Fasting and The Eucharist: Catholic Participation in the Sacrifice of 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.

While I was doing research for fasting rules, I noticed one of them was to not complain. I wondered the significance of stop people from complaining. To answer my question, I memorized the rule and carefully tried to practice it. Though I noticed that I broke the rule several times, I was content with my attempt. Once during dinner time, I heard other students complain about their sufferings. Sitting by them, I tried to stop myself from entering the conversation. I noticed that the dinner table was filled with negative emotions. I felt depressed after hearing all the grumbles. Finally, on Friday, the last day of deprivation week, I shared my concerns with my roommate. However, she criticized for my grumbling. I was shocked with full of regrets and guilty that I ignored my roommate’s feeling when I selfishly inject my personal negative thoughts to her. At the same time, as both a complainer and a person who was complained to, I totally understood her feelings. When others complained, I felt like they were copying their hardships and paste these hardships on mine. I found myself similar to them that I never considered other’s difficulties before groaning about mine. Reflecting on myself, I found that it is the selfishness and a lack of empathy that caused me to complain. Learning from the experience, I discovered the importance of

Holy Feast and Holy Fast emerged as a pivotal work during the mid-1980s in response to a prevalent trend among scholars which placed apostolic poverty and chastity at the very core of the Western European vita religiosa at the expense of attention toward the forms of austerity, some of which were more common to women. Bynum builds up her narrative by exploring how, although the renunciation of money and sex had a shared significance to both genders, the chief metaphor governing the spiritual life of women specifically concerned food. Bynum weaves her monograph together through a careful analysis of both food symbolism and food-related religious practices as described in the works of female mystics themselves and in the hagiographical

By His death on the cross Jesus has exemplified the very act of self-giving, putting His sinlessness into the

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

"In case you're feeling denied by your eating routine, form in a cheat feast in any event once every week in which you can enjoy righteous. Doing this will enable you to abstain from survey certain sustenances

Some of the first documented cases of Anorexia Nervosa were religious in origin. As early as the 12th century we saw women, particularly in Western Christianity, known as “Miracle Maidens” who were highly esteemed for their self-control, their “holy anorexia” was thought of as a gift from God. Some scholars have stated “the intense relationship

requires self-denial. The cross was the most painful and humiliating form of execution of the Roman era. Thus, to take up one?s cross daily is to expect painful situations every day because of allegiance to Christ? (1?Luke? 1755). We are to understand that being a disciple of Christ we will have our character tested. We must be willing to give up everything to follow, and love Him above all others. Even our own lives are to be a sacrifice for His service. We are to not be ?ostriches? with our heads in the sand but with open eyes, minds and hearts weigh the cost, and decide if we are able to follow. Are we able to stand against our enemies, (His enemies)? Are we strong enough, brave enough, and faithful enough to be counted worthy? If we are not, are we willing to sacrifice it all to become what He requires?

While those in disfavor of the Eucharistic prayer argue that encapsulating the verba debases the Gospel message, making the Eucharist a sacrifice rather than a means of grace. The purpose of this paper examine LCMS or the ELCA stance of the Eucharistic Prayer as examine the shifts of the Eucharistic prayer or forms of the Eucharistic prayers in the various

In Franz Kafka’s short story, “A Hunger Artist”, Kafka introduces an eccentric man known as the Hunger Artist. The Hunger Artist has committed his entire life to the art of fasting, allowing himself to be caged and displayed to the public as if he were a painting (Kafka 198). Despite all the emotional turmoil he endures, he takes a great amount of pride in fasting and believes that he can fast for extremely elongated periods (Kafka 200). Unfortunately, his pride not only causes internal conflicts but also tragically leads to his unfortunate demise (Kafka 205). Through the setting and the character development of the Hunger Artist, Kafka illuminates the dangers of self-pride and depicts pride as harmful and detrimental to one’s existence.

the benefits of this sacrifice are not confined to those who respond to it with an explicit act of faith” (Nash, 1994, p. 103). Nash breaks down the definitions and uses Scripture to back up his points very well.

God sacrificed his son, Jesus, for the good of all people and so that they too would depart from the slavery and the submission to sins and wrongdoings, in order to enter into a pure state of forgiveness and freedom. This is the key reason why Christians, of all branches, hold a great importance to Holy Communion, which remembers Christ’s sacrifice to them, which frees them of their sins up till this day. Even though, most, if not all Christian denominations agree about the origins of such a ritual, they now have different opinions about how the service is conducted. The Roman Catholic Church believes in the idea of transubstantiation, which is the belief that the bread and wine that they consume at the Eucharist meal, has over the years, mystically transformed into Jesus’ real body and blood.

Aquinas’ teaching on the Eucharist has offered many new and distinctive insights to me. One of these insights is when Aquinas asks the question whether one should distinguish the two ways of eating Christ’s body. The two ways are spiritually and sacramentally. His opponents argue there is no need to and I thought the same as well, because eating the bread and drinking the wine would encompass both. However, after reading Aquinas’ “I answer”, it became clear to me that there is a twofold division between the sacrament itself and the effect of it. An example my professor gave is if a mouse ate some bread and wine. The mouse is not mindful and because of that, it only participated in the physical aspect of the Eucharist, but not with its effect. You must be mindful to appreciate the symbols of bread and wine or there will be more harm than good if you are not attentive of what God is doing. A quote from Aquinas that helped me understand this better is when he says, “but the sacramental eating that does not secure the effect is contrasted with spiritual eating, just as the imperfect, which does not attain perfection of its species, is contrasted with the perfect” (ST 3.80.1). What he means by this is that just by merely participating in the sacrament alone without the effect is like doing something in an imperfect way. The perfect way of doing this is by complete eating, which is receiving both the visible and invisible effects. Aquinas also offers some strong arguments against

Regardless of whether individuals take up the alternatives they have, the fact that they do have valuable options is significant. For instance, regardless of the possibility that the dietary condition of individuals who are fasting and starving is the same, the way that fasting is a choice ought to be perceived. In this manner assessment must be sensitive to both genuine accomplishments and successful opportunity.

Anita Desai’s literary novel Fasting, Feasting shares a family’s struggle as they navigate the cultural norms of their Indian society. Desai focuses on the lives of the eldest daughter, Uma, and the only son, Arun. Both find themselves bound by tradition. Unfortunately for Uma, and most women in her community social pressure dictates their lives. For example, the author writes this passage after Uma’s mother unexpectedly delivers Arun later in her life, “More than ever now, she was Papa’s helpmeet, his consort. He had not only made her his wife, he had made her the mother of his son. What honor, what status” (31). This offers a clear sign to the reader; a mother of two daughters has no honor until she