So embarassing what is holy communion?

[tamxxx]

Hey today was the most embarassing day of my life, well I go to a catholic school, and basically im not catholic (im a different religion), so the school has something called Mass, where every student comes to the hall, and we have this assembly like every month. Im new at the school,because before i went to a normal school. So i was very confused, the priest was handing this small circle thing which was supposed to be bread and i didnt know what the significance was if i ate it? so i thought you had to take it only if you really want to, or your religious and catholic, so basically, i had my doubts what the priest was handing out, and so i thought i would just take it, and eat it later, and so i put it in my pocket. I only did this because nearly everone was eating it and i felt kind of bad if i didnt eat it and left out, or just felt weird, some people didnt take it but the teacher thought i was catholic. Anyway so i put it in my pocket and went back to my seat when suddenly a teacher calls me, and she tells me to put the host back, because she saw me put it in my pocket and she said you have to eat it, or put it back, at the moment I felt so embarassed, because some people were staring at me,like i was stupid, so i took the host out of my pocket and gave it back to the girl who was handing it out?

Now im really confused, everytime this holy communion thing happens i get nervous on what i should do? what shall i do next time?, even though im not catholic i still want to participate and show respect for other religions, because i feel bad if i dont do anything. It just seems like im lacking knowledge and i didnt know who to go to and ask because i thought it would be such a stupid thing to ask like you go to a catholic school and dont know what to do lol? I dont know what to do next time what will the best option i dont want to make a fool of myself and people to get the wrong impression? :S

Edited March 15, 2007 by tamxxx

[GoddessWhispers]

Well you could always wait till Monday and say: "Golly, this isn't like when we drink blood and worship Satan at my house on the Sabbath!"

You know, just to shake up the humdrum of the every day!?

Or, you could Yahoo search "Holy Communion" and read for yourself.

[MissMelsWell]

Hey today was the most embarassing day of my life, well I go to a catholic school, and basically im not catholic (im a different religion), so the school has something called Mass, where every student comes to the hall, and we have this assembly like every month. Im new at the school,because before i went to a normal school. So i was very confused, the priest was handing this small circle thing which was supposed to be bread and i didnt know what the significance was if i ate it? so i thought you had to take it only if you really want to, or your religious and catholic, so basically, i had my doubts what the priest was handing out, and so i thought i would just take it, and eat it later, and so i put it in my pocket. I only did this because nearly everone was eating it and i felt kind of bad if i didnt eat it and left out, or just felt weird, some people didnt take it but the teacher thought i was catholic. Anyway so i put it in my pocket and went back to my seat when suddenly a teacher calls me, and she tells me to put the host back, because she saw me put it in my pocket and she said you have to eat it, or put it back, at the moment I felt so embarassed, because some people were staring at me,like i was stupid, so i took the host out of my pocket and gave it back to the girl who was handing it out?

Now im really confused, everytime this holy communion thing happens i get nervous on what i should do? what shall i do next time?, even though im not catholic i still want to participate and show respect for other religions, because i feel bad if i dont do anything. It just seems like im lacking knowledge and i didnt know who to go to and ask because i thought it would be such a stupid thing to ask like you go to a catholic school and dont know what to do lol? I dont know what to do next time what will the best option i dont want to make a fool of myself and people to get the wrong impression? :S

You didn't say what religion you are... that might be important. Most (but not all) Christians participate in some type of Holy Communion. It's symbolic of the Last Supper of Christ.

Let me tell you what I do when I am faced with Holy Communion. I am a Quaker, which is a Christian denomination, but we don't take communion (we consider every meal a communion). I never take communion in a church because Quakers don't practice Baptism either, and most churches that perform communion usually make baptism a requirement for taking communion (not all, but most). So, as a general rule, if you haven't been baptised, you probably should err on the side of caution and not take communion.

If I am in a Catholic church (or any other that practices communion), I'll use my common sense. If everyone rises to take communion I will too, but when I approach the priest I will ask for a blessing rather than taking the wafer and wine. I'll just say "Today, I would like only a blessing". Typically, this is something priests/ministers are more than happy to do.

If some people hold back when the communion line is formed, I will also hold back and stay seated and use that time to reflect or think.

Don't be embarassed hon, it took me a long time to figure out how to work around Holy Communion... I hope that my experience helps you out. You might ask your folks how they feel about communion and how your own religion feels about it too. A very kindly Luthern minister gave me pointers about asking for a blessing rather than communion, but it didn't stop him from trying to baptise me I really dug that minister, he was an excellent man. My father in law used to be a priest and he also agrees that asking for a blessing in lieu of communion is acceptable.

Edited March 15, 2007 by MissMelsWell

[Something Like Laughter]

Don't take it and if anyone asks, tell them you are not Catholic.

The priest shouldn't be giving it to you anyway.

But don't worry about it.

[hippi]

Catholics believe the host, as it is called, to be the body of Jesus Christ. If you watch closely, you'll probably notice that some of the people going to communion are not taking the host, but just getting a blessing. This is because one is not supposed to receive the host, unless one is in a state of grace; so when a person with unconfessed sins goes to communion, he or she will fold the arms and bow the head to indicate the desire for a blessing instead.

[Leonardo]

I was at a Catholic event with some friends and their children and had the same concern. My Catholic friend said I could ask the priest for a blessing rather than partake of the host. That could be a simple solution for you.

[Odd Christian]

since your question has been answered, i will give you some advice for the next time you are in a similar situation (not knowing what you should do), the advice?

