The Eucharist

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The Eucharist
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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY!

• Eucharist Literally means thanksgiving. A
  common name for the Mass, or the Lords Supper.
  Also, it is the third sacrament in the process of
  Christian initiation.
• Sacrament An outward sign instituted by God to
  give grace. They are the most important rituals
  in the Catholic Church. There are seven
  Sacraments.
• Grace The supernatural gift of God bestowed on
  us for our salvation.

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• The Eucharist is the source and summit of
  Christian life.

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Going back to scripture

• What does the Bible say about the Eucharist?
• While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said
  the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his
  disciples said, Take and eat this is my body.
  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to
  them, saying, Drink from it, all of you, for
  this is my blood of the covenant, which will be
  shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of
  sins. (Matthew 2626-30)

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WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

• Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of the
  Eucharist during the Last Supper, while he was
  sharing his final meal with the Twelve Apostles
  (his closest friends).
• The words of Christ are very clear gtgt This is my
  body
• At the Last Supper, the Jewish ritual meal of
  Passover was transformed by Christ into a
  celebration of the Eucharist, where the Apostles
  received the body and blood of Christ.
• The Catholic Church has continued this tradition
  for almost 2,000 years we call this tradition
  Mass.

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What is the Eucharist?

• A Blessing
• A Memorial
• The Presence of God Within and Among Us

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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY!

• Transcendence The quality of God that is beyond
  the range of normal human experience (in other
  words, we cant touch or see God because God is
  transcendent). God is transcendent apples are
  not.
• Salvation History The story of Gods action in
  history, beginning with the Creation of the
  world, and culminating in the death and
  resurrection of Jesus Christ

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Eucharist as A Blessing

• The Eucharist allows us to experience the
  transcendence of God.
• We praise and thank God for the wonders of
  Creation and the world around us.
• When we celebrate the Eucharist in Mass, we are
  giving thanks to God for all of the goodness that
  He has done (in our lives, and throughout the
  course of salvation history).

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Eucharist as a memorial

• Do this in memory of me
• When we remember Gods words and works of
  salvation, we experience Gods blessing, and
  respond by doing Gods will.
• It is a memorial (remembrance) of the events of
  salvation history.

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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY!

• Consecration The prayer of blessing that is said
  by the priest during Mass that transforms the
  bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus
  Christ
• Transubstantiation The change from bread and
  wine into the body and blood of Christ

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Eucharist as the presence of God

• When the bread and wine are consecrated by the
  priest, they are transformed into Jesus body and
  blood.
• Therefore, this is THE MOST SACRED part of the
  Mass.
• This transformation is called Transubstantiation.
• The Eucharist is the most personal encounter with
  God.

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The Real Presence

• Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is present in
  the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Mass) in four
  ways
• In the Priest
• In the Scripture
• In the Community
• In the Consecrated Bread and Wine

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The Ritual of the Eucharist

• The Catholic Mass

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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY!

• Priest An ordained minister in the Catholic
  Church who has the authority to oversee the
  celebration of certain sacraments (including the
  Eucharist)
• Rite A religious ritual
• Congregation A group of people who are assembled
  for religious worship
• Liturgy The official ritual worship of the Church

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Parts of the Mass

• There are two main parts of the Mass
• The Liturgy of the Word
• The part of the Mass when we read Scripture
• The Liturgy of the Eucharist
• The part of the Mass when we receive the body and
  blood of Christ.

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Parts of the Mass

• These two main parts are framed by two other
  rites
• The Gathering Rites
• The Concluding Rite

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Parts of the Mass

• Which means that there are 4 parts altogether

Liturgy of the Word
Liturgy of the Eucharist
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3
4
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Gathering Rites
Concluding Rite
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The GATHERING Rites

• Entrance Procession The priest enters the Church
  from the back, reverencing the altar (everyone
  bows the priest kisses the altar). The
  Congregation stands and remains standing
  throughout the gathering rites.
• Greeting (the priest says a few words)
• Penitential Rite
• Sometimes we say the Confiteor (I confess to
  Almighty God)
• We always say the Kyrie (Lord, have mercy)

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• After the Gloria (which is a hymn of praise to
  God) the Priest leads the congregation in an
  Opening Prayer by saying, Let us pray
• This is followed by a brief period of silence,
  followed by an Opening Prayer recited by the
  Priest (this prayer is different at every Mass).
• After the Opening Prayer, everybody sits.
• The Opening Prayer leads us directly into the
  first MAJOR part of the Massthe Liturgy of the
  Word.

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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY!

