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THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST (sections 3 only) {Ecumenical Thread}
Vatican.va ^ | 33 AD | Holy Spirit

Posted on 02/23/2011 3:20:42 AM PST by Cronos

1333 At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do, in his memory and until his glorious return, what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread. . . ." "He took the cup filled with wine. . . ." The signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ; they continue also to signify the goodness of creation. Thus in the Offertory we give thanks to the Creator for bread and wine,
Ps104:13-15

13He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

15And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

fruit of the "work of human hands," but above all as "fruit of the earth" and "of the vine" - gifts of the Creator. The Church sees in the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek, who "brought out bread and wine," a prefiguring of her own offering.
Gen 14:18
18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

1334 In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice among the first fruits of the earth as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator. But they also received a new significance in the context of the Exodus: the unleavened bread that Israel eats every year at Passover commemorates the haste of the departure that liberated them from Egypt; the remembrance of the manna in the desert will always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God;
Deut 8:3

3And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
their daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God's faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing"
1 Cor 10:16
16The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
at the end of the Jewish Passover meal adds to the festive joy of wine an eschatological dimension: the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup.

1335 The miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist.
Mt 14:13-21

13When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

14And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

15And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

16But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

17And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

18He said, Bring them hither to me.

19And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

20And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

21And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

Mt 15:32-39
32Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

33And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

34And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

35And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

36And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

37And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

38And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

39And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

The sign of water turned into wine at Cana already announces the Hour of Jesus' glorification. It makes manifest the fulfillment of the wedding feast in the Father's kingdom, where the faithful will drink the new wine that has become the Blood of Christ.
Jn 2:11

11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Mk 14:25
25Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

1336 The first announcement of the Eucharist divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalized them: "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"
Jn 6:60

60Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

The Eucharist and the Cross are stumbling blocks. It is the same mystery and it never ceases to be an occasion of division. "Will you also go away?":
Jn 6:67

67Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
the Lord's question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation to discover that only he has "the words of eternal life"
Jn 6:68
68Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
and that to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself.

The institution of the Eucharist

1337 The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love.
Jn 13:1-17

1Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

2And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

3Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

4He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

5After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

6Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

7Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

8Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

9Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

10Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

11For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

12So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

13Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

14If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

15For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

16Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

17If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Jn 13:34-35
34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; "thereby he constituted them priests of the New Testament."

1338 The three synoptic Gospels and St. Paul have handed on to us the account of the institution of the Eucharist; St. John, for his part, reports the words of Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum that prepare for the institution of the Eucharist: Christ calls himself the bread of life, come down from heaven.
Jn 6:35 and 48

5And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

48I am that bread of life.

1339 Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum: giving his disciples his Body and his Blood:

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the passover meal for us, that we may eat it. . . ." They went . . . and prepared the passover. And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.". . . . And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood." Lk 22:7-20

7Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

8And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

9And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?

10And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.

11And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

12And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

13And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

14And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.

15And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

16For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

17And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

18For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

19And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

20Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Mt 26:17-29
17Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

18And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

19And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

20Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

21And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

22And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

23And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

24The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

25Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

26And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

27And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

28For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

29But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Mk 14:12-25
12And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?

13And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

14And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

15And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

16And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

17And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.

18And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

19And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

20And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

21The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.

22And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

23And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

24And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

25Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

1 Cor 11:23-26
23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

1340 By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus' passing over to his father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom.

"Do this in memory of me"

1341 The command of Jesus to repeat his actions and words "until he comes" does not only ask us to remember Jesus and what he did. It is directed at the liturgical celebration, by the apostles and their successors, of the memorial of Christ, of his life, of his death, of his Resurrection, and of his intercession in the presence of the Father.
1 Cor 11:26

26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

1342 From the beginning the Church has been faithful to the Lord's command. Of the Church of Jerusalem it is written:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. . . . Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts.
Acts 2:42,46

42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart

1343 It was above all on "the first day of the week," Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection, that the Christians met "to break bread."
Acts 20:7

7And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
From that time on down to our own day the celebration of the Eucharist has been continued so that today we encounter it everywhere in the Church with the same fundamental structure. It remains the center of the Church's life.

1344 Thus from celebration to celebration, as they proclaim the Paschal mystery of Jesus "until he comes," the pilgrim People of God advances, "following the narrow way of the cross,"
1 Cor 11:26

26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
toward the heavenly banquet, when all the elect will be seated at the table of the kingdom.


TOPICS: Ecumenism; Theology
KEYWORDS:
Note -- I've taken the Biblical quotes from the KJV

NOTE: this is an ecumenical thread, the rules for which can be found Ecumenical thread rules

This thread is open to all irrespective of religious affiliations. The only rules for an ecumenical thread is


when in doubt, only post what you are “for” and not what you are “against.”... antagonism is not tolerable

I am aware that our brothers in Christ may not share the same beliefs and I respect your faith and this thread has no aim to attack what you believe in, rather to elucidate what we in The Church believe in.

