Jesus's. The sacraments are all demonstrated or commanded in Sacred Scripture.
No, I'm well aware of that and any church, charity or organisation that has members who had agreed to abide by the rules/teachings but don't, could ask them to leave.
What I'm asking is; what does God think about all this?
If believers attend a church service in which the bread and wine are given by an ordained member of the clergy, that is said to be "valid". If they sit in someone's home, read the accounts of the Lord's Supper, John 6 or some other passage, pass round bread and wine and believe that Jesus is present by his Spirit, the church would say that that was not communion, or "invalid". If a person goes to Mass in a Catholic church, from what I've read on these forums some would say that that person was receiving "valid" sacraments. And those in the church down the road who were receiving communion in a non Catholic church, were not.
That's a question of Jesus' commands, too. Did Jesus leave us a rule of faith? And Did Jesus give teaching authority to his apostles? The answer is yes. Jesus told His apostles "Go out into all the world and teach", "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained." The teaching authority of the Church and the apostles is the rule of faith Christ commanded. Christ conveyed this in his ORAL teaching to the apostles, and they to their successors. Paul talks about the tradition I received from the Lord I hand on to you.
What does God say?
Does he refuse to send his Spirit to believers because he requires that an ordained person be present before he can bless them? Or that believers HAVE to accept Catholic doctrine before they can share in a "valid" celebration of Lord's Supper?
I don't believe that God refuses anyone who asks. But you also notice that Jesus doesn't give a special formula to anyone. When the rich young man asked "What must I do to be saved?" Jesus tells him, effectively, "You already know what to do." But the young man wants a formula, Jesus tells him to sell all he has and follow Him.
Catholics believe you only can receive communion if you're adherent to the teaching of the Catholic Church, because when you are presented with the sacred Host, you say AMEN when you receive it. I believe that non-Catholic (nor many Catholics, honestly) do not validly receive the Eucharist, but it's not for me to judge. So I don't.
Regarding baptism; I was christened as a child and later baptised as an adult. It wasn't that I believed my childhood baptism had been "invalid", it was just that I didn't remember it and wanted folk to know that I was choosing to be baptised. Some evangelicals might say that only my adult baptism was "valid"; others would say that it was "invalid" because I had already been baptised as a baby.
What does/did God say?
Well, that is a personal choice. But regarding infant baptism, do we let the baby choose what he should eat or drink, or when to sleep or what to wear? No, we make decisions for the child. Also, we believe that Baptism is saving, so when we do it, we are removing the stain of original sin from the child. Confirmation is how we affirm to the Church that we are moving forward into our faith. I was baptized as an infant in an Evangelical Church, but the records were destroyed, so when I became Catholic, I was conditionally baptized (just in case...).
When I stood before the church to give my testimony and say I was requesting adult baptism, was that unnecessary or a "wasted" witness? Was the peace and happiness that I felt at my baptism, real?
I don't know if it was unnecessary or wasted. And I'm sure your peace and happiness were real, just as mine were being conditionally baptized, then confirmed, then given first Eucharist, and married all in a matter of two days.
Does God refuse to save, bless, fill with his Spirit etc if the sacrament is "invalid"?
The grace is there, but the effectiveness is what is in question. If one receives a sacrament in a state of mortal sin, the grace won't work in the person. Once that sin is rejected and confessed, the grace is there for you.
And if the answer to that is '"no", if believers sitting in a home group and sharing bread and wine can feel just as close to Jesus and just as blessed by him/filled with his Spirit as those sitting 'in church' with all the formal liturgy and rites; is the latter that important?
It is a basic precept of the Catholic Church that Catholics who are able must attend Mass on Sunday. Or it is a sin. During the pandemic, millions of Catholics watched Mass on television. I believe it was about as effective as Zoom learning. Personally, my rituals to attend Mass start Saturday evening. Sunday morning when I wake, there's no music, idle chit chat, etc. I read the Sacred Scriptures for the day, eat a small meal, and think of what God is saying to me in those readings. Quiet in the car going to Mass.
That is not to say that whatever your tradition of worship is isn't effective. Is it 'just as effective'? Only God knows.[/QUOTE]