• Old Testament Also called the Hebrew
  Scriptures. The stories of the Jewish people
  (remember, Jesus was Jewish, and so these stories
  are very important for Christians as well).
• Psalms Poetic prayers that are part of the Old
  Testament.
• New Testament The Christian Scriptures,
  including stories about Jesus life, the letters
  of St. Paul, etc.
• Gospel The stories about Jesus life, death and
  resurrection that are part of the New Testament.

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Liturgy of the Word

• During a typical Sunday Mass there are 3
  readings.
• The first reading comes from the Old Testament.
• Reflects the continuity between Israel and Jesus,
  who came to fulfill the promises made by God to
  Israel.
• Following the first reading, there is a
  Responsorial Psalm, typically set to music.

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Liturgy of the Word

• The second reading is from the New Testament.
• Usually from one of the epistles (letters) in the
  New Testament.
• Response to both the first and second readings
  Thanks be to God
• After the second reading, we STAND and sing
  Alleluia! It heralds (or welcomes) the Gospel
  reading, which comes next.

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Alleluia!

• Alleluia means Praise the Lord!
• During the Alleluia, the Priest raises the
  Gospel. This introduces the most important part
  of the Liturgy of the Word.
• During Lent, we never say Alleluia, because it
  is an exclamation of praise to the Risen Lord.

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The Gospel Reading

• PRIEST The Lord be with you
• RESPONSE And also with you.
• PRIEST A reading from the Holy Gospel according
  to
• RESPONSE (While making the sign of the cross on
  your forehead, lips and heart) Glory to you, Oh
  Lord
• READING by the PRIEST
• PRIEST The Gospel of the Lord
• RESPONSE Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

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Who does the Reading?

• All readings come from the Lectionary, which is
  NOT a Bible. It contains readings FROM the Bible,
  organized in a different way (according to the
  time of year).
• Only a priest or deacon can do the reading from
  the Gospel.
• After each reading, a period of silence for
  reflection is appropriate.

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The Homily

• The Homily is a (quick) sermon given by the
  priest or deacon
• The Homily is supposed to help us understand the
  scripture that was just read.

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Profession of Faith

• Following the Homily, the congregation stands and
  recites the Nicene Creed.
• We believe in one God
• The Nicene Creed summarizes everything that the
  Church has taught for the past 2,000 years.

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General Intercessions

• From the chair, the priest invites the people to
  pray.
• LECTOR let us pray to the Lord.
• RESPONSE Lord, hear our prayer.
• Repeated after each prayer petition.

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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY!

• Altar The place of sacrifice, as well as the
  table from which Christians are fed. It is the
  central focus of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

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Liturgy of the Eucharist

• The second major part of the Mass.
• The Liturgy of the Word focuses on Scripture, but
  the Liturgy of the Eucharist focuses on the altar.

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Eucharistic Actions

• Basic format of the traditional Jewish meal,
  followed by Jesus at the Last Supper
• Taking the bread
• Speaking a prayer of blessing
• Breaking and distributing the bread
• Sharing the bread with those who are present
• This format appears during the Liturgy of the
  Eucharist.

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1. TAKEN
2. BLESSED
3. BROKEN
4. GIVEN
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Preparation of the Altar

• The gifts of bread and wine are placed at the
  back of the church before the service.
• Collection basket is passed around sign of
  support for the ministry of the church.
• In procession, people bring the gifts (bread and
  wine) forward to the priest. This is called the
  offertory procession.
• This act echoes offerings of early church, when
  people would bring the bread and wine (and other
  stuff) they made in preparation for the Lords
  Supper.

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1. TAKEN
Priest accepting the gifts of the community that
are brought forth
2. BLESSED
3. BROKEN
4. GIVEN
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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY!

• Paten A small plate, usually made out of silver
  or gold, used to hold Body of Christ (the
  consecrated bread).
• Chalice A standing cup, usually made out of
  silver or gold, used to hold the Blood of Christ
  (the consecrated wine).

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Preparation of the Gifts

• Priest pours the wine into the chalice, and adds
  a few drops of water, symbolizing the union of
  the humanity and divinity of Christ.
• When he receives the gifts, the priest recites
  prayers based on those used during the Jewish
  Passover meal.
• The priest lifts the paten of bread above the
  altar.
• PRIEST Blessed are you, Lord God of all
  creation, through your goodness
• The priest does the same thing with the chalice
  of wine.

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Why does the priest wash his hands?

• The priest then washes his hands. Why?
• Comes from a 1st century Jewish ritual.
• During Passover, the high priest would wash his
  hands before sacrificing the unblemished lamb in
  the Temple of Jerusalem.
• During Mass, the priest prepares to offer up the
  Lamb of God (Jesus) to God the Father, so he
  ceremonially washes his hands to offer an
  unblemished sacrifice.

