Sarahfeena,
I’m not offended, just irritated–and irrationally so. But had you said "I don’t know if any other denomination . . . ", it would have sounded like you meant that you just didn’t know what other denominations do. "I don’t think that other denominations . . . " makes it sound like you have reason to believe that other denominations don’t bring communion.
Tiny word choice difference, and no hard feelings on my part, but significant difference in what the sentence implies about your knowledge of other denominations.
When Dad was bedridden, I’d go to the Sacristy, ask for a Host and just be given it. I’d bring a recipient to carry it in. I’ve also seen neighbors come into the building with what was clearly wrapped Hosts in a piece of cloth.
AFAIK, “performing the sacrament” is the prayer by which the priest asks God to turn the bread into the Body; bringing it to the people can be done by anybody. There’s been times myself or other relatives have been in locations when the priest asked for additional folks to help distribute Communion, and all they asked was whether we’d been confirmed. This wasn’t a requirement, but they preferred confirmed people if possible; when Dad was around (he had taken Minor Orders), they’d chose him over other volunteers, for the same reason: they assumed someone who’s been confirmed has better training than someone who hasn’t, someone who’s received Orders has better training than someone who hasn’t.
Certainly it’s possible, though not in this case; they also prayed to the Virgin.
As for communion, AFAIK all Christians recognize it–after all it is the central ritual–but most Protestant sects seem to deemphasize it almost to a point of non-existence. I was raised for about the first 11 years of my life in a mainstream Presbyterian church, and I never once saw Communion being given or received. Protestants usually use the term “The Lord’s Supper” which, IMO, carries a different spin from Communion. If I’m not mistaken, Protestants don’t believe in transubstantiation, so the Lord’s Supper is a re-enactment of the original event. So it is also for Catholics, but they believe the consecrated wafer is the body of Christ.
I heard a story recently the NPR “This I Believe”, from a woman up in San Francisco. She had been secular for the most part, and didn’t go to church or pray or practice any Christian ritual, except maybe Easter eggs and Christmas decorations. For whatever reason, she went to church one day–don’t know the denomination–and received Communion. For her this a life-changing experience. Not necessarily because she “found religion”, although that seems to have been the case. What I thought made this story moving was that she understood Communion in the larger context of food generally, and believes that giving food to strangers is the most worthy thing we can do. She now runs a food bank at the church and they feed hundreds every week. And it isn’t just for poor people, but all sorts of people come to partake—rich and poor, housed and homeless, all races and so on.
My comments were not intended to respond directly to your situation, but merely to the broader issue of taking communion to the hospitalized or shut-in.
Just for the record, there’s a scad of nuanced views between transubstantiation and memorial re-enactment, each with hardcore defenders of that position. So it’s probably not wise to hijack this thread into that discussion – but I’d be willing to get into it elsewhere if you like.
In the early days of the Catholic church they even allowed children to bring the host to people, there is one young boy who is named a martyr because he was killed bringing the host to some one, I believe he was known a Taresisias( Not sure of the spelling). I think it was after the reformation that the practiced changed and until Vatican 2 it then begain to let more lay people be involved.
As would I (as a Lutheran pastor).
Speaking to the original post: in our community I suspect pastors or lay communion distribution assistants would be more likely to carry the Eucharist to people in (for example) nursing homes than people in hospitals. This would be partly because we would distribute both the bread and the wine, which would make it somewhat more difficult to guard against the possibility of passing disease. But it’s hardly a firm rule; I’d certainly bring the Eucharist to anyone in the hospital who requested it. I’d just have to be more careful.
I have been trying to remember this, because of what I said earlier that I didn’t think that other denominations bring communion to the hospital. Obviously, I was wrong, but part of the reason I believed that was because when I’ve been in the hospital, I’ve always had people come around, ask me if I was Catholic and offer me communion. No other denomination has ever done this, so I assumed that it was a Catholic thing. (This was not a Catholic hospital, by the way.) I’m trying to remember if they asked me religion when I was admitted, and I think they might have (it’s something you might want them to know, should anything go wrong), but I never connected it with the people showing up to offer the communion. Could the hospital release that information to them? I’m not sure.
FWIW, Sarahfeena, your latest post helps me to understand your original phrasing (that I objected to previously) better. You meant something like “No other denomination goes around offering strangers in hospitals Communion”. While I still find that a little strongly phrased, the intended use, as I understood it, of the kit which I saw was for the minister as he went to visit members of that congregation, or other individuals he became aware of through his duties as pastor of a particular church.
That’s what I’m wondering…the OP didn’t mention if the gentleman asked if his wife was Catholic, but I was assuming the gentleman knew to “target” her .
Ah, got it. Sorry I was unclear that time…it was too late for me to be posting, I think. Brain gets addled. I was referring to the situation the OP was in, where it was clearly an unexpected visit by someone they didn’t know.
It’s a good question, I’m not sure. The person has always asked me if I’m Catholic, but I’m not sure if they are just confirming, or if they really don’t know.
This can vary by area and by hospital. Ten years ago, I’d have counted on it. However, privacy concerns now make some hospitals reluctant to notify clergy.
I would agree with the observation that Roman Catholic clergy or communion assistants might be more likely to offer the Eucharist to “strangers.” My experience is that “membership” is handled differently by Roman Catholic parishes than by many other denominations; if you’re a Catholic, within the geographic area of the parish, you’re treated as part of it. So it would make good sense for Roman Catholic clergy to bring Holy Communion to any Catholic in their “territory.” Other denominations, I think, are more likely to treat “membership” – and consequent responsibility for pastoral care – as being linked to a specific congregation and its ministers.
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