Eucharist Study Guide

Eucharist- The Eucharist is the source and summit of Catholic life. The Eucharist comes from the Jewish ritual of Passover. Because the last supper was a Passover, at every meal we gather together (mass) there is bread and wine. The bread and wine was a staple in the life of the Jews. Mass- Mass makes Christ present through the Eucharist. The bread and wine acquire the true feeling of God. Through people gathering, ministers or priests, and scripture, we can make Christ present in the mass and Eucharist. Congregational- In Vatican II, Pope John 23rd made changes to the church so that the structure would be more communal. One of the changes was make all songs (except one) congregational. Pamphlets were handed out so that all could participate. Amen- Amen means, I believe. Timothy Dolan said that Milwaukee parishes were not reverent enough, so he told us to receive communion with dominant hand, bow at the Eucharist, and say Amen after you receive it. Passover- The Passover was a staple of Jewish life, and is a ritual from their culture. These meals involve bread and wine and there is much symbolism in the Old Testament. Mosses and the Passover, manna, and Malchezideck are all stories that involve the bread. Transubstantiation- Transubstantiation is the changing of the bread and the wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This change is invisible, and requires faith from the individual and the community for it to have an affect. Catechumens- After the homily, the catechumens leave the mass. In the times of Early Christianity, catechumens would not go to house churches. Sacrarium- The sacrarium is the special sink, usually inside every parish, in which the extra wine, ashes, oil, (etc.) is dumped. This sink goes directly into the earth, because we are returning sacred creations of God into something that is clean and wont damage the sacredness of the items. Liturgy- Since Vatican II, the mass has become more communal, scripture is primary, and is done in the vernacular language. The liturgys structure came from St. Justin Martyr who wrote letters in 155. Deacon-ate- This element of Catholicism returned in Vatican II after disappearing in the 6th century.

Epiclesis- This is the calling of the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and Wine into the Body and Blood. The change itself is called transubstantiation. Intercessions (6)- There are 6 intercessions in the mass. They go in this order: petitions for religious leaders, petitions for political leaders, petitions that are ecumenical, petition for the school or parish that the mass is being held, a petition for whats happening in the world, and a petition for the sick, dying, ill. Latin- Council of Trent stated that the mass must be done in the official language of the church, Latin, and not the vernacular. Tithing- The gifts of Christianity today consist of bread, wine and tithing. Tithing is giving 10 percent of our income to the church, five percent of which is donated from the church to the poor. Reconciliation- The penitential rite does not forgive mortal sins only venial sins, need confession to forgive mortal sins. Need to go to confession once year. Penitential season (Lent/ Advent) are the best times for reconciliation. High Priest- Responsible for performing the four sacrifices (Day of atonement, Gift offering, Peace offering, and covenant offering) Jesus is the highest of high priests because he sacrificed himself. Annulment- Cannot receive communion until you got an annulment. If you get divorced by the state, you are still married in the eyes if the church. You need an annulment to say that the marriage was never valid before you can receive communion again. Sign of Peace- original intent was to reconcile with new members as well as reconcile with anybody that you may need to. This is the second challenge in the Liturgy. Homily- Interpretation and application of the gospel. Catechumens leave after this. Consecration- Only a priest can consecrate the bread. Once it is consecrated, we believe it is the real presence of Jesus. Melchizedeck- Figure of the Old Testament. The story of him and Abraham was the first mention of the Eucharist in the O.T Precept- A command of God. The four that pertain to Eucharist are: The Sabbath is the 3rd commandment, Grave sin to miss mass, fasting done an hour before mass, Must be in a state of grace.) Scripture- Vatican II said that scripture must be primary. Parousia- The second coming of Christ

