Non-Catholics and those of us “raised” Catholic should abstain from taking Communion as a sign of respect. You can remain seated as others leave their pews and line up, or, if you accidentally find yourself following the herd to the altar, simply cross your hands over your heart.
If you don't profess the Catholic faith, then it isn't appropriate to act as if you do. (Technical point: in very rare circumstances and only with the Bishop's permission, a Protestant who believes the teachings and requests Communion can receive the Eucharist [ CCC 1401].
First Communion Requirements
Must be a baptized Catholic who has prepared for the sacrament of first holy communion.
The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. We must be properly prepared to receive it (1 Cor. 11:26-29). A non-Catholic who does not believe in the Real Presence would not be properly prepared to receive the Eucharist.
As Catholics, we joyfully welcome people of all faiths and backgrounds to attend the liturgy and participate in worship, however there are a few guidelines that might be helpful for a visitor to be coscious of.
A lapsed Catholic is a Catholic who is non-practicing.
Answer: No, the Church does not permit Catholics to receive communion in Churches not in union with the Catholic Church (canon 844 §1).
The general rule of canon law is that "sacred ministers cannot deny the sacraments to those who seek them at appropriate times, are properly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them"; and "any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion".
There are clear guidelines on receiving Holy Communion. Each Communicant should refrain from eating or drinking anything (except for water) for one hour prior to receiving the Eucharist, although exceptions are made for those who are sick and for the elderly. Also, each Communicant must be free of mortal sin.
But when it comes to receiving Communion on a weekday, because you can receive Communion even in a Communion service where many parts of the Mass don't take place (because it's not a Mass), you are able to receive Communion even if you haven't fully attended the Mass.
Examples of mortal sins include murder, adultery, blasphemy, and idolatry. Some extreme instances of these sins, such as violence against the pope, can even result in ex-communication from the church which is a severe punishment that excludes a person from the sacraments and other aspects of the faith.
They must have been baptized with water and “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” If your child is older than second grade, we may require completion of the Order of Christian Initiation of Children (OCIC).
You do not need to confess to a pastor, priest, or spiritual leader to be forgiven. You do not need another human mediator, since (by faith) you already have Jesus Christ: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5).
The saved person with sin in his or her life should not partake of the sacraments of the Lord's Supper. Additionally, the lost or the unsaved should also not participate in the Lord's Supper.
A. The Catholic Church teaches that a person conscious of having committed a mortal sin must confess it before he or she receives Holy Communion (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1457).
Just because someone is an unwed mother, or someone is divorced and not remarried or any other seemingly “disqualifying” social circumstances does not necessarily disqualify one from receiving the Eucharist.
As you approach the Chalice, cross your arms on your chest in the sign of humility. Don't kiss icons right before or right after you receive and don't make the sign of the cross near the Chalice. After you receive Communion, go back to your place in the church.
Note that fasting is required for one hour before the actual reception of Communion, not one hour before the start of Mass. (And note, too, that coffee drinkers do not get a pass; coffee does break the fast!)
May a divorced Catholic receive Holy Communion? Yes. Divorced Catholics in good standing with the Church, who have not remarried or who have remarried following an annulment, may receive the sacraments.
Catholics should never take Communion in a Protestant church, and Protestants (including Anglicans) should never receive Communion in the Catholic Church except in case of death or of "grave and pressing need". There is much talk of pain and brokenness in the document.
Catholics believe in transubstantiation - that the bread and wine are physically changed into the body and blood of Christ. In most Protestant churches, communion is seen as a memorial of Christ's death. The bread and wine do not change at all because they are symbols.
Eucharist or Lord's Supper
Once consecrated by a priest in the name of Jesus, bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. Non-Catholics may not participate in Communion. In the Protest Church, every baptized person is invited to share and is allowed to lead the Lord's Supper.
The anti-Catholic sentiment which resulted from this trend frequently led to religious discrimination against Catholic communities and individuals and it occasionally led to the religious persecution of them (frequently, they were derogatorily referred to as "papists" or "Romanists" in Anglophone and Protestant ...
Watching Mass on TV is not the same as attending Mass and does not fulfill someone's Sunday/holy day obligation. However, if someone is unable to attend Mass, then there is no obligation to attend Mass. Being with the community of faith and in the presence of the eucharistic Lord is not the same as watching it on TV.
The majority of contemporary Protestants are members of Adventism, Anglicanism, the Baptist churches, Calvinism (Reformed Protestantism), Lutheranism, Methodism and Pentecostalism.