Christians' Celebrations of Holy Communion Essay

The Sacrament of the Eucharist is especially important to initiation in Catholicism as it allows a Catholic to grow a stronger connection with Jesus and God. By this Catholic having the Sacrament of the Eucharist they are connected and joined with Jesus as when they consume the bread and wine they contain Jesus’ presence being his body and blood. The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the way in which Jesus is remembered and remains in our souls. When bringing a person into the Catholic faith and initiating them it is important to make them part of the one Body of Christ, this is done by allowing them to have the Eucharist and consuming Jesus’ body and

Having very traditional beliefs, the Catholic Church uses numerous different terms and practices that are not familiar with non-Catholics. Inside of the Discourse community, Catholics have set terms that are used widely to discuss different matters. For instances, the term “priest” is used to describe what others would typically call a “pastor.” In addition to the terms used, there are also rituals that are based on their traditional beliefs. The most drastic of them would be the Eucharist. This tradition is referred to by Catholics as “Holy Communion” and is referred to by protestants as “The Lord’s Supper.” Meg Kane described the differences by saying, “Catholics actually believe that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ. It has much more meaning behind it than other communion services.” (Kane). Drastically differing from other religions, Catholics believe that their priest was granted the ability by God to turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

The second difference evident between the religions is the partaking of Communion. In the Catholic Church, Communion is a very sacred act, and the members are encouraged to receive it frequently. Communion is offered at each service and is always presided over by the priest. The members believe that they are consuming the actual body and blood of Christ during Communion, and are required to fast at least one hour prior to receiving it out of respect. Communion is believed to be the most important of the seven sacraments by the church and required to obtain salvation. On the other hand, Baptists rarely partake of Communion, and is usually reserved for special occasions like Easter and Christmas. Some Baptist churches may partake every few months or quarterly. Although, the pastor of the church normally presides over Communion, any member designated by the church can do so. Baptist religion does not support the rule of fasting prior to Communion, and believe it to be a symbolic reverence to Christ. It is not believed that the actual body and blood of Christ are consumed during Communion.

The Eucharist or communion has been celebrated for over 2000 years in the church; however, the frequency of the practice varies greatly across churches. For example, the non-denominational church that I grew up in, celebrated communion every Sunday with consistency and the focal point of each service. (It was so routine I could quote what was going to be said.) Now, I am part of a church that celebrates communion once per month as a conclusion to the sermon. Another major difference between the two churches is who is welcome to participate in communion. For instance, my first church greatly expressed that only those who profess Christ could partake and must not receive communion in an unworthy. Evidently, the church’s view of Atonement (Penal Substitution) influenced a memorial view of communion. Also, the leader’s interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:29 influenced this approach to communion. As our weekly reading pointed out, “Most who take the Memorial View do not have a place for grace in their theology beyond salvation” (Peterson 3). Therefore, during

Some of you might wonder how can I talk about church, even though today’s scripture talk about Holy Communion. So this is how United Methodist stated on Holy Communion, “. .We believe the Lord 's Supper is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of

Communion, or Eucharist, whereby Jesus is believed to award communion by way of himself *

A communion doesn’t only happen in church, as that is the most common meaning, but communions can happen anywhere and mean anything. Thomas C. Foster says on page 8 of his ‘How to Read Literature Like a Professor’, that communion is an act of sharing and peace, since if you’re breaking bread you’re not breaking heads.’ Thomas C. Foster also says on page 11 ‘Think of all those movies where a soldier shares his C rations with a comrade, or a boy his sandwich with a stray dog; from the overwhelming message of loyalty, kinship, and generosity, you get a sense of how strong a value

Salvador Dali’s painting, The Sacrament of the Last Supper (oil on canvas, 65 ¾ x 105 ½ in., c. 1995), has become one of his most iconic paintings from his “late” period. This painting portrays one of the most famous scenes from the Bible, the Last Supper, depicting the twelve disciples eating their final meal with Jesus. This scene has been created many times throughout history by many different artists. However, through Salvador Dali’s use of equal symmetry, the uncommon setting he chose and the interesting perspective and focal points, he was able to recreate a completely unique version of this common biblical scene while adding his twist of surrealism.

