The Prayer Of A Catholic Mass

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

As Christians we partake in rituals that consist of prayer, baptism, and the eucharist. Prayer is used on several occasions and for conveying distinct concepts. Prayer can be used as a way

For many, going to church and praying to God is an important tradition passed down from

Voluntarily entering a sacred space of another religion at first was imitating. I did not know what to except or how I would be perceived as an outsider. However, the community welcomed me and were supportive of me attempting to participate as I remained quiet, just as everyone else, which made me feel extremely comfortable. As I sat in the back I was captivated by just how attentive people were. There was not one second were I felt bored by the ritual it was like an entire new world. I had never been to a Mosque before only other Christian churches, some of which have a tendency to shun newcomers rather than embrace them. The aspect that made this a unique experience for me was the emotion in the service that many Catholic and Christian rituals lack. If the congregation was taken to the UCC I think that they would lose interest quickly because of the way Mass can be extremely monotonous. Being able to observe a ritual that embraces so much more emotion and fluidity helped me understand the sacredness of religious rituals that are not my

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

Each week, we are blessed with the opportunity to renew the covenants we have made with him through the sacrament. Doctrine and Covenants 20:77 states, “O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.” If we remember to keep his commandments and the ultimate sacrifice his Son made for us, then we are blessed with so many wonderful gifts. We are promised the same blessings as we partake of the water during the sacrament

I learned that in the Catholic community the ceremony is referred to as “Mass”, and before Mass, the Apostle Creed is recited by a volunteer. In addition, the altar had lit candles and sacred images were displayed such as the Virgin Mary and Jesus in the Crucifix. Besides that, I felt out of place amongst the congregation because I didn’t know the process in greeting other members. In a Catholic service the congregation is very active, the members that volunteer have many roles to accomplish before the Priest commences Mass. As the Priest reached the Altar, he kissed it. The Priest had an incense burner and was spreading it all around the Altar; it was my first time that I witnessed this type of sacred

We pray that you will allow us to experience once again the fervor and readiness of that first day when we entered the fraternity. We renew once again our commitment to the gospel life, according to

In conjunction with water being a sign of initiation into the church so are the symbolic acts of the priest during the sacrament. “The symbolic act of laying hands by the priest, parents and godparents during the anointing of the initiate with chrism emphasizes the sacrament’s communal character.” (Mueller 139) As all of the parties involved are members of the church, baptism is the first act of initiation of us into our own Christ filled community known as the church. Involving various active member of the church brings together the church of past, present and future alike. The priest acts as Christ, who through his own

Receiving Holy Communion is very important. We should receive it as much as possible and be very excited to receive it. Before

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 performance I observed and participated in is the Catholic Palm Sunday service. The service began outside and away from the church, allowing for the procession with the palms to the church, where the rest of the service takes place. The physical context of the performance/service is a Catholic church. However, the context of the service within the Catholic liturgical year is of greater importance. Palm Sunday service occurs annually and takes place during the Lenten period (a season of preparation before Easter, 40 days before Easter). Palm Sunday takes place the Sunday before Easter Sunday and marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent. I chose to observe this space because I was interested in experiencing it as a performance and viewing it through a different lens and was also interested to see how different my experience would be this year in a different church.

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.