Glorious God,
You revealed yourself and the glory of your Son, in a cloud and a voice, and in the dazzling brightness of his face and clothes. May we perceive your overwhelming greatness and beauty through the same Jesus Christ: your mystery that we cannot grasp and control, but must receive in wonder, humility, and obedient trust in your Word. your beauty that awes us and, as we gaze on it in faith, begins to transfigure us too to share your goodness and your glory, as your children through the same Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
God our Father,
Enable us to follow your Son Jesus Christ so closely in all our lives that we may be there and able to perceive when his glory is revealed, in preaching, in worship, in scripture, in acts of Christ-like love, or however you choose to reveal Christ’s glory to us. Help us so listen to him and respond in obedient faith and love that our experiences of his glory may further strengthen our discipleship, in humdrum times and times of suffering as well as in times of excitement and joy. So may we come at last to share in the final revelation of his eternal, unfading glory, the completion of your kingdom, which lasts for ever and ever.
Amen.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST
What does the word EUCHARIST mean?
Giving thanks.
What is the significance of the Triduum?
Holy Thursday: Eucharist as sacred banquet
Good Friday: The holy sacrifice of the Mass
Easter Sunday: Union with the Risen Lord
Sacrament between an invisible God and man through Jesus the God/Man.
Eucharist: Food for Mission
Heart of the Church A constant practice of Masses going on all over the world.
Bread of life: Sacrament of Initiation – Food for the soul
Mystery of faith: Trans-substantiation.
Real presence: Worshiping God
OUR Sacrifice: “..my sacrifice and yours..”
Is sharing the Eucharist with other denominations allowed?
With Eastern Catholics
Eastern Orthodox
Protestants
Guidelines for Non-Catholic Guests
Belief in Real Presence within each denomination.
Short History
1. From Passover to Eucharist
2. From Meal to Worship
3. The Growing Body of Christ
4. The Eucharist Becomes Distant for Most
5. Reformation and the Tridentine celebration of the Eucharist.
6. Era of Vatican II
Catechism of the Church - Eucharist
1406 Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).
1407 The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.
1408 The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship.
1409 The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.
1410 It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
1411 Only validly ordained priests can preside at the Eucharist and consecrate the bread and the wine so that they become the Body and Blood of the Lord.
1412 The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper: "This is my body which will be given up for you. . . . This is the cup of my blood. . . ."
1413 By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651).
1414 As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.
1415 Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.
1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.
1417 The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion when they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year.
1418 Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66).
1419 Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.