Thy unclean communion
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me.
For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.
I Corinthians 11:23-29
If I may ask, what is thy communion? Is this a remembrance service or is this a sacrifice? I know well the answer. You say that this is a service that you perform in remembrance of the Last Supper, or, in remembrance of Christ’s passion & death at Calvary. It is not a sacrifice, you declare.
But lately I have heard that we (the Catholics) have an unclean communion, because we partake of this sacrifice in common union with all others who profess the same faith, where also among us are wicked degenerate sinners. This accusation was to prove that our communion is blasphemous, as we allow sinners in our holy communion.
But this misconception stems from a misunderstanding of what communion is and actual scriptural context of communion.
- Communion is a sacrifice
And specifically, Christ’s eternal once-for-all sacrifice of Calvary made present in the elements of bread and wine which are offered back to God. We, the communicates, partake of Christ’s sacrifice by consuming the elements, which become His very flesh & blood which suffered and God raised up.
(The Church has extensive teachings on this subject in their Catechisms, feel free to research further) - Communion is communing with Christ
By partaking of the Eucharist, we are partaking of Christ and He indwells us.
The consecrated host, which becomes that very flesh & blood of our Lord, the bread of immortality, indwells our mortal frame and is to us a savor of life if we partake worthily.
But the heretics have made this sacrifice only a memory of Christ, removing the very essence of Christ. Yet in truth, they do not have the very Christ which suffered, as they are outside of Christ’s Church, His Salvation Program, and in truth, are unable to consecrate a host, making Christ truly present. So yes, their communion service can only be a remembrance service and nothing greater.
But they have made it a communion service regarding “faith”. Ah, the subtle shift! They partake of the elements in acknowledgement that they are of like-fath-and-practice with each other. But what is this? Where do you find communion defined as this? By this subtle shift, you have made the communion service only an acknowledgement ceremony where each consents that he is in communion with the bishop and each other.
And this is how, by your crooked understanding of holy communion, you do accuse us of blasphemous unholy communion with sinners. But then by that logic, what of those members who partake of your communion and live in secret sin? What of them? Are you not then partakers of their secret evil deeds? Also, what of those who walk the fence, who wish to leave but are constrained to stay because of some family tie? By this muddled mess and confusion, you do partake of “holy communion” with sinners, because you have made communion a partaking or participation to agree that each communicate submits in like-faith-and-practice with one another. And we both know that this is not always the case, as there have been those who secretly lived in sin, others who have wished to leave, and some who have disagreed with your minister on some article of faith. By this belief, ye have been partakers with them in their sins!
Furthermore, in regards to the elements which are set aside for your holy communion (the unleavened bread and the leavened grape juice): are these items, which are symbolic to you of Christ’s flesh and blood, consecrated and made holy unto the Lord? If not, may I ask why not? and if not, can one whom thou considerest to be a heretic or outside of your church partake? I know thy answer; they have been set aside for the use of the church for holy communion. Ah, so yes, they have been made holy without any blessing or consecration: only by their mere existence have they been set apart. One who is not a member of your group may not partake: exclusive membership only. But is this so? What of thy unbaptized children whom I have witnessed after the communion service ask if they may finish off the unleavened bread and you have allowed? And what of that holy grape juice which thy mother pours down that unholy drain? Then the bread and juice is not really holy, consecrated or set apart, other than for that short span of time you call communion. What nonsense! So what makes your communion service and elements holy? Because you said so!
But the true communion is not so; for these elements are consecrated to God as holy in which Christ performs a miracle to the holy, consecrated elements and changes them into His very body, blood, soul & divinity of that flesh which suffered on Calvary and whom God raised up.
In the first communion service, the Last Supper, Christ communed with not only his eleven faithful disciples, but also Judas Iscariot, the one whom had a devil and betrayed Him. Now, if in Christ’s communion service, He had knowingly offered the bread and wine to a devil, he who had previously agreed with the scribes to have Jesus arrested; would not according to your logic Christ have caused His eleven disciples to be partakers of Judas’ sin? And if your communion service is a commemoration of that Last Supper, are you not then partakers of Judas’ sin also? What flawed logic!
Hence why St. Paul writes “Therefore whosoever shall eat […] unworthily, shall be guilty […] For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.” This judgement is brought upon the individual, not corporately. Therefore, we are not partakers of other men’s sins by partaking of Christ’s body & blood; our communion is not unholy and blasphemous. Our holy communion is with Christ!