ASK SOMEONE. there is nothing wrong with not understanding or knowing something. when i was in school, a teacher made a comment when someone said they had a stupid question to ask- "there is no such thing as a stupid question, the only thing stupid is having a question and not asking"

[MissMelsWell]

since your question has been answered, i will give you some advice for the next time you are in a similar situation (not knowing what you should do), the advice?

ASK SOMEONE. there is nothing wrong with not understanding or knowing something. when i was in school, a teacher made a comment when someone said they had a stupid question to ask- "there is no such thing as a stupid question, the only thing stupid is having a question and not asking"

And that is REALLY good advice Odd Christian. It's a simple old cliche, and it's SO true.

[Cadetak]

I'm not religious but my family is Catholic so from time to time I get conned into going to mass. When it comes time for communion I just stay in my seat. I don't sing the songs or do the prayers. I stand and sit when everyone else does but when it comes time to kneel I just sit and when it comes time to bow I just don't do it.

The way I see it is if I did sing the songs, take the communion, do the prayers, etc. it would be disrespectful because it would be false and everyone would know it. Imagine your at a Star Trek convention and George Lucas shows up with pointy ears and talks in Klingon...or you go to a Republican and tell him that you love the president but you voted for Kerry.

[seanph]

Tam***, don't feel embarrassed. Just chalk it up to a learning experience. And you can show respect but not have to participate. You differ in belief and they should respect that.

The Eucharist (Communion) ... Of course this refers to the last supper where Jesus supposedly proclaims the wine the [disciples] drink to be his blood, the bread they eat his flesh. Eat and drink of it and be saved (GJohn 6:53-56). This gruesome ritual was practiced amongst many religions of antiquity. It was not unique to Christianity. In fact, some scholars believe it's possible to trace such rituals to a period in the distant past known as the Totem Stage (I believe this is the correct term). During this period, tribes were honoring and sacrificing--making sin-offerings (bear or bull)--to Totem spirits. They then ate the sin-offering in a "Eucharistic-type" feast. Elaine Pagels (Princeton University) draws a similar conclusion in her book Beyond Belief, by stating, . . . many Jews and gentiles might have recognized the eucharist as typical of ancient cult worship. (p.19)

I just took a gander at the late Edward Carpenter's (Brighton College; Trinity Hall, Cambridge) book Pagan and Christian Creeds (p.72) where he makes an interesting statement about sacrifice, sin-offering and Christianity: I say it is an astonishing thing to think and realize that this profound and mystic doctrine of eternal sacrifice of Himself, ordained by the Great Spirit for the creation and salvation of the world--a doctrine which has attracted and fascinated many of the great thinkers and nobler minds of Europe, which has also inspired the religious teachings of Indian sages and to a less philosophical degree the writings of the Christian saints--should have been seized in its general outline and essence by rude and primitive people before the dawn of history, and embodied in their rites and ceremonies."

Sean

Edited March 16, 2007 by seanph

[Ashley-Star*Child]

Well I'd say if you don't even know what it is don't take it.

[tamxxx]

Ok thanks for the advice everyone it helped alot . Yeah some girls saw that i took the host back and didnt eat it, and they told me was i scared? and i said i was just confused, there catholic and explained to me that I could just have a blessing. But i still feel more comfortable sitting down. i think its just when everyone is going up and when most of the students are catholic taking the host you feel a bitt odd, and it feels rude, if you dont take it, but like someone else said the host has a meaning why you would eat it. So if i just ate it, it would be false, and i see no point in doing that.

I just want to participate and as it is a catholic school they told me in the beginning that you do have to participate in masses, and go to church, which im perfectly fine with, so i guess I just should listen to other beliefs =)

[seanph]

Just do what you feel is comfortable for you.

Sean

[MissMelsWell]

Ok thanks for the advice everyone it helped alot . Yeah some girls saw that i took the host back and didnt eat it, and they told me was i scared? and i said i was just confused, there catholic and explained to me that I could just have a blessing. But i still feel more comfortable sitting down. i think its just when everyone is going up and when most of the students are catholic taking the host you feel a bitt odd, and it feels rude, if you dont take it, but like someone else said the host has a meaning why you would eat it. So if i just ate it, it would be false, and i see no point in doing that.

I just want to participate and as it is a catholic school they told me in the beginning that you do have to participate in masses, and go to church, which im perfectly fine with, so i guess I just should listen to other beliefs =)

You're a good kid tam***, and you handled the girls well by letting them know you were confused, that was the right (and really very adult) thing to do. It shows a great deal of maturity on your part.

I think it's a good thing that you're willing to participate in school and have no objection to going to Mass in the interest of participating. This is a good time in your life to start exploring what you actually do (or don't) believe. You may not be a Catholic and may never be one, but it's very important to learn what they believe and why. We should all learn what others believe and why, it helps us to be better people.

[Cadetak]

Ok thanks for the advice everyone it helped alot . Yeah some girls saw that i took the host back and didnt eat it, and they told me was i scared? and i said i was just confused, there catholic and explained to me that I could just have a blessing. But i still feel more comfortable sitting down. i think its just when everyone is going up and when most of the students are catholic taking the host you feel a bitt odd, and it feels rude, if you dont take it, but like someone else said the host has a meaning why you would eat it. So if i just ate it, it would be false, and i see no point in doing that.

I just want to participate and as it is a catholic school they told me in the beginning that you do have to participate in masses, and go to church, which im perfectly fine with, so i guess I just should listen to other beliefs =)

I went to a catholic school too and was catholic, they make you go to mass but you don't have t participate.

[Ryo Ohki]

I knew you ate bread and stuff thats supposed to be wine but I didnt know what it was called.