EUCHARIST: After taking bread and wine in his hands at the Last Supper, Jesus said, "This is my body.......This is my blood.......Do this as a remembrance of me: (Matthew 26:28, Luke 22:19, 1Corinthians 11:23-25).
Taking part in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is the Source, Center, and Summit of the whole Christian life, they offer the divine Victim to God and offer themselves along with it. The faithful are strengthened anew at the holy table by the Body of Christ, they manifest in a practical way that unity of God's People which is suitably signified and wondrously brought about by this most awesome sacrament.
Eucharist is the third sacrament of initiation which completes one's baptism and confirmation commitment. The heart of Catholic belief and worship is the body and blood of Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, of which Jesus chose to remain sacramentally present.
The disciples believed that Jesus was present through bread and wine they gathered to "do this in remembrance" in a special way, the meal came to be known as the Lord's Supper. They no longer went to the synagogue for prayer and their worship service was called "Eucharist" (in thanksgiving). Vatican II expressed the richness of the Eucharist noting its aspects: the Lord's Supper, sacred banquet, breaking of the bread, holy sacrifice, memorial of Christ's passion, death and resurrection, sacred liturgy, and paschal mystery. The Eucharist is the fountain from which all spiritual graces flow.
The rite that surrounds Eucharist is deeply rooted in Scripture and tradition. The small hosts received by the faithful are flattened unleavened wafers engraved with liturgical symbols and the wine used at Mass is made from grapes. During Mass a drop of water is added to the wine to signify Jesus' humanity. The bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ as the priest says the words of consecration. This is called "transubstantiation". Eucharist is ordinarily celebrated at Mass; however, Eucharistic ministers (laypeople) may bring Communion to the sick and homebound at any time.
Eucharist is not merely a personal form of piety or an obligation, but a call to receive Christ into our very being where Christ literally dwells in us and is present in us in the world. We are all in need of Christ's constant help; hence Communion is our spiritual nourishment, strength for our weakness, complete membership in the Catholic Church, and the road of beginning again and again.
The Eucharist is the community, gathered at a most solemn meal, that the Lord Jesus gave us himself. The Lord comes to us again in the liturgy and has always been a community happening. The Eucharist goes beyond the church walls where we must strive to bring into the world a more Eucharistic place where Christ becomes present in the human situation.
EUCHARIST: After taking bread and wine in his hands at the Last Supper, Jesus said, "This is my body.......This is my blood.......Do this as a remembrance of me: (Matthew 26:28, Luke 22:19, 1Corinthians 11:23-25).
Taking part in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is the Source, Center, and Summit of the whole Christian life, they offer the divine Victim to God and offer themselves along with it. The faithful are strengthened anew at the holy table by the Body of Christ, they manifest in a practical way that unity of God's People which is suitably signified and wondrously brought about by this most awesome sacrament.
Eucharist is the third sacrament of initiation which completes one's baptism and confirmation commitment. The heart of Catholic belief and worship is the body and blood of Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, of which Jesus chose to remain sacramentally present.
The disciples believed that Jesus was present through bread and wine they gathered to "do this in remembrance" in a special way, the meal came to be known as the Lord's Supper. They no longer went to the synagogue for prayer and their worship service was called "Eucharist" (in thanksgiving). Vatican II expressed the richness of the Eucharist noting its aspects: the Lord's Supper, sacred banquet, breaking of the bread, holy sacrifice, memorial of Christ's passion, death and resurrection, sacred liturgy, and paschal mystery. The Eucharist is the fountain from which all spiritual graces flow.
The rite that surrounds Eucharist is deeply rooted in Scripture and tradition. The small hosts received by the faithful are flattened unleavened wafers engraved with liturgical symbols and the wine used at Mass is made from grapes. During Mass a drop of water is added to the wine to signify Jesus' humanity. The bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ as the priest says the words of consecration. This is called "transubstantiation". Eucharist is ordinarily celebrated at Mass; however, Eucharistic ministers (laypeople) may bring Communion to the sick and homebound at any time.
Eucharist is not merely a personal form of piety or an obligation, but a call to receive Christ into our very being where Christ literally dwells in us and is present in us in the world. We are all in need of Christ's constant help; hence Communion is our spiritual nourishment, strength for our weakness, complete membership in the Catholic Church, and the road of beginning again and again.
The Eucharist is the community, gathered at a most solemn meal, that the Lord Jesus gave us himself. The Lord comes to us again in the liturgy and has always been a community happening. The Eucharist goes beyond the church walls where we must strive to bring into the world a more Eucharistic place where Christ becomes present in the human situation.