Personal/private Communion?

[Paladin D]

Just was wondering what your thoughts were on personal/private communion. Which is practiced mainly be non-Catholics.

For one, my mom does this every morning. I have discussed her about the Eucharist and it's meaning. She seemed a little suprised and suspicious. I printed out two CatholicAnswers articles about the Eucharist, and who can recieve it.

So far I haven't heard her comments on the articles, not sure if she read them or not. But just this morning before she went up stairs to take communion, out of nowhere she says to me...

"I don't care what anybody else says, my communion ain't any less than that done by a Priest. I've felt God's presence (spiritually) when taking communion, unlike in the Mass of a Catholic Church"

...it was very much what she said almost. I didn't even reply as I went on with my business.

Despite the Scriptural evidence I have given her (including the context of it), and the teachings of some of the Early Church Fathers, it's as if she just brushed it off.

[marielapin]

what exactly does she do? go upstairs and consecrate her own bread and wine?

I've never heard of this before.

[Ellenita]

I have not heard of this before either. Many years ago I used to attend a house church (as opposed to a protestant church of a particular denomination) and we took communion in each other's houses, but always as a group of Christians together.

I have not been to a church service of any denomination for a very long while now (my own personal struggle), but do pray and read my Bible, however it has never ocurred to me to take communion on my own. I always thought it was something, while intensely personal since it involves individual communion with God, was also meant to be part of sharing as a community.

[Paladin D]

what exactly does she do?  go upstairs and consecrate her own bread and wine?

I've never heard of this before.

Since most non-Catholics do not believe in the physical presence of Christ (in form of bread and wine), they can partake in private communion which has a spiritual effect (such as Christ's presence), and is just spiritual. Bread and wine remain the same, nothing changes whatsoever.

More of like a "I'm doing this to remember you buy, please come Holy Spirit" type of thing.

[IXpenguin21]

why doesn't she just go to Mass?

it seems like she's making a parody of the actual sacrifice...

[traichuoi]

okay, so i've never heard of this before either. but when you take the reason for communion (comm+union=community+union) it is to consecrate ourselves with Christ but also to be in communion with each other and the saints. it's not just a private matter. it is to fulfill God's greatest commandment. not only to love God but also to love ourselves as we love others. what better way to love God, ourselves, and each other than to be connected to each other through Christ's blood and flesh? ultimately, communion shouldn't be just a personal communion with God.

[Dave]

But just this morning before she went up stairs to take communion, out of nowhere she says to me...

"I don't care what anybody else says, my communion ain't any less than that done by a Priest.  I've felt God's presence (spiritually) when taking communion, unlike in the Mass of a Catholic Church"

First of all, your mom is sadly mistaken if she has to "feel" anything when receiving Holy Communion. After receiving the Eucharist, it's possible to feel really dry. It happens! However, the truth and Christ's presence aren't based on feelings.

[Ash Wednesday]

"I've felt God's presence (spiritually) when taking communion, unlike in the Mass of a Catholic Church"

If I got a penny for every time I've heard people base their faith on feelings, I'd have my college loans paid off and then some.

Ever notice that? "Felt" this. "Felt" that. I didn't get a good "feeling" from Mass. I "felt" good at this church, not that one.

I'm currently rereading Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross and it's interesting what he says about the "sensual" aspect of someone's faith being unreliable and faith based on such things ("in the flesh" as he puts it) is transient and really doesn't grow like faith based in the Spirit.

My best friend is sort of in that boat right now. She converted to Catholicism but she says things like "part of her still being Episcopalian" and being "moved" by the Episcopalian "Eucharist" as well as the Catholic one. Of course she KNOWS what the Church teaches on "intercommunion" (i.e. it's forbidden) but disagrees with it, and has recently had struggles with the concept of transubstantiation. If she understood the True Presence, which I hope she does to the full someday, taking "communion" any other way would be unthinkable. She attends the Mass more often and is inclined to favor the "Catholic Eucharist" (of course! only Catholics HAVE the true Eucharist!) but is still trying to figure things out. I've had to be careful not to be too forceful and let her figure things out for herself (this has been a bone of contention and has caused strain in our friendship in the past -- she doesn't want me being forceful, and there are times I have to let go.)

It is only through the True Physical Presence that we can most be in communion with God -- not only in Spirit but in Body as well.

Anyway... just keep praying for your mom (and pray for my friend). It sounds like her comment out of the blue means she just might be feeling a little uncomfortable. But that's not a bad thing. Sometimes it's good to gently reveal when one is in error, ever so gently enough to make them a little uncomfortable. God often gently tugs on the strings of our hearts and simply wont let go. Let God move camels through needles, and mountains from here to there, and do what we can't.

[Paladin D]

Thank you all for your responses.

