Symbolism In The Eucharist

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The Eucharist is a very important part of Christianity, as it represents the blessed body and blood of Christ as given to the disciples during the last supper. To me and many Christians, the Eucharist is a symbolic reminder of God’s love for us and sending his only son to guide us on our own spiritual journey to find Him. It also serves as a reminder that Christ suffered and died for our sins, as represented in the symbolic consumption of his body and blood. I attended St. John’s Abbey, a Catholic church located in the middle of Creighton’s campus, and a Lutheran Church in Fort Collins, Colorado called Trinity Lutheran Church and observed the differences in the service and the participation in the Holy Eucharist. Overall, the services were …show more content…

John’s church on the other hand is a catholic church, so there are several minute differences in the way the service is held. There is a lot more structure and symbolism in a Catholic Church service. When I attended St. John’s last Sunday, it started off with the priest entering with altar servers. This church is more heavily ornamented than Trinity Lutheran church. It has high archways and many panels of stained glass windows giving St. Johns an archaic effect. After making the sign of the cross, he begins greeting people and says a prayer. The next part is the liturgy of the word, where three scripture readings are given, usually starting off in the Old Testament. The liturgy of the Eucharist starts with the preparation of the altar and gifts. This means parishioners are randomly selected to take part in presenting the gifts, meaning they step to the altar with a tray of bread and a pitcher of wine and give them to the priest and altar servers. They bow to each other after the priest and altar servers have the gifts. This occurs after the donations to the church are collected. Once the priest has the gifts, the priest starts the Eucharistic Prayer. This is the longest event leading up to the sharing of the communion. It is composed of three short songs and the congregation kneels during the prayer’s entirety and recites the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father). The priest then gives the communion to himself and then distributes bread and wine to Eucharistic ministers who, after

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