One of the main themes of the service was based around the divine liturgy, which is the considered the primary worship of the church. The Devine Liturgy is read by a combination of the priest, bishop, choir, and the church community. It is from the liturgy that the offerings of the bread and wine come from along with other prayers. It teaches that the bread and the wine “truly become the body and blood if Jesus Christ” (Sorensen). The priest, or the deacon is the ones that prepare the Eucharist, also known as the “ritual meal of bread and wine” (“Orthodox Churches" 233) as “the body and blood of Christ” (“Orthodox Churches" 233). They combine both the bread and the wine and bless these gifts to become one. They are then put into a chalice, and fed to the community through a golden spoon. While observing the taking of communion I noticed that a red cloth was held under the gold cup by acolytes, which are “altar boys who assist the adult officiants” (“Orthodox Churches" 231). The community puts their hands behind their back while taking communion so that they do not touch the gift or the priest. It is also during the time of communion that the community honors the “painted or mosaic” (“On Common Ground: World Religions in America” ) saints that are used as icons throughout the church. It was during the honoring of

Christians have been celebrating the Lord’s Supper for almost two thousand years. In this paper I will refer to the Lord’s Supper as an ordinance of the church. “An ordinance is an outward rite prescribed by Christ to be performed by His Church.” There are quite a few varying interpretations among the different churches on how the Lord’s Supper is to be practiced. I Corinthians 11:23-34 provides Christians with the scriptural meaning and reasons for observing the Lord’s Supper, also known as communion. Many consider the Lord’s Supper of little or no value and some consider the ordinance as more of a ritual. In some modern churches, preaching the Word is emphasized the most and communion is only observed once a month or

Everyone in their childhood has a moment that stands out and defines who they are. Mine is a moment, but is also part of my background. This came about in my nine year Catholic education. I attended St. James Catholic School from when I was a kindergartner until I graduated eighth grade. I am the third generation of my family to attend St. James, and can still remember my first day as a kindergartner. I walked into school with the same feeling as all of my other kindergarten classmates with a blank face and did not know which direction to go. Kids, who I thought were giants, guided me to class. From that time on I looked up to them as my friends, and could count on them if I needed help. For the next nine years that building was my home, but I can recall a moment in second grade that sky rocketed me in my Catholic faith. This moment was when I made my First Communion.

The Last Supper (found in gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke) is the final meal that jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion. The Last supper was presented like a passover meal, traditional hymns were sung, and traditional prayers were spoken as Jesus passed around the matzot (passover bread). Among these Jewish traditions Jesus added the words while breaking the bread “This is my Body, which will be given up for you” and while passing around the wine Jesus said “This is my blood, which will be poured out for you”. From these words and actions, stems the creation of the Eucharist that we know today. In the view of the passover, Jesus became the sacrificial lamb, his blood covered the wood of his crucifix just as the sacrificial

The Lord gave us the sacrament of communion on Holy Thursday at the Last Supper. After first washing the feet of the disciples, he then did the breaking of the bread. Jesus said “Take, eat, this is my body” after Jesus said this he did the same for the wine saying “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins”. This shows us how Jesus himself is the bread and wine us Catholics receive at Holy Communion. The sacrament of Communion is the only one of the seven sacraments that we are actually receiving Jesus directly, along with having a grace bestowed upon us.

Two practices important to Christian worship usually take place in churches. These practices are (1) baptism and (2) the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper. The ceremony of baptism celebrates an individual's entrance into Christianity. The Eucharist represents the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus shared with His disciples. Worshipers share bread and wine in the Eucharist as a sign of their unity with each other and with Jesus.

The Communion Christians have always regarded the Holy Communion as being one very important element towards achieving discipleship since the very beginning. However, the question in every Christian’s mind is “what are we doing?” it is, therefore, important to discuss what the holy communion means about theology. The Holy Communion has several names given to it. Among them are: the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, Divine Liturgy, and the Mass. Inside the New Testament, there are also varying details given there concerning what entails the Holy Communion on accounts given by Christ himself.[1] The Holy Communion does not compare to Baptism which is another sacrament that is non-repeatable. It is repeatable to some certain degrees as it can be done on a daily basis such as those performed by the Catholic Church. In other instances, it can be conducted on a much infrequent celebration such as the ones that happen in Reformed Churches. Referring to Baptism, there are differences in the practice and its significance, and sometimes the understanding of what it means to be baptized. This has gone ahead to become e a hindrance to churches having a common celebration, but at the same time, there is some spiritual benefit that accrues to the people that partake in it. In the same way, the Eucharist possess the same characteristics. Nature of the Union of Christ and Church The Holy Communion is not just a matter of people ingathering in unity. The purpose of having the communion is so