesn't recognize the sign he himself just described?????

 

[Willie T]

No. I was just trying hard to make sense of the scene that you described to us--the priest says non-Catholics should cross their arms, yet when you did it he reached past that symbol and thrust the host upon you such that you had no choice but to take it?? That's the only way I can make everything you told us work...but if so, it seems to defy logic. The priest says you should identify yourself as a non-communicant but then he doesn't recognize the sign he himself just described?????

No, these guys (there's just been a few) seemed pretty normal. This last funeral, a few months ago, wasn't a big deal... though the church was humongous! And about a third of the small group there (we were there because the daughter of the deceased is a friend in our church) were Protestant.

I think of all of us Protestants there (most went forward), my wife and I are the only ones who took a wafer. The priest kind of looked at me, and ever so slightly held up the wafer about an inch with a "would you like it?" look in his eye. I gave him a small nod... he held it out... I took it. I think it was about the same with my wife.

Truthfully, I don't imagine he got too cordial a vibe from the rest of the Protestants. They seemed to be more uncomfortable about being in a Catholic shrine than they were in ignoring all the trappings to bring some comfort to our sister.

My wife and I are a little different than most people. While we don't take much stock in all the fanfare of the Catholic church, we deeply "feel" and "connect with" people almost instantly. We worked 12 years as carnival vendors, and that sort of knocked down dozens of barriers our upbringing might have saddled us with.

Today, my wife works on the black side of town with underpriviledged kids, and I work teaching behavioral modification classes to sex-offenders. People (the "good" people), often look at both of us a little strangely.

 

[Albion]

No, these guys (there's just been a few) seemed pretty normal. This last funeral, a few months ago, wasn't a big deal... though the church was humongous! And about a third of the small group there (we were there because the daughter of the deceased is a friend in our church) were Protestant.

I think of all of us Protestants there (most went forward), my wife and I are the only ones who took a wafer. The priest kind of looked at me, and ever so slightly held up the wafer about an inch with a "would you like it?" look in his eye. I gave him a small nod... he held it out... I took it. I think it was about the same with my wife.

OK. It looks like you gave him the indication that you were a Catholic, although perhaps a somewhat confused one. That may have been made more likely by the fact--of which he was surely aware--that few Protestants, disbelieving in the Real Presence, would come forth for communion in any case. IOW, he had to instruct the congregation on the church's policy regarding communing non-members, but he didn't have any reason to think that more than an occasional Protestant would actually come forth after that explanation, crossed arms or not .

 

[ebia]

OK. It looks like you gave him the indication that you were a Catholic, although perhaps a somewhat confused one.

There are, of course, numbers of Catholic priests who "off the record" have no problem with sharing communion with non-Catholic Christians.

 

[Albion]

There are, of course, numbers of Catholic priests who "off the record" have no problem with sharing communion with non-Catholic Christians.

Very true, but I was assuming that they wouldn't also give the usual "don't try it" warning, with crossed arms instructions, if they weren't intending to enforce it. On second thought, however, this priest might have wanted them to feel free to come forth for the blessing, if not for communion, and Willie's body language came across to him at that moment as ambiguous, or, having done his duty by giving out the instructions, he wasn't of a mind to be the communion policeman the way an Orthodox Eastern priest would.

 

[ebia]

Very true, but was assuming that they wouldn't also give the usual "don't try it" warning, with crossed arms instructions, if they weren't intending to enforce it. On second thought, however, he might have wanted them to feel free to come forth for the blessing, even if not for communion.

And sometimes they feel under pressure to tow the party line. So they may publicly announce one thing while quietly doing something else.

 

[Albion]

And sometimes they feel under pressure to tow the party line. So they may publicly announce one thing while quietly doing something else.

Yes. They were true to the church by having made the announcement. After that, well, the responsibility falls on the one breaking the rules, not the priest.