Bread and Wine!- Expose our Jewish roots. Comes for Passover with unleavened bread and the blood of a lamb. These are the gifts of the mass. Lamb of God- Jesus is the lamb of God. Yam Kippur is not necessary because our sins have been forgiven. Lectionary- The book that unified all the readings. 3-year cycle for the Gospels (A Mt, B Mk and Jn, and C Lk) Council of Trent wrote this to uniform the readings. 1. What does "The Eucharist is the Source and Summit' of Christian Life" mean? It is the summit because Eucharist is central to our spiritual life. It is the source because we are using every means possible to grow closer to God. Eucharist is a source of grace. 2. What sets Catholic School apart from the Public School system? There are three things that catholic schools do that public schools dont. We celebrate the Eucharist in all-school masses and optional liturgies. We spend time with Jesus during school (Examen, before/after school, theology class, service, retreats), and we worship God. 3. Be able to define the 'real presence' of Jesus in the Liturgy? There are four ways Jesus is present in the Liturgy: Eucharist, Minister, People, and Scripture. 4. Why is the Eucharist a Memorial? Why is the Eucharist a Sacrifice? Eucharist is a memorial because we remember what Jesus did for us. The Eucharist is a sacrifice because by remembering what Jesus did for us, God becomes truly present at the Eucharist and Liturgy. 5. What is the high point most sacred element of the Mass? The Eucharistic Prayer is the most scared time of the mass. It comes for St. Pauls letter to the Corinthians (51 A.D). People were getting drunk at Agape meal and not letting the poor eat enough. St. Paul said that the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus Christ. He also gave us the words of Institution the words that change the bread into the body. 6. Be able to communicate why Bread and Wine is the staple of Jewish life? Bread and wine is the staple of Jewish life because they were incorporated at every meal. It was also very important to the Jews because of its relation to the Passover.

7. What was the Jewish understanding of Blood? Why was this a difficult concept for them? For the Jews, they believed that blood belonged to God. If you were bleeding, you were considered unclean. There are laws against eating anything with blood in the Jewish faith. This is why some Apostles left when the idea of drinking Jesus blood came around. 8. Be able to describe the four different 'sacrifices' the Hebrews observed. 1.) Day of Atonement. This is also called Yam Kippur. This is when people would send a goat out into the wilderness. People would have moved all of their sins onto the goat. This way, people are rid of sin. The term scapegoat comes from this. This isnt necessary for us because Jesus took away our sins. 2.) Gift offering- sacrifice food to God. 3.) Peace offering- Sacrifice something to have peace with God. 4.) Covenant offering- an agreement between two people. Whatever you do to the animal you sacrifice, that will happen to you if you break the covenant. 9. Be able to describe the origins of the Agape Meal and its evolution. (offertory) The Agape meal was a meal the early Christians would have in house churches. Eventually the Agape meal became too big and there was too much food. It became reduced to just bread, wine, and gifts for the poor. We still do this today. The offertory today is bread, wine, and tithing. 10 percent of our income is given to the church, 5 percent of the 10 percent is given to the poor. 10. What contributions did Justin Martyr and St. Paul make to our Eucharistic celebration? St. Justin Martyr was the first apologist, meaning he was the first defender of the faith. He wrote a letter in the first century. He was arrested for being Christian and defending Christianity. In his letter, there are several elements of our mass today that he wrote about back then. These elements include: everybody gathering, memoirs of Apostles (Gospels), prophets (Old Testament), Homily, Petitions, Offertory, Eucharistic Prayer, and picks (Thing that holds Eucharist for the sick and shut in) 11. What contributions did Vatican II make to our Mass? What is their major theme here? John Paul XXIII organized Vatican II. He was an older pope and people thought that he wouldnt

get much accomplished. They made several contributions to our Mass. One thing they said was that participation is key. Other things they added was: doing mass in vernacular was okay, at communion you receive both bread and wine and you can touch it, Lectors are needed to preach the scripture, deaconate (brought the position back), Body of Christ (Vatican II portrayed the Mass as this and got rid of the idea that people needed the church and that the church doesnt need the people), and room arrangement (Altar is among the pews and choir in the back). 12. Know the contributions of the Council of Trent: Missal/Sacramentary and why. The Council of Trents objective was to defend and reform the church. They defended that the Eucharist was the real presence of Jesus. There were a lot of schisms going on at the time so there was a need to reform as well as defend the church and its practices. They uniformed the language to Latin and no vernacular, created the missal (for priests and not for the public until 1897) which is the book that lays out the structure of the mass, and created the Sacramentary (rituals). They created the missal and sacramentary to uniform the church and to make sure that everybody was doing the same thing. 13. What is the Penitential Rite? Why is it included in our liturgy? The Penitential rite is part of the Liturgy of the Word (Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy). This part of the mass forgives our venial sins, not grave or mortal sins. People thought that they had too many sins on their soul to receive the Eucharist. By saying this, our venial sins are forgiven and we can receive Eucharist (as long as there are no mortal sins on our soul). The Sprinkling rite has the same effect and does the same thing for us as the Penitential rite. 14. What can be substituted for this ritenot a substitute? The Sprinkling rite can be substituted for this. This is when we are blessed with Holy Water. The penitential rite and the sprinkling rite is not a substitute for confession or reconciliation. 15. Know the elements within the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. For the Liturgy of the Word, the order is: Old Testament reading, psalms, New Testament reading

