Can We Mend Broken Hearts?

Eucharist is on my mind daily as I encounter who’s in and who’s out. I work in an ecumenical setting and if you’re Roman Catholic, you might guess what I’m going to say/ask. Why do we (RC) exclude people from Communion if they are not Catholic? Why do we not allow them to decide? The answer I hear most frequently: “The Catholic Church views the sacrament as a profound statement of ecclesiastical unity and a declaration of specific theological belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ.” That’s fine, but does it give the church the right to exclude when Jesus is the one who invites?

This goes back to my own first Communion where the children were escorted to Communion by their parents, only my Daddy had to stay in the pew because he was Presbyterian. I didn’t understand it and I cried. I told Sister Myles, “I don’t want Communion without Daddy.”

I share this reflection, not as an argument, but as a heartbreak for me who regularly ministers to an ecumenical community. My experiences bring about these questions.

I’d like to share only two examples of something the Last Supper was not meant to become. Jamaal Howard was on death row. He wanted to receive Communion. The rules for Death Row are strict. The priest could not touch Jamaal, or bring food from the outside. He could only get food from the vending machine and give to the guard. The following is from The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood who is a Catholic Priest, nationally recognized theologian, and founder of the Execution Intervention Project.

“Yesterday, I bought a honey bun and a bottle of Powerade from the vending machines. They were the only things I could get to him. I handed them to the guard to take back to him…

We celebrated the Eucharist through the glass. When we reached the consecration, I said, ‘This is my body.’ Jamaal held the honey bun. He opened the wrapper himself. He broke it with his own hands. He received it. When we came to the cup, I said, ‘This is my blood.’ Jamaal lifted the Powerade to the heavens and drank…

Christ already got around all of Texas’ plans. He already got behind the glass. He was in the honey bun. He was in the Powerade. He was with Jamaal. He will be with Jamaal. And Jamaal will forever be with him.”

Exclusion doesn’t only come in prisons. In a Benedictine monastery, a United Methodist, who was becoming an oblate, was asked if she would bring the gifts forward at the Offertory. Then she was told she could not receive Communion. How could this happen? Problem is, things like this happen all the time. What are we going to do about it? Jesus didn’t make those rules that exclude.

Pat Pickett, OblSB