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A Protestant Came To Mass Today


ChristinaTherese

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ChristinaTherese

We have Mass once a month or so on campus, and a random Pentecostal (but we didn't know that immediately) freshman walked in, so we asked if she was looking for Mass. She hesitantly said sure, and asked what Mass is. So she stuck around for Mass, and we did our best to welcome her. It was cool. I did wonder how you say that no, I don't care if you believe that you truly receive the Body of Christ at communion, you oughtn't receive the Eucharist, but others were able to say that better than I. (I just had a very blunt and direct and not explanatory, nice, or welcoming sentence in my head. And I kind of wanted to be all of that.... So I just whispered to others and they did it.)

 

Oh, and I did the reading and almost forgot about the Psalm.... Drat it. It's only the second time I've read at Mass, though.

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Basilisa Marie

We have Mass once a month or so on campus, and a random Pentecostal (but we didn't know that immediately) freshman walked in, so we asked if she was looking for Mass. She hesitantly said sure, and asked what Mass is. So she stuck around for Mass, and we did our best to welcome her. It was cool. I did wonder how you say that no, I don't care if you believe that you truly receive the Body of Christ at communion, you oughtn't receive the Eucharist, but others were able to say that better than I. (I just had a very blunt and direct and not explanatory, nice, or welcoming sentence in my head. And I kind of wanted to be all of that.... So I just whispered to others and they did it.)

 

Oh, and I did the reading and almost forgot about the Psalm.... Drat it. It's only the second time I've read at Mass, though.

 

If you have the time for a longer explanation of communion guidelines (and people don't always do), I sometimes find pointing out that only Catholics who are in a state of grace can receive communion, so it's not just a "Catholics only" thing but a "prepared Catholics only" thing.  I find it helps people see that it's really not just about being arbitrarily exclusionary. 

Sounds like you guys did a good job though. :) 

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every church I've been to (that I remember) has a standard missalette (sp?) that has an explanation on the inside cover/first few pages of who can/can't receive communion. I'd just point to that and call it a day.

 

ETA: I assume that the Mass was promptly followed by burning said heretic at the stake?

Edited by Ice_nine
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Basilisa Marie

every church I've been to (that I remember) has a standard missalette (sp?) that has an explanation on the inside cover/first few pages of who can/can't receive communion. I'd just point to that and call it a day.

 

ETA: I assume that the Mass was promptly followed by burning said heretic at the stake?

 

I doubt it. :)  She said other people were pretty welcoming and offered good explanations because she couldn't find the right words. 

 

 

There are a few different companies that make missalettes, so depending on what you've got it's not always super easy to find, unfortunately.  And sometimes they aren't worded in the most...pastoral?... manner, especially if you're a non-Catholic.  

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ChristinaTherese

Well, it's Mass on a Protestant college campus, so we've been having it in the chapel of the Free Methodist church across the street. There aren't exactly any missalettes there. So we really did only have ourselves, my missal (there's a page in there too, I considered looking for it but decided that talking was probably better), and Fr. Lukasz.

 

And Jan explained how Catholic kids have to be educated too, before they're allowed to receive the Eucharist, so it isn't just Protestants.

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