Why Catholics exclude other Christians from Communion

Why do Catholics exclude members of other Christian denominations from partaking in Communion bread during mass, asks Robert Hunter.

A year ago, I sent the following to a friend who genuinely sought to understand why non-Catholics are excluded from receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Mass.

I began by saying that it is not only non-Catholics that are excluded from receiving the Eucharist in the Catholic Mass. Catholics themselves – those who fail to prepare to receive it – are equally disallowed from the feast.

So, why do they do this? My sense is that these two groups (non-Catholics and ill-prepared Catholics) are excluded for two reasons. The first is an understanding of what the Eucharist represents – the body and blood of Christ. The second is that receiving the Eucharist requires prior (and elaborate) spiritual preparation that precedes initiation into the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

There is an elaborate spiritual exercise that signposts this initiation. At each stage of the preparation process (called catechism classes), it is emphasized that one must receive holy Communion worthily.  This being worthy to receive the communion is interpreted as being “in a state of grace.”

What is this “state of grace?”. The Church constantly admonishes members to be in good standing with the Lord and encourages those who are not to make efforts to reconcile with God. There are many paths to this reconciliation, depending on the nature of the sin one has committed, its severity (penal and venial sins are recognized) and impact. If someone steals, for example, they are required to do restitution and undergo a penance (there are more than 40 references to this in the Bible).

Penance also requires that they go to their priests for confession and blessing. Every church does this, as we see in Pentecostal churches where people confess in front of entire congregation and receive a pastor’s blessing thereafter. The Catholic Church favors a more dignified approach. Both approaches are however in line with the mandate given to priests as apostolic representatives to forgive sins (John 20:22-23).

Unlike other churches, those who go for priestly blessing without prior restitution will receive the blessing but with a stern admonition to offer the restitution to be in a state of God’s grace. The priest will not go out of his way to investigate who is committing sin. Those who bring their sins to his attention will receive words of encouragement to do the right thing, and a blessing as they leave. How to avoid occasions of sin and what to do when one falls from grace are some of the things that are taught in the preparation stage.

The spiritual preparation and exercises prior to receiving Holy Communion is a recognition of what the Eucharist signifies. Most Orthodox Churches believe that the substance of the bread and wine coexists with the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist (there is a big word that described it). For this reason, therefore, does it not make sense to disallow those who are not initiated into communion taking and those who are not “in a state of grace” to partake of the Eucharist? This also has biblical backing (Mark 14:22-25) for those who read the Bible for understanding.

On the Last Supper, consider that Jesus predicted that someone who has sinned greatly, with full knowledge of their sin, will dip his hands in the same bowl of food, and the consequences of that action. The food offered to the Apostles was not mere bread and wine; it was bread and wine blessed and converted into the body and blood of Christ. Additionally, consider the parable that Jesus told of a feast thrown by a big man whose guests failed to turn up, prompting him to go to the streets to gather everyone willing to come in and enjoy the feast. Weren’t some people bounced from the feast because they did not look the part of those attending a great feast? The Catholic Church wants everyone to partake of the Eucharist but has no way of knowing who came prepared to partake in the spiritual meal. This is why the reminder is issued – that this sacred meal should only be taken by those who are spiritually prepared for it. Like Judas, no one will stop anyone from coming forward to receive.

What is the way out for everyone, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who is not prepared to receive communion? The Catholic Church launched a campaign in 1964 to unite the Christian faithful through interreligious dialogue. In xxx, our own Francis Cardinal Arinze was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. I imagine that in future, with the faiths coming together, it will be possible to give a non-Catholic brother and sister a few simple spiritual exercises to perform (when they show up in a Catholic mass) – if they wish to partake in the Eucharist, so that they do so with appropriate solemnity and dignity as commanded by Christ. This is an opinion and a wish.

In summary, the question for me has always been whether it makes sense for non-Catholics, and Catholics who do not observe this prior spiritual preparation, to casually stroll into the Church to receive what was spiritually translated into the body and blood of Christ. This prior spiritual preparation recognizes that the Eucharist is a central feature of the Catholic Mass. It is easy to see why the solemnity and importance attached to this exercise of faith, as instituted and ordered by Christ himself, should not be degraded by people strolling into Church to casually receive it.