http://www.anawim.pair.com/CATHOLICS/CATHOLIC%20MASS.htm
"look
at John
6:52-55, the
Jews had a hard time believing Jesus' words as do
non-Catholics."
"Non-Catholics
believe that John
6:53 is merely a symbol and not the actual presence
of Christ. If Jesus were truly a symbol, then verse 27 through 29 in 1 Cor. 11
would not make
sense."
May I ask which church you're from, dumbdumb? (why did you pick
such a screen name, I feel bad when I address you like that.. like
I'm insulting you =.=" haha.) I'm from the same church as your
girlfriend!! I read the Holy Cross thread =p and I just signed up
with sgforums to reply to you here!
When I attended the service at my Baptist boyfriend's church
this last Sunday (1 Feb), which was their "Lord's Supper Sunday"..
I couldn't help crying to myself when they were having "communion".
=(
hmm. we believe it's a reminder. And when he told the disciples
when he did, he was telling them about what he was going to do.
in 1 cor 11, u hv to understand the context of what
happened.
17In
the following directives I have no praise for you, for your
meetings do more harm than good. 18In
the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church,
there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe
it. 19No
doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you
have God's approval. 20When
you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you
eat, 21for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without
waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets
drunk. 22Don't you have homes to eat and drink
in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those
who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for
this? Certainly not!
23For
I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord
Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and
when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body,
which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In
the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is
the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in
remembrance of me." 26For
whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the
Lord's death until he comes.
27Therefore,
whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy
manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the
Lord. 28A
man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks
of the cup. 29For
anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord
eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That
is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have
fallen asleep. 31But
if we judged ourselves, we would not come under
judgment. 32When
we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will
not be condemned with the world.
33So
then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each
other. 34If
anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet
together it may not result in judgment.
there are 2 issues which paul wishes to address here: first, the
disunity in the church, and 2nd, the unworthy way they see the
communion.
apparently you have to understand what the communion symbolize.
the bread, symbolize the body, we are all part of the body of
Christ, the blood, poured out for our sins, made from many grapes
crushed together and fermented together.
it is appropriate that we all take it together, as a symbolism
of unity, as a body. but apparently that's not so during that time.
everyone takes it whenever they wish it, instead of together. some
don't wait for the bread to be passed around, but quickly gulp his
share etc, instead of waiting for everyone to be ready to take it
together. the spirit of unity.
it's again, like how my friends although order their food
already, wait for the others' food to arrive before tucking in.
the second issue, taking the communion in an unworthy
manner. take note, that some church goers, treat the
communion as some sort of breakfast meal. they come early to
church, grab a huge hunk of bread, and eat it and gulp down the
wine. and get drunk in the process.
is this how u remember the Lord's sacrifice? that's what paul is
trying to say.
but it doesn't mean that the bread is really Jesus' body, or the
wine is really his blood. it's purely symbolic. you can go test the
wine now and test the bread that u use everyday, unless God
performs another miracle, it's just bread, and it's just wine. but
it symbolize everything Christ wanted for the church - to remember
He died for us, to remember that we can now stand before a holy God
in freedom and joy, to remember we don't have to hide in shame, to
remember that He loves us, to remember to love others as He loves
us.
a metaphor: when we sing the national anthem and recite the
national pledge, it only symbolize the spirit behind the pledge and
anthem right? that's all to it. if we treat the spirit (of unity in
this case), by not standing still and upright, we're not being
respectful.
but does that mean the flag becomes the person who wrote the
anthem of pledge?
so basically 2 issues paul addressed.
1) the need for unity in the family of God
2) not to treat Christ's sacrifice lightly.
so when we take communion - remember, if we have any arguments with anyone, make
peace with that person first, before taking it, if we have any
sins, confess them in ur heart, before taking it.
that's the proper way of taking it.
i remember my gf got brief me how to take communion
(during christmas eve mass), the priest will say something, and i
must say something also. is that really the proper way? personally
i don't think so.
it is more important to do what i embolded above, than to recite
a procedural phrase isn't it.
