YEAR OF FAITH - The Sacraments of Initiation (3) The Holy Eucharist

Post date: Jun 28, 2013 2:31:41 PM

“The Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament in which Jesus Christ gives his Body and Blood - himself - for us, so that we too might give ourselves to him in love and be united with him in Holy Communion. In this way we are joined with the one Body of Christ, the Church.” (from YOUCAT: the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, page 123).

The Holy Eucharist feeds and nourishes our souls, just as food nourishes our bodies. When we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we follow the same pattern as the first Christians in the early days of the Church. This involves the proclamation of the Word of God; offerings of bread and wine, together with our own offering to God of our lives; followed by the consecration and sharing of these gifts. The priest stands in the place of Christ the High Priest, who offered

himself to the Father in one eternal sacrifice. God is always pleased with our gifts and

transforms them into the actual Body and Blood of his Son, so that by receiving him in Holy Communion we can gradually become divine ourselves – a process that takes us all our lives.

Unless there is any serious reason why we should not receive Holy Communion, we are

encouraged to receive the Body and Blood of Christ (under both kinds whenever they are

offered to us) at every celebration of the Eucharist. This not only unites us with the actual

person of God the Son, but with every other member of his Body, the Church, including those who have gone before us, the Saints and our own family members. After receiving Holy

Communion and a period of thanksgiving, we are “dismissed” or sent out with the mission of taking Christ from our place of worship into the world.

The St Hugh’s Year of Faith discussion group will take a break during July & August,

meeting again on Saturday 21^st September. If you would like to view Bishop Malcolm’s short videos for yourself, please log into

www.nottingham-diocese.org.uk. Click on the icon for the Year of Faith, and then “VIDEOS.”