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World
Traveler
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I am a 21-year-old female college student
living in the American Midwest. I was raised
Roman Catholic by my mother and father along
with my two sisters; we have also been confirmed.
I love the Church, but sometimes my friends
say I love it a bit too much! Here's why.
In about two months, I will be traveling through
Japan and China for a study abroad program
through my school. Part of this trip will
include visits to Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist,
and other places of worship throughout our
travels. While talking with some of the seniors
who have been on this trip before, one girl
noted:
"Some people were very stubborn and
refused to participate during temple visits.
They might take off their shoes, but they
would not bow, ring prayer bells or leave
offerings or anything."
The attitude here was that the students who
declined to participate in the prayers and
rituals of other religions were being disrespectful
and snooty. They believed that these actions
are generally harmless and just another part
of the cultural immersion experience.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that
participating in another religion's rituals
is not only disrespectful but also irreverent
to both: the other religion and towards God.
I understand that it's important to be respectful
of a prayerful space, but it seems dangerous
to perform any actions or rituals that are
geared towards worshiping idols or false gods,
like ringing bells to Shinto gods or bowing
before a Buddhist alter, especially since
I would not fully understand the prayers or
actions that I would be participating in.
For this reason, I would be inclined to abstain
from such actions.
My question is this:
- To what extent should I respectfully participate
in other religion's rituals and prayers,
and at what times should I refuse?
This question also extends to receiving communion
in non-catholic Christian churches, which
I generally decline.
World Traveler
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{
To what extent should I
respectfully participate, or not participate in their communion? }
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Paul
replied:
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Hi, WT —
Thanks for the important question.
I think you generally have it right.
Common decency and respect while
in another person's home or in their
house of worship is appropriate,
but without taking part in any religious
rituals that you don't believe in.
Participating in non-Christian religious
rituals would be a lie for a believing
Catholic, and would also violate
the First Commandment by worshipping
or giving homage to false gods.
On the other hand, what you said
about receiving communion at non-Catholic
Christian Churches needs mentioning.
You say you generally decline in
taking communion with them. Catholics
may not take part in communion services
of Protestant churches nor can Protestants
receive Our Lord in Holy Communion
in the Catholic Church.
Receiving Communion is a sign of
unity not only with Christ but with
the others receiving Him. That unity
is still lacking between Catholics
and Protestants. Also, Protestant
communion services do not have the
Real Presence of Christ because they
don't have the power of Apostolic
Succession to change the bread and
wine into Christ's body and blood;
and they generally don't believe
in the Real Presence anyway.
Paul
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John
replied:
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WT —
I'd like to add a couple of points
to Paul's excellent answer.
It is true that Catholics cannot
receive communion in
Protestant services. It is also true
that there is no Real Presence of
our Lord in the physical elements
of a Protestant communion service.
The bread and the wine are simply
that. They may symbolize Christ in
that community's tradition, but there
is no change in substance, which,
in general, they don't believe in
anyway.
We should be careful when we speak
about the real presence to
Protestants. Many of them believe
in the real presence, but they may mean
something completely different. So
in the context of their service,
we want to be respectful. Obviously,
we can't participate — receive
communion at their services, — but
we ought to recognize what they believe
and be careful not to offend them
if, for some extraordinary
reason, we happen to find ourselves in
attendance.
Protestant beliefs around the real presence vary greatly from denomination to
denomination and sometimes from congregation
to congregation, because in some
denominations, the local pastor has
more doctrinal authority than the
denominational powers. Some
communities, for instance, believe
that Christ is really present in
the communion service. In other words,
He is not present in the elements,
but He is present in action of community
when they celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Other's believe that they receive
Jesus spiritually when they individually
take the bread or wine (often grape
juice).
So there are varying types of spiritual
communions taking place. The
Catholic Church would acknowledge
that Christ is certainly present
in the community as they gather to
worship.
After all, Christ said:
"When two or three gather
in my name, there I am also." (Matthew 18:20)
I believe that the Church would also
say that these folks receive some
sort of spiritual communion in their
celebration of the Lord's Supper.
The Catholic Church wouldn't call
it the Real Presence because
we mean something entirely different
by that term.
Nevertheless, let the circumstance
dictate the discussion. If you are
having a discussion about the nature
of communion in an apologetics context,
then you can discuss those differences
but there are other circumstances
where you may not want to be too
quick to enter into such a discussion.
John
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World
Traveler replied:
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Hi, guys —
Just to clarify my end note question.
I often find myself at congregational
and other small churches because
I am a pianist and they often hire
me to play hymns for their services.
Additionally, I occasionally find
myself at Lutheran churches because
my school was founded by the Lutheran
church and the school choir will
occasionally sing at their services.
Because these occasions usually provide
me so little understanding about
the other church's beliefs surrounding
the bread and wine, I have always
declined to receive communion. In talking
to my house mates about their beliefs,
they described some Christian communities
that believe the act of receiving the
bread and wine is a symbolic representation
of the unity of the community through
Christ so, if you wanted to show you
believed that you and your neighbor
are brothers and sisters in Christ,
you would partake in communion. Others believe
it's a symbol of one's belief in
Christ so if you believe in him as
your Savior, you would partake in
communion. Even though I believe
these things, I would decline to
receive communion because it's not a
sacramental Communion and there is
no Real Presence.
Anyway, nature of communion aside,
my major question is about traveling
this summer to
non-Christian Asian temples and the
correct behavior as a Catholic.
- Why is it that discussions with
Catholics always seem to circle
back to Communion?
Thank you all for your wonderful
answers.
WT
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John
replied:
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Dear, WT —
You should abstain from communion
in any Protestant setting for the
reasons you state and, to be honest, because it a requirement of Catholic
Canon Law. Receiving communion in
a Protestant service is an act of
disobedience and schism. Perhaps
that's why no matter where this kind
of conversation starts, Catholics
will always bring this up.
This is a very serious matter for
Catholics. For a Catholic, participating
in the Eucharist is the pinnacle
or summit of our worship. Therefore,
if a Catholic partakes in a Protestant
communion service, one is symbolically
equating the two [C|c]ommunions.
John
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