The Eucharist and just what it “is”, physically and spiritually as a part of Christian worship, has been the subject of theological debate for centuries. The one thing that almost all sides of the debate about the Eucharist seem to agree on through the years is that the elements, the items used, are bread and wine/grape juice; although there are a few exceptions. These exceptions to the use of bread and wine/grape juice happens when some denominations or individual churches try to do something unique or trendy to bring meaning to the table portion of worship that may have special significance for a particular church context, and in rare situations bread and wine/grape juice may not be readily available and so substitutes are then used. Even …show more content…
These differences range from what one pastor says, “It is just oyster crackers and grape juice from Kroger” to the other extreme that these elements are somehow mysteriously transformed via transubstantiation into the actual physical body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a big difference between just crackers and juice versus the actual body and blood of Jesus.
The sad part of this debate is that there have been church and denominational splits over the years because of these issues and in some cases throughout history, people were actually put to death over their views on just what they thought the elements of the Eucharist is or
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This meal was a meal of unity, a bringing together, it was ‘communion’ of fellow believers with one another. As the church grew in both size and location, the social meal element gradually disappeared and the Eucharist became the prominent part of a more formalized approach to the worship of God. “Another problem concerns the relation between early celebrations of the Eucharist and ordinary meals. In the early church meals were held in a liturgical setting. This is the so called Agape or ‘love fest’”. (Stapes/Page 210) Ideally, churches should try to keep the spirit of the agape meal alive as a theme and purpose of why Eucharist takes place in worship in their church context. Cherry states the following regarding the Agape meal theme of the table portion of worship, “Communion suggests a tone that is mellow, warm, inviting, relational, and thoughtful – indicative of the blessing of the community’s oneness in Jesus Christ.” (Cherry/Page 88) This being said, Eucharist or communion is both a blessing and a coming together as a community, it is the “knot” that ties both heaven and the community of believers together as
The offerings of bread , wine and other gifts are brought to the altar. The next section is the Eucharistic Prayer. The Communion is the fifth and probably the most important part of the Mass. It starts with the Lord's Prayer ( Paternoster ) and ends with the Communion for the Clergy and Congregation. Communion is where the gifts of bread and wine are blessed and then received.
I have always found communion to be an important sacrament to the Christian faith, but sometimes its meaning can be lost in repetitiveness. Sara Miles, in her book Take This Bread, has shed a new light on what it means to take communion as she writes about her transformation into being a Christian by receiving bread and wine. Hunger is the main theme of the book, whether it be spiritually or physically, all humans are linked by that common need. This transformation goes beyond her and pours into the souls and bodies of the San Francisco community, by sharing not only food but the body of Christ. This book has pushed me to get past my comfort zone and heavily consider the way in which food can be an important aspect of my faith and how I share
J.R.R. Tolkien's use of waybread takes on the properties of the Catholic Eucharist in The Lord of the Rings. He creates lembas, a special kind of dried bread and made it the primary food source for the main characters. This special food is, in certain ways, a type of Eucharist, as defined by the Catholic church. Specifically, the parralells can be found in the outward similarities and the surrounding effects.
St Paul of Tarsus is a model for all Christians as he made Christianity accessible to the whole world, and set it on its path to becoming a global religion by writing much of the Christian Theology that still forms the foundations of Christian beliefs, teachings and community that exists today. Paul established the Eucharist as the principle ritual for Christians, and discussed the appropriate manner by which this ritual is to be celebrated. “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:26-27) The belief and teachings of the Eucharist allowed and continues to allow adherents to be brought closer to God by enabling them to give thanks, and be brought closer to ...
