EUCHARIST

EUCHARIST

The Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324). During the mass, the bread and the wine are miraculously transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Though it may still look and taste like bread and wine, it is truly Jesus present.

The Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist make us full members of the Church. This also brings with it responsibility and so the Church obliges the faithful to take part in the Mass on Sundays.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. May I receive Holy Eucharist on my tongue?

It is in the right of the communicants to decide whether they will receive the Eucharist in the hand, on the tongue, kneeling or standing.

2. Can I receive Holy Communion more than once a day?

Yes, but no more than twice in a 24-hour period: "One who has received the Blessed Sacrament may receive it again on the same day only within a Eucharistic celebration in which that person participates". (Code of Canon Law, c. 917).

3. Under what circumstances should Catholics receive the Eucharist?

If we desire to receive Christ in communion, we must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must receive absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. (CCC: 1415) We are all welcome to attend the Mass in "spiritual communion" and to encounter God's Word read and proclaimed, whether or not they receive the Eucharist.[3]

4. Does my separation and civil divorce, prohibit me from receiving Holy Communion?

"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." (CCC: 1415) If the divorced are remarried civilly, the Church maintains that the new union cannot be recognized as valid if the first marriage is valid: "they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists". (CCC: 1650)

5. When did Jesus Christ institute the Eucharist? ​

Jesus instituted the Eucharist on Holy Thursday "the night on which he was betrayed" (1 Corinthians 11:23), as he celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles. (Compendium, 272)

6. What is the meaning of transubstantiation?

A wonderful change of the ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ takes place during the Church's eucharistic prayer through the efficacious word of Christ and by the action of the Holy Spirit. (Compendium, 283) This is a mystery of faith. "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." (CCC: 1413)