The Importance Of The Holy Eucharist

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 church itself, which participates sacramentaly in making individuals into Christians, realizes its own being as church in the Eucharist.”

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

Communion is the second sacraments of initiation. After receiving first communion the sacrament becomes open to do every time we go to church. St Paul’s, written between 40 and 64 AD, speak of the festivity of the Eucharist and its origins in Jesus’ words and action at the last supper. “Take now and eat for this is my body” “Take this and drink for this is my

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

Additionally, the Christians were accused of treason because they refused to worship or sacrifice to the emperor. Christians believed that the emperor was just a man, and that worship was only reserved for God. Many pagans felt this was very suspicious. The fact that Christians gathered together for church services and did not permit entry to non-Christians at these services did not help sway the suspicions held by pagans. In fact, it only fueled more speculation and rumors about the Christians. For instance, they were accused of being cannibals because of the misinterpretations of the Eucharist.

According to the Didache, the liturgy of communion as such: during the meal, Eucharistic prayers are arranged after the pattern of the Jewish Sabbath meal. Before the meal, thanksgiving prayers are said over an initial cup of wine and the broken bread. After the meal, the three-fold thanksgiving prayer is said over a final cup of water mixed with wine. By the end of the fourth century, the brief prayers of the Didache were expanded into several pages and were included into the Syrian Apostolic Constitutions. The Didache specifically states, “No one is to eat or drink of your Eucharist but those who have been baptized in the name of the Lord.” Notice how the word “Eucharist” was used so early in history, showing that the word was not originally patented to connote the sacramental traditions of Catholicism. Quite the contrary, the original Greek translation of the word, eucharisteo, simply means, “give thanks.”

The Eucharist (Otherwise known as the Holy Communion or the Blessed Sacrament) is a Catholic sacrament considered to be the apex of Christianity. While some Catholics and different branches of the English Church believe that this bread and wine are transformed into the literal blood and body of Christ, others believe that it is a simple expression of faith. It is considered to be the very essence of love that binds us to the savior; and it is this teaching of love that inspires the Catholic view on social justice. Social justice spreads love to all humankind, via fighting for equality and respect for all man. The Eucharist is the symbolism of this love, and it is the concept that inspires the catholic doctrine of the social mission.

Everytime we take Eucharist we witness transubstantiation, or the bread turning into body and the wine turning into the blood of Christ. This is important to me because, everytime I take the body and blood, I am reminded of the sacrifices Jesus’ made for us. I also am reunited with God and Jesus. Equally as important as receiving the Eucharist is going to Mass every Sunday. Attending Church is not only one of the ten Commandments, but it is a sacred time of the week. It is time that you should thank God for all that he has given you, and reflect on parts of your week that you could have improved on. I take Church very seriously because I understand God dedicates 24 hours a week to me, so the least I can do is thank him for his

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.

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

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

On the night before Jesus Christ was crucified, the Lord organized the last meal called the last super with His disciples. Here during this meal, He established/instituted a sacrament of His body and blood. He did this as a memorial from everlasting to everlasting of all generation of Christians. A perpetual sacrifice of the cross for all ages and to build his church. As written in Matthew, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ’Take eat; this is my body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, 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.” (Matthew 26:26-28) The meaning of what Christ did is in the Eucharist - - The Mystery of our Faith. The bread and the wine. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live for- ever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51). The body and the blood of Jesus Christ, the Eucharist is a mystery that no Christian can unravel and the church cannot explain in words.