The focus is on God's word in our beliefs and if you wish to share yours (whether you be Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant or Baptist or other), that would be nice, though do remember the ecumenical thread rules ("when in doubt, only post what you are “for” and not what you are “against.”"). Hopefully we all learn more from each other and what each of us believes in (positive) rather than what we are against (negative)

I think we can at the very least understand each other -- as beautifuly outlined in this post by HiTechRedNeck -- we may not agree but at least we understand.

1 posted on 02/23/2011 3:20:44 AM PST by Cronos
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To: Cronos
I have always felt a Real Presence during the Eucharist in several ways. The first one I felt was because of a Catechism exercise we participated in before our first communion. It involved setting up some large dominoes in the class room with the first one by Sister Mary Kathleen and a branch leading to each of us. She told us to close our eyes and keep them closed and she would tip the first domino.

She told us to sing out when a domino touched us and then she started it. One by one in our turn when a domino tipped onto our feet we each called our names and sure enough each one of us was touched.

We then discussed who had touched us. Even though we were not touched immediately or at the same time the discussion came down to Sister since she had tipped the first domino. She then explained that at the last supper Jesus himself had tipped the first domino so we were each being physically touched by Jesus Himself.

Now, almost 55 years after that lesson I remember that every time I receive the Eucharist and really feel the presence of Jesus' touch.

And for the record I was never struck by a nun or molested by a priest.

2 posted on 02/23/2011 11:44:25 AM PST by Natural Law
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To: Natural Law

As a young teen, attending mass for the first time with a friend after a sleepover, I was instantly aware of true holiness surrounding when we entered the sanctuary.

She blessed herself with holy water, and I copied her, just to be friendly, and that was a moment I have never forgotten. Ultimately, it led to my conversion into the Catholic Church. She had explained that I could not go for communion, but I don’t recall feeling left out, just surrounded by holiness.


3 posted on 02/23/2011 12:40:41 PM PST by Judith Anne (Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne

What a wonderful testimony.


4 posted on 02/23/2011 7:46:22 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Natural Law

Neat story.


5 posted on 02/23/2011 7:56:11 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Judith Anne

Wow! Thanks for sharing!


6 posted on 02/23/2011 9:51:24 PM PST by johngrace (God so loved the world so he gave his only son! Praise Jesus and Hail Mary!)
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To: johngrace; Salvation

Well, it took twenty years, so...


7 posted on 02/23/2011 9:54:21 PM PST by Judith Anne (Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: All; Judith Anne
I was at Church. Just a few people in the church. I was hoping for Adoration but the Host was not shown. So in this church where they have the big holder of communion it's in a glass room with a door. 4 seats are there for you to pray. I decide to sit and pray. I prayed the Divine Mercy for hours bathing in the Holy peace. There is nobody in the room. I have interior dialogue with God while praying.

Well in a audible voice I here " will you open the door ". I look around nobody is in the room. I go to myself was that audible Lord. Then I hear it again " will you open the door" There is a little door for the hosts. I am flipping out like what was that now. Well I hear it again but with" open the door I have to bring this equipment in the room". Well it was the custodian talking through the thin wall at someone else but like in the room. I laughed so hard. LOL!!!

8 posted on 02/23/2011 10:09:16 PM PST by johngrace (God so loved the world so he gave his only son! Praise Jesus and Hail Mary!)
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To: johngrace

John, some times you are just wonderful. ROFL!


9 posted on 02/23/2011 10:16:53 PM PST by Judith Anne (Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne
So are all of us. I appreciate you and this site any side of the issue. Because it's all about free open exchange which is free republic. Where else can we go. I would never have met the good decent people on both sides of the religion issue.

Did you see all the new caucuses. I propose the right hand caucus or left hand caucus. LOL!!

No matter what it's still a great format. We can all agree that maybe not 100% but at least 90% plus will vote conservative politics truly down the line. I do know we will have an argument about the defintion of a christian. Thats a given. LOL!

But thats why we are free. It's part of the process. Do not take personal. Pray more it sustains us.

Praise Jesus!!

10 posted on 02/23/2011 10:36:25 PM PST by johngrace (God so loved the world so he gave his only son! Praise Jesus and Hail Mary!)
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To: Cronos; YellowRoseofTx; Rashputin; StayoutdaBushesWay; OldNewYork; MotherRedDog; sayuncledave; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.


11 posted on 02/23/2011 10:38:39 PM PST by narses ( 'Prefer nothing to the love of Christ.')
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To: Judith Anne

beautiful testimony


12 posted on 02/24/2011 1:52:31 AM PST by Cronos ("They object to tradition saying that they themselves are wiser than the apostles" - Ire.III.2.2)
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To: johngrace

John, you’re awesome. ;)


13 posted on 02/24/2011 2:28:03 AM PST by sayuncledave (A cruce salus)
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To: Natural Law

I love that story!


14 posted on 02/24/2011 8:26:37 AM PST by johngrace (God so loved the world so he gave his only son! Praise Jesus and Hail Mary!)
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