I bounced around through NO Catholic, Protestant and the Orthodox Churches for a while before almost entirely giving up on established Christianity. Some were better than others, but I had not really come across one that struck me as being significant in any way. The modern Protestants are pretty much just a Jesus fan club, usually ripe with theological inaccuracies. The Orthodox, as I have said before, are still very mad about the schism. The Greek Orthodox Church seemed to me to be more of a novelty. It was interesting, but their mass did not seem legitimate in my heart. Furthermore.. They had a woman speak during the mass.
I finally managed to go to a Latin Mass and it was like stepping back in time. 80% of the women were wearing head coverings and dresses. The Mass took place in a musty 150 year old church in the middle of farm country, decorated much more humbly than the Orthodox, but actually appearing as a church unlike the Protestants'. The place was packed with babies. Some of these people had 5 or more kids. I couldn't understand a word the Priest was saying. Not a single one of these people was fat. Some were overweight but not fat.
The mass itself actually resonated with my heart and I took the Eucharist for the first time in my free thinking life.. instead of just pocketing it like I've done at the other churches. It sort of made me ill for some reason so idk if I'll take it again but I tried.
7/10 experience, would recommend.
Yeah, you're not supposed to go up and take communion if you aren't Catholic and/or haven't confessed your mortal sins before so that's why. After all, you are eating Jesus flesh himself, who is very holy, so your body isn't ready for it. Happened to a lot of people who took communion without confession first. But take it as a nudge in the right direction.
Merry Christmas.
Yes.
>Have you attended confession
No.
>Prior to receiving you must be in a state of grace, if you aren’t you are eating damnation
Then perhaps nothing has changed.
You are now morally culpable for your prior behavior because a brother Christian has pointed this behavior out to you. You are currently in a state of mortal sin, my brother, and should not be relaxed about this. Call your local parish, tell the priest you need to do a long-form, guided confession as you are unaware of when you confessed last. Go to that meeting, be honest, and then you’ll feel better.
St. Paul's great sin was that he physically killed Christians. His salvation was that he preached life to the spiritually dead and he was grievously executed for this. The debt that I feel the requirement to repay is not one that can be washed away by simply confessing to it.