The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord’s own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.
“At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet ‘in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'”
The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life. “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1322-1324
The Eucharist is not a ‘thing’, but rather an action. When we celebrate Mass, another word for Eucharist, the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is made present in our place and time. In our great thanksgiving offered to God both the sacrifice of Jesus at the Last Supper and on the cross, and the heavenly banquet to come at the end of time are made present for us. The Mass is both a meal and a sacrifice. Jesus, our High Priest in heaven, eternally offers the one sacrifice, his crucifixion, for our redemption. When we celebrate Mass we are united to this one heavenly offering and are fed with Jesus’ body and blood under the form of bread and wine, Holy Communion.
Receiving Holy Communion:
- Brings us into closer union with Jesus.
- Forgives us our venial sins.
- Gives us grace to avoid future sin.
- Unites us more closely to other Catholics.
- Commits us to serving Christ in the poor and needy.
- Gives us a longing for all Christians to be united in the one Church.
Holy Communion is a pledge from God that we will one day be with him in heaven. We eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus, a personal and intimate moment with the Lord where he enters our lives both physically and spiritually, and by doing so we share in his eternal life. It is a foretaste of our future reality.
First Holy Communion
At the age of 8, or thereabouts, children receive Holy Communion for the first time. Preparation for receiving Holy Communion, and as a part of that making first Confession, is organised through the parish. Please keep an eye on the Newsletter and the website for information about first Holy Communion.