Holy Communion
~ The Eucharist ~

When we receive Holy Communion we are sharing in the body and blood - the very life - of Christ Our Saviour.   Holy Communion, and the whole service (Mass) is also known as Eucharist, from a Greek word meaning thanksgiving.
 

At the Last Supper, Jesus gave us the elements of a sacred rite which we were to do in memory of Him and which would make His sacrificial death on the cross present to all people in every age.

First He preached the Word of God to His disciples, giving them the new commandment of love. He prayed for them and for all those who through them would believe in Him. He prayed also for the unity of all believers.

In the liturgy of the Mass, we listen to God’s word in the scriptures and the homily. We express our faith in His word. In the Prayer of the Faithful we pray for the needs of all God’s people.

“Then he took bread and a cup of wine.” This action of Christ is represented in the liturgy of the Mass by the rite of the Offertory, or the presentation of the gifts. Bread and wine are brought to the altar and the priest takes them and blesses God for them for they are to become the body of Christ that was offered for us on the cross and His blood that was shed for us and for all so that sins might be forgiven. In Communion they are to become for us “the bread of life” and “our spiritual drink”.

“He said the prayer of blessing over them” In the Mass this is the Eucharistic Prayer, which praises and thanks God for all His gifts and most especially for what Jesus achieved by His life, death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit is called down upon the gifts so that they may become Christ’s Body and Blood and we may receive them worthily and fruitfully. Then, after the Consecration, they are offered to God the Father for the whole world and for the needs of the living and the dead.

“He broke the bread and gave it to His disciple. He gave them the cup to drink.” This is the rite of Communion which gives us the fruits of Christ’s sacrifice in a holy meal. In receiving the Body and Blood of Christ we are united with Christ and with one another in Christ, and we are given a foretaste of the joy that  will be ours when we are united for ever with Christ in the glory of His Heavenly Kingdom.

 

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