I'm not exactly sure why she does it. But from what she has said and implied, it seems to be something "spiritually powerful". God told her to do it, so...she does it. And once God tells her to do something, she rarely listens to anyone or anything else.

Note: What also inspired her to start doing this, was Benny Hinn and some other "preachers".

Edited October 22, 2003 by Paladin D

[Katholikos]

My best friend is sort of in that boat right now. She converted to Catholicism but she says things like "part of her still being Episcopalian" and being "moved" by the Episcopalian "Eucharist" as well as the Catholic one.  Of course she KNOWS what the Church teaches on "intercommunion" (i.e. it's forbidden) but disagrees with it, and has recently had struggles with the concept of transubstantiation.  If she understood the True Presence, which I hope she does to the full someday, taking "communion" any other way would be unthinkable. She attends the Mass more often and is inclined to favor the "Catholic Eucharist" (of course! only Catholics HAVE the true Eucharist!) but is still trying to figure things out.It is only through the True Physical Presence that we can most be in communion with God -- not only in Spirit but in Body as well.

Your friend had to assent to or say these words:

'I believe everything the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church teaches'

when she became a Catholic. This oath is usually sworn in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. What would possess anyone to lie to God, in His very Sacramental Presence? Scares me to think of it.

Her instructor(s) should have prevented her from becoming Catholic, unless, of course, they were deceived as well. This is sacrilege.

The "time to figure things out" is before one becomes a Catholic.

(No criticism of you, of course, Ash Wednesday, but of your friend. She has defrauded the Church.)

Ave Cor Mariae,

Katholikos

Edited October 24, 2003 by Katholikos

[kdewolf2]

I had my own private communion a couple times when I was twelve. I came home from church (fundamentalist), poured a glass of milk, grabbed a couple of peanut butter cookies, went back to my room, consecrated them and then consumed them. I used the practice of intinction, of course. Later, I decided it was blasphemous (for some obscure reason since I did not believe in the Real Presence or the Priesthood back then) and asked God to forgive me for making a joke of the Lord's Supper.

[Anna]

Awwwwwwwwww. This is such a sad thread.

It makes me feel so very sorry for our poor, confused non-Catholic Christian friends.

They obviously long for "communion" with Christ, but are clueless as to how to attain that physical and spiritual union.

St. Augustine was certainly correct, when he said, "Our souls are restless, until they rest in Thee."

The peace that Christ gives is not a "feeling," for "the flesh is useless." It's not a state of mind. It's a state of being, when the soul is in a state of grace, for "it is the Spirit that gives life." John 6.

Keep living the Truth, fellow Catholics. Paladin, I think your mom is really thinking over the things you've been presenting to her. She may want to deny it at first, but persevere in love.

Pax Christi. <><

[Spiritual_Arsonist]

THOMAS A' KEMPIS: "Son, trust not thy feelings."

AMEN

[Robyn]

It's a state of being, when the soul is in a state of grace, for "it is the Spirit that gives life." John 6.

We don't NEED the eucharist to have that

Communion is union with God...eucharist or not. It's amesome! :D

[foundsheep]

The euchrist makes it much more closer to the truth.

[Anna]

We don't NEED the eucharist to have that 

Communion is union with God...eucharist or not. It's amesome!

Sorry, Robyn,

but Jesus said you DO need that.

"Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you." John 6:53

Jesus said it, we believe it.

Paladin, :wub:

This was the first reading at Mass today.

It made me think of your Mom, and her personal, private communion.

Perhaps this would help her to understand the necessity of a priesthood, which offers communion to the Father:

Heb 5:1-6

Brothers and sisters:

Every high priest is taken from among men

and made their representative before God,

to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring,

for he himself is beset by weakness

and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself

as well as for the people.

No one takes this honor upon himself

but only when called by God,

just as Aaron was.

In the same way,

it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest,

but rather the one who said to him:

You are my son:

this day I have begotten you;

just as he says in another place:

You are a priest forever

according to the order of Melchizedek.

http://www.catholicherald.com/saunders/99w...ws/ws990701.htm

Who Was Melchizedek?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Straight Answers By Fr. William Saunders

Melchizedek appears in the Book of Genesis (14:18-20).

Abraham had defeated King Chedorlaomer and the other three allied kings, and then was met by Melchizedek, the Canaanite King of Salem and "a priest of God Most High." (Interestingly, the word Melchizedek means, Amy king is righteousness," and Salem, "peace.")

Melchizedek presented bread and wine to Abraham, and blessed him with these words: "blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of Heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand" (Genesis 14:19-20).

Keep in mind that bread and wine were customarily offered in sacrifice among the "first fruits" of the earth in thanksgiving to the Creator.