(usually an epistle), and Gospel reading (the cycle is A-Mt, B-Mk, Jn, C-Lk and we are on C right now). Then comes the Homily (interpretation and application of the Gospel) and Intercessions. The order for intercessions is praying for 1. Religious leaders 2. Political leaders 3. Christians (Ecumenical) 4. Parish/School 5. This next prayer is for anything going on in the World, for example Hurricane Sandy 6. Sick, Shut in, and those whon have died or are dying. For the Liturgy of the Eucharist: Offertory (Bringing up of the gifts), Eucharistic Prayer (changing the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ Epiclesis and transubstantiation), and Communion Rite (Our Father, then sign of peace, then the Fraction Rite, then receiving of communion, and meditation). The Fraction Rite is when the Priest reenacts the Last Supper. The sign of peaces original intent was to welcome new members as well as reconcile with anybody that you may need to. Meditation after communion is a reflection period and this is the only time in mass where a solo song is played. 16. What are the graces of the Sacrament of Eucharist? (3) The graces of Eucharist involve relationships- with Christ, the church, and others. The Eucharist deepens our relationship with Christ. The communion is so intimate that Christ becomes a part of us and we become apart of Him. Holy Communion preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered himself for us. Relationship with the Church- Eucharist helps us form and build the Church. We act as church whenever we receive Communion. Eucharist binds the church together and incorporates us more into church. Because Eucharist is an initiation sacrament, we become more incorporated in the church when we receive it. The Eucharist also helps us in our relationship with the church by helping us: participate actively in the parish, contribute to the Church (Money or time), animate our family and friends with the spirit of Christianity, engage in evangelization, building a community with the members of our parish, and help strengthen the unity of all Christians through prayer and dialogue. Relationship with OthersEucharist helps our relationship especially with the poor. Through the Eucharist we become

bread for others. We strive in all our relationships to provide for the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of others. Through the Eucharist we perform both the corporal works of mercy (feed hungry, give drink to thirsty, clothe naked, etc.) as well as the spiritual works or mercy (we sacrifice the needs of ourselves to provide the needs of others, as Jesus did). 17. In what areas of the Eucharist are we should we be challenged. (3) The first area where we are challenged is the Homily, the Sign of Peace, and dismissal. We are challenged to take the Homily and apply it to our lives and to the world. We are challenged to reconcile or to meet somebody new in the sign of peace. In the dismissal we are challenged to be Eucharist for others and to take what we have learned in the Liturgy and apply it to real life. 18. What are the precepts of the Church for all Catholics as it relates to Eucharist? There are four precepts (rules) in Eucharist. 1) Sabbath is the third commandment (keep the Sabbath Holy), 2.) It is a grave sin to miss mass intentionally, 3) must be in a state of grace when receiving Eucharist, meaning need to be in right relationship with God and having no mortal sins on your soul. 4.) Fasting one hour before receiving Eucharist. 19. What are the two major parts of our Liturgy and what do they incorporate? The two major parts of the Liturgy are Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist. Ms. Blaze said she isnt going to test us on what they incorporate. 20. What changes were made to our worship when Constantine's made Christianity the favored? When Constantine made Christianity the favored religion, our masses became very long, ornate, and formal. Everything was about pomp and circumstance. There was a huge procession and masses took 2 to 3 hours. It still looks like this today for the Eastern churches. In the west, we simplified the masses considerably and shortened them. This happened because when Rome fell, the barbarians stole all the jewels and fancy things from the churches. 21. What is the Blessed Sacrament and how do we reverence it after it has been consecrated? The Blessed Sacrament is the consecrated species of bread from Mass that is reserved in the

Tabernacle in the Church. The Blessed Sacrament is the real presence of Jesus, not symbolism. We reverent the Blessed Sacrament so much because it is the real presence of Jesus Christ. Ways we reverent it: put the consecrated bread down the sacrarium (goes directly to the ground), light a candle when there is consecrated hosts in the tabernacle, dominant hand on bottom when receiving Eucharist, bow and say amen when receiving Communion, and not eating anything an hour before receiving Communion. 22. What are the role of the Priest/Bishop in the Eucharist and the role of the Deacon? The Priest and Bishop transform the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ through the epiclesis. They also hand the hosts out during communion. The Deacon assists during the Liturgy and usually does the Gospel reading.