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Why does the Priest Wash His Hands?

• In addition to bread and wine, people used to
  present other gifts, such as cheese, oil, fresh
  fuits and vegetables so that they could be
  distributed to the poor.
• After handling the food and other gifts, the
  priest needed to wash his hands before handling
  the eucharistic gifts at the altar.
• Over time, the washing of the hands took on a
  greater spiritual significance (symbolizing
  purification).

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Why does the priest wash his hands?

• Since the old practices have died out, it has
  become almost entirely symbolic.
• Now, when the priest washes his hands, he says
  (silently) Lord, wash away my iniquity cleanse
  me from my sin.
• This action symbolizes a ritual purification and
  integrity before the most sacred part of the Mass.

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Eucharistic Prayer

• After washing his hands the priest invites the
  community to prepare for the Eucharist with him.
• The Preface Dialogue (Lift up your hearts)
• The Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy) The community
  prays the prayer to Christ from the Book of
  Revelation
• The priest then chooses one of several
  Eucharistic Prayers to recount the story of the
  Last Supper

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The Consecration

• During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the priest
  is acting in persona Christi (as the person of
  Christ).
• At the moment of the consecration, the priest is
  Jesus.
• The priest takes the paten and says, This is my
  body
• Then he elevates the host for the congregation to
  see, and genuflects in front of the altar.
• He takes the chalice and says, This is the cup
  of My Blood

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The Consecration

• At the moment of consecration, a miracle occurs.
• The bread is transformed into the body of Christ.
• We call this Transubstantiation.

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1. TAKEN
Priest accepting the gifts of the community that
are brought forth
2. BLESSED
The consecration of the bread and wine during the
Eucharistic Prayer
3. BROKEN
4. GIVEN
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After the Consecration

• The community recites together the Memorial
  Acclamation (Christ has died is the most
  common)
• Prayers for the entire Church, now joined
  together as one through the Eucharist, are
  spoken.
• The Eucharistic Prayer ends with a Doxology
  (Through him, with him, in him)
• Community responds with a Great Amen (I
  believe!)

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Communion Rite

• The Communion Rite opens in the model of Jesus
  with the Lords Prayer.
• While holding hands, we either sing or recite the
  Lords Prayer (Our Father).
• The Lords Prayer is followed by the Sign of
  Peace.
• Sign of peace was once used to resolve conflicts
  with a neighbor before receiving the Eucharist

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Breaking of the Bread

• The priest breaks the bread and prepares the
  Eucharist for the Communion procession.
• Congregation recites the Agnus Dei or Lamb of
  God, recalling the Passover sacrifice of a lamb
  to save the life of Gods people
• Priest holds up consecrated bread and wine to the
  congregation, who publically declares its
  unworthiness to receive it (Lord, I am not
  worthy)

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1. TAKEN
Priest accepting the gifts of the community that
are brought forth
2. BLESSED
The consecration of the bread and wine during the
Eucharistic Prayer
3. BROKEN
The breaking of the bread by the priest,
following the sign of peace
4. GIVEN
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The Communion Procession

• Priest or Extraordinary Minister The Body of
  Christ
• RESPONSE Amen
• Saying Amen is another way of saying Yes, I
  believe that this is truly the Body of Christ.
• After receiving Holy Communion, we go back to the
  pew, kneel (or sit) and pray silently for a few
  minutes, or sing the Communion song

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1. TAKEN
Priest accepting the gifts of the community that
are brought forth
2. BLESSED
The consecration of the bread and wine during the
Eucharistic Prayer
3. BROKEN
The breaking of the bread by the priest,
following the sign of peace
The Communion Procession
4. GIVEN
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Who May Receive Communion?

• Who should not receive Communion?
• Non-Catholics
• Catholics who have not fasted prior to Communion
• Catholics who havent made their First Confession
  and First Communion.

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Bread and Wine

• Bread and Wine are the two species of Eucharist
• Usually everyone takes the bread
• The wine is optional
• Wine was once reserved for those celebrating and
  helping
• Wine is sometimes not offered for practical
  reasons
• Some parishes allow you to dip host in wine

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Concluding Rite and Dismissal

• After a closing prayer, the priest blesses and
  dismisses the people
• The name Mass comes from the Latin Ite, missa
  est (roughly translated as Go, you are sent
  forth), the priests final words
• Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord and one
  another
• The Community united by Eucharist is called to be
  a community OUTSIDE of the Mass.