The Eucharist

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." When we have this kind of responsibility in the congregation, it makes a domain where we are all in this walk of life together. We appreciate great circumstances together and express gratitude toward God, yet we likewise stay with each other amid troublesome circumstances. Truth be told, if there are never troublesome circumstances, we would never reach the point of knowing whether we are submitted or not. " The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Dr. Martin Luther King

As a result, the work for social justice is an integral mission of the Church. Catholics are inspired and sustained through work for a just society.

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 early life of Pope John XXIII shaped his morality and future ideas, and his travelling made him tolerant towards other people, cultures and beliefs. He believed that “No one is excluded by love” and pursued this belief throughout is papacy, even visiting prisons in order to forgive those who had sinned,

A central idea to Jesuit education is learning how to be men and women for others. Being men and women for others means caring for those in need and standing with the poor and marginalized. Social justice and mercy are key aspects of being men and women for others. Social justice goes beyond charity and making sacrifices. It involves finding the root of problems and fixing them. Mercy starts as a feeling, then internalization of anguish within someone should lead him or her to take action against the problem. Jesus and other key figures of the past can stand as examples of how to be men and women for others.

Statement # 10 (From The Cradle, The Cross, and The Crown Chapter 12, Loc 14829 of 28382, 2nd Paragraph) “Love is more important than the gifts of human or heavenly speech, miracle-working, faith, liberal generosity, or even the faithfulness that motivated a person to embrace

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.

The human life is a long journey, filled with great obstacles. We come across many questions throughout our lifetime. We spend a great amount of time trying to answer and understand questions such as, why do we even exist or wonder what will happen after death. We question why bad things happen to ourselves and the people that we love. We often turn to a higher being or religious figure to help us find comfort and answers to many questions which cannot be resolved within. Selections from Nostra Aetate, Caritas in Veritate: Charity in Truth, and Letter from Birmingham Jail guide us to what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose. Nostra Aetate written by Pope Paul VI reflects the importance and purpose of our life. Charity in Truth by Pope Benedict XVI, aids us to identify what makes us human. Letter from Birmingham Jail supports

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

Racism is a persistent issue directly threatening the values and teachings of Catholic theology and humanities advancement towards unity and peace. A destructive ideology such as racism debunks the entire foundation from which Catholicism is built. Catholicism follows the life and teachings of Jesus and the idea of solidarity, one of seven principals of Catholic Social Teaching; preaching for a single human family despite any national, racial, ethnic, economic, or ideological differences. Accepting or remaining silent when presented with an act of racial discrimination is equally as damaging as committing the act itself, as it contributes to an environment tolerant of racial prejudices. The Catholic church and its followers have a duty to acknowledge racism to its fullest extent and provide resolution. Through a collective stance against racism between the Catholic establishment and society while simultaneously providing education on the issue with realistic solutions, a progressed cultural environment can ultimately be developed that is reluctant to condone racism and all associated ideologies, utilizing peace, unity, and Catholic values as its foundational core.

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.

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.

Social justice is a concept of a society in which every human being is treated justly, without discrimination based on financial status, race, gender, ethnicity, etc. Grace is a gift from God that we don’t deserve, which helps us choose the good, therefore it promotes social justice. On the other hand, sin, which can be regarded as a lack of love and care for “others,” distances us from social justice. Therefore, love and grace are essential aspects of social justice and without them there could be

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.