|
Holy Door I Indulgence I Confession I Holy Mass I Prayer for the Pope |
|
|
| Jesus instituted the sacrament
of the Eucharist during the Last Supper, when he said: "Take it,
this is my body...This is my blood" (Mark 14:22-24). Eucharist
is a Greek word which means thanksgiving. We have to attend Mass
every Sunday and feast of obligation to give thanks to God for all his
blessings. The Eucharist is also called the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, because it is the memorial of the passion, death, and resurrection
of Jesus.
We can receive Holy Communion only if we are in the state of grace, otherwise we commit a sacrilege. By receiving the Body and Blood of Christ we make reparation for the sins of the living and the dead, we are in communion with the Church, and we receive eternal life. The minister of the Eucharist is the Bishop and the priest. They celebrate the Mass In Persona Christi -- in the person of Christ. The Mass is free-of-charge. However, the faithful ought to support the priest by their offerings. The matter of the Eucharist is the wheat-bread and grape-wine. The Mass is invalid if we use any other matter, like the bread of corn, or the wine of coconut. |
National Shrine of Mary Help
of Christians
|
Transubstantiation
is the sacramental miracle by which the bread and wine, at the moment of
the consecration, become the real body and blood of Christ.
