Reflective Beliefs Of AquinasTeaching On The Eucharist

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

Saint Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher, theologian, Doctor of the Catholic Church, and is the patron saint of Catholic Universities, colleges, and schools. He was born in Rocca Secca, Italy, in 1225 and was born into a wealthy family. He even was related to the kings of Aragon, Castile, and France. His journey into Catholic beliefs seemed predestined, for he was told when he was a young child that he would become a friar and no one would be equal to him. He started his questioning of faith and religion when he was a youngster, frequently asking his teachers, “What is God?” Saint Thomas was a panentheist, meaning that he arrives through logical argument at

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

The arguments made by Aquinas at first seem to be powerful. However, when examining and taking a closer look the arguments don’t seem to be as

Okay people, try not to laugh too loud, but I thought the bread and wine were called sacraments. Now, I find out that to be politically correct, they are referred to as the elements of the sacrament. As a Baptist, the Lord’s Supper or Communion, which are ordinances, were not commonly referred to as a sacrament which is the religious ceremony.

Catholics go through a cycle of events in their spiritual lives known as the seven sacraments. Although all Catholics can not partake in each sacrament, the majority receive the Holy Eucharist and are baptized as children. The sacraments are the rites of passage in the Catholic faith. Some of the sacraments require proper preparation and knowledge of the one’s faith. The seven sacraments include Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and the Holy Orders. Faith ties the people of God together. We are united through our belief in faith. I see the sacraments as the acceptance of faith in God and of our faith. With all the diversity that exists among God’s people,

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.

In contextualizing the relationship between the neoliberal movements within the institutional American Catholic Church (the hierarchy) and African-American Catholic community, one better understands the theological and cultural forces that are clashing. It is through this examination of the neoliberal manipulation of the hierarchical voice of American Catholicism within the discourse of American politics, and its subsequent effects on Black bodies—an echo of the more sinister objective of the “elites” is heard. As American institutional Catholicism plays its role within the elevation and sanctification of whiteness (through the furthering of the neoliberal movements of Westoxification and commodification)—the institution of religion is being hollowed out. As American institutional

His understanding of the Lord’s Supper pulled from both Luther’s understanding and Zwingli’s understanding. Calvin agreed with Luther that there was a ‘real’ presence in the Supper but at the same time Calvin also agreed with Zwingli that Christ’s body was seated at the right hand of God. Instead of there being the actual body in the bread or the bread only being a symbol of what Christ did in his life, death and resurrection, Calvin says that there is a spiritual presence. So Calvin agrees, too with Luther that a true mediation of grace occurs during the Supper. Calvin argues that the true definition of a sacrament is something which mediates grace. Calvin argues that the bread is not an empty symbol but is truly a sacrament because it does mediate grace to the participant. Calvin says this, “But just as God has placed all fullness of life in Jesus, in order to communicate it to us by his means, so he ordained his word as the instrument by which Jesus Christ, with all his graces, is dispensed to us. ” To Calvin the body is central to how Christians partake in the life death and resurrection of Christ. Calvin says there are 3 ways that make Christ present in the elements of the Supper: The Holy Spirit makes Christ present, when one partakes they are raised up to gaze upon Christ at the right hand of the Father and wherever the divine nature is there also is the human nature because of the hypostatic union. These things make the Supper a meal of spiritual food, nourishment for the spirit. Calvin says this as to why the Supper was instituted by God, “in order to sign and seal in our consciences the promises contained in his gospel concerning our being made partakers of his body and blood, and to give us certainty and assurance that therein lies our true spiritual

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

Receiving the Eucharist is one of the most important things we can do as a catholic. Holy Communion is the most important of all the sacraments. It completes the Sacraments of Initiation. The bread and wine we receive at communion is the body and blood of Jesus. It becomes the bread and body of Jesus through Transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is the conversion of the substance of the Eucharistic elements into the body and blood of Christ at consecration, only the appearances of bread and wine still remain. We participate in the sacrament of communion to commemorate all that Jesus did for us and getting nailed to a cross so we can be free from sin and have eternal life in heaven.

1.) Thomas Aquinas believes that humans are born with a clean slate in a state of potency and acquire knowledge through sense experiences by abstraction of the phantasms. His view on how man acquires knowledge rejects Plato’s theory that humans are born with innate species. Along with Plato’s theory of humans understanding corporeal things through innate species, Aquinas also rejects Plato’s theory that in being born with innate species, humans spend their lives recollecting their knowledge.

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

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’s anthropology is firmly constructed on the foundation of the hylomorphic theory – the idea that all material things are a composite of a material and a formal principle. In the case of the human being, the formal principle is the soul. While it is the form that gives to matter all its particularity, matter itself must be disposed towards the reception of a given form. So, for example, chickpeas must be soaked and cooked if they are to be digested. This boils down (no pun intended) to saying that the matter currently configured as chickpea cannot receive the form of human flesh without first being disposed. Another example, more classically Thomistic, is that wet wood must be disposed – through the process of drying out – to receive the form of fire.