Who can receive Holy Communion—and why are Protestants, atheists, and the uninitiated excluded? In this video, Tim Staples explores the deeper meaning of the Eucharist as a nuptial union with God and explains why proper integration into the Catholic Church is essential.
Transcript:
I guess I’m really curious as to why, uh, non-Catholics can’t receive the Eucharist at Mass.
Right, great, and here’s the key. You know, I mentioned this to the previous caller, my friend, but in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and 11, you’ll notice how St. Paul, when he talks about communion, we’re talking about salvation—your soul is on the line here. You know, when he says that, you know, the bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of the Lord? The cup which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of the Lord?
And then, forward to 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, he uses the language of homicide. You know, when he says, if you eat this bread or drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, you eat and drink damnation to yourself, not discerning the body of the Lord. This is a sacred, sacred moment for Catholics.
And there’s a deeper meaning here. If you go back to, uh, the institution of the Eucharist by our blessed Lord in all three of the synoptic gospels—but in Luke’s gospel in particular—the context is, this is the bridegroom offering to his bride his body, right? This, my friend, is a nuptial relationship.
Jesus is everywhere depicted in the gospels—even in his parables—he talks about being the bridegroom and the Church being the bride. So when he gives his body, we’re talking about nuptial language, right?
So, in order to receive this—and I wish we had more time, we could really dive into the gospels and have some fun with this—but the bottom line is, you know, when you’re entering into the Church, this is a nuptial relationship, you know, with our blessed Lord. You’re the bride, and he is the bridegroom.
And so, the communion is a nuptial union with our blessed Lord, right? So, can you imag— you know, for Catholics, saying, why is it only Catholics who receive communion? That’s like— that is the equivalent of saying, “Why is it, Tim Staples, that you can only have nuptial relations with your wife? Why can’t you have it with anybody you want to?”
Right? Well— whoa, wait a minute. There’s a very important reason. Because before— in fact, I’ll just say this because my wife’s probably listening, and she’s okay with me saying this— but she was a virgin when we married. This was a sacred moment when we joined together.
Now, whether she’s a virgin or not, it’s still that sacred moment because that’s when you’re saying, I am committing myself exclusively to you and you to me—unto death, until death do us part. And so, to say, “Okay, I’m committed to you, but, you know, if anybody else comes along, I’m going to have a relationship,” guess what? No.
That is not just a sin of adultery; that is sacrilege. Because that is acting contrary to a Sacrament. Okay, well, the Eucharist is our nuptial relationship with Jesus Christ.
And so, to say that we could have, uh, communion with Jesus in his Church but not be committed, or say, “You know what? No, I go to this other church over here,” or— this other church that may not even be a church.
Unless it’s an Orthodox church, it’s not even really worthy to be called a church because they don’t have the Eucharist. They don’t have valid priests. But even there, they’re not in full communion with the Catholic Church.
And so, again, communion for us represents— before we receive a Sacrament in the Catholic Church, we must say, “I believe all that the Catholic Church teaches to be revealed by God”— that is, all that’s infallibly taught by the Church— and I am absolutely committed, unto death, to her.
That’s the only way I can become a true bride of Christ. And Jesus, through the priest, is the bridegroom who offers his body to me.
So, I guess, you know, in my long-winded way, this— this is the why. This is some of the why. There’s— we could talk longer, but this is some of the why behind, “No, the Eucharist—”
I— I will— gosh, I will mention just one other thing. There is that little thing called the Passover, right? The Eucharist is considered, in the New Testament, to be the Passover of our blessed Lord.
Right? And now, where do you get that? St. Paul— 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 6 and 7. St. Paul says, “Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the feast.”
This is Paul’s kind of introduction that leads forward to chapters 10 and 11 that I mentioned before, and all about communion. But this is the context of a Passover.
Well, as you know, if you’ve even, you know— if we’ve even seen the movie with Charlton Heston, The Ten Commandments— you know that the Passover was for the people of God alone.
Only the Jews that were circumcised— if you’re a man— if you’re a woman, you have to be under the covering of a husband or a father, right, to be incorporated into that covenant.
The Passover wasn’t just open to— “Oh, any Egyptian who wants to— yeah, come on over here.” No. It’s only to those who have made the commitment to the Covenant.
That’s why, in the movie, remember when— when John Derek— I love John Derek, who plays Joshua— the barrel-chested John Derek— he’s, you know, the angel of death is coming, and John Derek’s out there to save his girlfriend and all that— puts the blood over the doors, and then he’s running. The cloud is on his heels— the angel of death— and he runs into the door.
And you remember, that door slowly closes. Moses— they’re singing the Hallel Psalms— you know, Psalm 114, 115, the Hallel Psalms— as the door closes. And all outside are screaming— “Ahh!”— you know, as they’re— as they’re dying.
That is the New Covenant Passover so beautifully anticipated there and— and fulfilled, you know, in Jesus Christ and in the New Testament, where St. Paul says the Eucharist is only for the people of God.
And it— I’m sorry, but it’s not for those who make up their own religion and decide to leave. If you make up your own religion— like Luther and Calvin did— sorry, you can’t receive communion.
Because you have to commit completely. I can’t just make up a Sacrament with my wife that allows me to go with other women, you know— it just doesn’t— it doesn’t work that way.
But anyway, it’s a very important question. But does that help at all, brother?
Sure, absolutely. The nuptial part really, really struck me. I thought that was a— a really great way to describe that.
Yeah, I’m— you know, my wife and I, our expectation is that we have that kind of relationship with each other, and nobody else is really allowed into that.
Amen, brother. God bless you, man. Thanks for your call and your question.