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Sacrament
of the Eucharist |
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| The Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament in which Christ becomes and remains present with us, his people under the appearances of bread and wine. |
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| The Holy Eucharist is very rich in meaning. There are two important aspects of the Holy Eucharist, or two ways by means of which we can talk and explain the sacrament: |
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| Eucharist as the Holy Mass |
| - during each Mass we gather together as a community to give thanks and praise to God through Jesus Christ and to remember and make present the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is only in the context of Mass that through the prayer of a priest, bread and wine which we offer on the alter, become the Body and Blood of Jesus. |
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| Eucharist as the Holy Communion |
| - during Mass or outside of Mass, we can receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the form of Eucharistic bread (host) and wine. We say that we have received Eucharist or the Holy Communion. By doing so we receive Jesus to our hearts and we unite with him in a very special way. |
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We believe that Christ is really present in the Eucharistic bread and wine. Therefore, consecrated hosts and wine have to be honored and adored. The whole Christ is present in either kind (bread or wine), so it is enough to receive only one kind; usually we receive Eucharistic bread.
The sacrament effects union with Christ; it is nourishment for the soul, gives increase in grace and remits venial sin and punishment. |
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| Effects of the Holy Eucharist: |
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Union with Christ by love. Since we receive Christ into our hearts, we are united with him in a very special way. |
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Increase of grace. Eucharist is the nourishment for our souls. In a very practical way Eucharist makes stronger our faith. |
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Forgiveness of venial sins. Holy Communion remits all venial sins of the recipient. In that sense Eucharist is a medicine which heals our souls. |
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The pledge of our resurrection. According to the promise of Jesus, all those who will partake in his body and blood will receive everlasting life. |
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| The Holy Communion can be also offered for our relations, friends and the souls departed. We believe that such an offering brings about real effects on the living and the dead. By the same manner, it is Church's tradition
to offer Masses for the intentions of the living and the
deceased. |
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| Each baptized person is encouraged to receive the Holy Communion. In order to receive the Communion, the recipient should be in the state of grace, it means he or she should have not committed a mortal sin. If one has committed a mortal sin, he or she should go to confession first. We are also asked by the Church to fast for an hour before we can receive Communion. We are encouraged to receive communion daily. |
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| Only
an ordained priest can celebrate the Holy Mass. |
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| ©2002 Society of
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