Although Melchizedek is technically a pagan priest, he recognizes the one supreme deity, using the title, "God Most High," just as the Jewish people would. Accepting this blessing and offering, Abraham gives to Melchizedek a tithe of one-tenth the booty from his campaign. After this encounter, however, Melchizedek disappears from the Genesis story.

Melchizedek is mentioned again in Psalm 110: "The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: >You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek'" (110:4). This psalm is considered one of the most important of the Messianic psalms, identifying the forthcoming Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, as King, Priest, and Conqueror.

Perhaps St. Paul, the traditional author of the Letter to the Hebrews, was the greatest promoter of Melchizedek. (See Chapters 5-9.) St. Paul used the person of Melchizedek to illustrate the doctrine of the sacrificial priesthood as established by Christ. St. Paul begins, "Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Hebrews 5:1). Despite human weakness, a man is called by God to be a priest.

St. Paul then compares and contrasts the priesthood of Melchizedek with that of Aaron, the Levitical Priesthood: The priesthood of Aaron was based on his ancestry from Abraham. The priests following Aaron were of his family, the House of Levi, and appointed priests because of their heredity. Also, these priests offered the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.

In contrast to the Levitical Priesthood is the Priesthood of our Lord, which Melchizedek foreshadows. First, Melchizedek has no genealogy in the Old Testament, and his priesthood is not based on heredity. Christ, like Melchizedek, is a priest by divine appointment and His priesthood does not depend upon hereditary ties.

Second, Abraham recognized the priest-king Melchizedek by receiving his blessing and offering him tithes. An act of such humility signified that the priesthood which would descend from Abraham is of lesser stature than that of Melchizedek. This act also foretold that the Levitical Priesthood would be replaced by the greater, perfect, and royal priesthood of Christ.

Third, Melchizedek offered bread and wine in thanksgiving to God, prefiguring what our Lord did at the Last Supper.

Fourth, Melchizedek was a "member of the nations." Christ came to save not just the House of Israel, but the people of all nations. Moreover, Melchizedek's very name and title mean "king of Justice, King of Peace"; Jesus entered the world to bring justice and peace.

Finally, Melchizedek was not a priest of the Old Covenant. Christ as a priest offered the perfect sacrifice for sin and made the new, perfect, and everlasting covenant with His own blood. In all, the Letter to the Hebrews elaborates upon the historical Melchizedek and weaves an image which foreshadows our Lord, who would fulfill the Old Testament covenant and priesthood.

The early Church Fathers clearly understood and accepted this imagery.

St. Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258) in his Letter to Cecil, taught, "Also in the priest Melchizedek we see the Sacrament of the Sacrifice of the Lord prefigured, in accord with that to which the Divine Scriptures testify, where it says: >And Melchizedek, the King of Salem, brought out bread and wine, for he was a priest of the Most High God; and he blessed Abraham.' That Melchizedek is in fact a type of Christ is declared in the psalms by the Holy Spirit, saying to the Son, as it were from the Father: >Before the daystar I begot You. You are a Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.' The order certainly is that which comes from his sacrifice and which comes down from it: because Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God; because he offered bread; and because he blessed Abraham. And who is more a priest of the Most High God than our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when He offered sacrifice to God the Father, offered the very same which Melchizedek had offered, namely bread and wine, which is in fact His Body and Blood."

St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechetical Lectures (Mystagogia 5) also referenced Melchizedek's sacrifice as a "type" which prefigured the Holy Eucharist.

The Church honors this image of Melchizedek. The Catechism teaches, "the Christian tradition considers Melchizedek, >priest of God Most High,' as a prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ, the unique >high priest after the order of Melchizedek'; >holy, blameless, unstained,' >by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified,' that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross" (#1544, cf. 50). Moreover, "the Church sees in the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek, who >brought out bread and wine,' a prefiguring of her own offering" (#1333). For this reason, the priest in Eucharistic Prayer I, prays after the consecration, "look with favor on these offerings and accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchizedeck."

If you have enjoyed reading Straight Answers, a book (400 pages in length) of the same title is available with 100 Astraight answers" about the faith. The book may be purchased at both the Queen of Apostles Family Gift Shop and the Pauline Book and Media Center (Daughters of St. Paul), both in Alexandria, as well as other religious stores throughout the diocese.

Fr. Saunders is pastor of Queen of Apostles Parish and dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, both in Alexandria.

Edited October 27, 2003 by Anna

[Paladin D]

Thank you Anna. :)

[Katholikos]

deleted

Edited October 27, 2003 by Katholikos

[Robyn]

:rolleyes:

[Anna]

You're welcome, Pal, I know it's a lot to read, but I really thought about you and your Mom during Mass, especially during the first reading, so just wanted to provide you with as much info as possible.

I hope it helps shed some light.

It was educational for me, at least!

Pax Christi. <><