This is always an interesting area of debate, particularly in such a staunch Catholic stronghold such as ours in Niddrie. People may not go to church but they do hold on to their Catholicism. One topic that there tends to be a lot of confusion around is communion. There is an informative article here on some of the main points of difference. Consider the following examples:
1) In the Lord’s Supper God gives and believers receive. In the Mass the priest gives and God receives.
2) In the Lord’s Supper Christ instituted a monument and remembrance of his sacrifice and death. In the Mass the priest offers Christ to God as a victim for sins.
3) In the Lord’s Supper Christ gave the bread to his disciples and said, ‘Take, eat’ but he did not offer anything to the Father nor did he sacrifice himself in it. In the papal Mass they teach that Christ offers himself as a sacrifice to the Father.
4) In the Lord’s Supper Christ said ‘This do,” which means, ‘eat and drink.’ In the Mass the Romanists teach ‘This do” means ‘sacrifice this.’
5) In the Lord’s Supper Christ commanded his disciples to take and eat the bread which he gave them. But in the solitary Mass the priest doesn’t give anything to the people and when no one is present he still says,”Take.”
6) The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ absent and sitting in heaven at the right hand of God. The Mass is a sacrifice of Christ under the species of the bread and wine.
7) The Supper was instituted in memory of Christ alone and those who can show forth his death. The Mass is celebrated in memory of the saints and for the dead, who cannot do what Christ requires.