The first chapter from How to Read Literature like a Professor: For Kids that relates to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is Chapter 2 “Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion”. In John Green’s novel, there is a part where Gus and Hazel go to dinner at a really elegant restaurant, which is communion. On page 162 in The Fault in Our Stars Gus and Hazel get ready to go to a restaurant called Oranjee. Gus is a true gentleman in that part of the book. He pulls the chair out for Hazel, compliments her, and so on. Before the dinner, they were unsure what the stature of their relationship was, but after the dinner they started dating which showed the importance of the dinner. During the beginning of the dinner, it was awkward for Hazel and Gus on their first formal date. As the night goes on, they become more comfortable with each other. This communion scene,
First off Catholics believe that they are receiving the very Body and Blood of Christ Himself. At the Last Supper Jesus said, "This is my body which is given for you" and offering His disciples the cup of wine said, "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." In the Gospel of John they read: "Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (St. Louis Parish para 1).” When receiving communion and the person ahead of you is receiving Communion you offer a simple bow of reverence with your head and then step forward. You receive Holy Communion either in your hands or directly on the tongue. If you receive in the hands you should take care that they are clean (as a sign of reverence) and place one hand over the other and raise them up high, forming a throne with our hands to receive Jesus. As the priest places the host in our hands and says "The Body of Christ" you should respond loudly and clearly "Amen (St. Louis Parish para 5)." Also, one major point in Catholic Communion is with non-Catholics. Non-Catholics are not permitted to receive Holy Communion. The very action of receiving Communion says that the church believes it is the Body and Blood of Christ and that we share in the whole life of the Catholic Church. Inviting non-Catholics to Communion can be an obstacle to one day reaching full communion by blurring the differences in belief among Christian denominations.
“Generally, eating with another is a way of saying, ‘I’m with you, I like you, we form a community together.’ And that is a form of communion” (Foster 8).
Summary: “Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion” (Foster 8). Communion isn’t always holy and can be deciphered in many ways. Communion is a shared peace between friends. Communion allows the characters to share
...le, the scripture passage Luke 24:30-32 in the bible explores the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is recognised after “he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them” This is important to Christian followers, as it is the foundation of Christian beliefs. This has also impacted the way Christians practise traditional rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism. Also the scripture reference provides adherents with the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection and how he will be “with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28), even after his death and resurrection. Thus, the ritual of Eucharist and Baptism supports adherents in seeking where Christ is in their everyday lives. Hence, the rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism are significant to Christianity, through it shaping it as a living and dynamic tradition
Three things that spread the Christ-life to us are through baptism, belief, and Holy Communion. Yes I think it is interesting that a non-Catholic would say this because these three things consist of two of the sacraments of Catholic religion.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church recognizes two sacraments only. They are the Sacrament of Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. “Sacraments, ordained of Christ, are not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they are certain signs of grace and God’s good will toward us, by . . . invisibly in us, and . . . quicken, but also . . . confirm, our faith in, Him.” Baptism is not only a flag of declaration and stamp of separation by which Christians
... is to remember Christ, once again we are just confirming what has already bee said here. “The bread and the cup are not holy elements in and of themselves. But they do represent something that is very holy… recognizing it is a symbol of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross” (Laurie 2008:nn). Laurie above sums it up well, the wine and the bread are only symbols of what really happened on the cross 2000 years ago, we must not revere the symbols or the elements but Christ and His work on the cross
During a Catholic mass, towards the end, Holy Communion is compared with body and blood of Christ. This is where the body and blood of Christ is represented by bread and wine. The priest prepares the bread and wine and blesses it, then it is shared with all at the mass. As I interviewed Pastor Jose, he did acknowledge that the Baptist don’t participate and accept communion. Communion for the Baptist is also known to be the Last Supper. Pastor Jose’s view of this was that, “there’s no need to have representation of the body and blood of Jesus” (J. Giron, personal interview, February 20, 2016). Essential, communion
As a child growing up in a Christian household I was repeatedly reminded that “Jesus Christ was the son of the almighty lord and savior,” which is the way my grandma phrased it. My entire family emphasized this belief so much that I stopped questing the concept, and instilled it in my own mind. This belief became the nomos, meaning what everyone else believed in, because that is what they internalized in my family member’s consciousness. Every first Sunday, my church would participate in the ritual of the Lord’s Supper, which became a customary tradition for me after I was baptized. I could finally eat and drink the bread and blood of Christ. According to sociologist Peter Berger, he believed that “religious ritual has been a crucial instrument of this process of ‘reminding’” (Berger
Only through the words of consecration, “This is my Body… and this is my Blood”, can we truly experience the fruits of the Eucharist. This is only possible through God’s accordance with the Scriptures, Sacraments(the Eucharist in this case), minister(priest or bishop), and the people of the Church(The Body of Christ). Just like Jesus and his disciples during the Last Supper, all of the members of the Mass join in intercession in order to properly bestow power upon the Sacrament of the Eucharist. As the priest serves as a representation of Jesus, we serve as his disciples.