Symbolism In The Eucharist

1055 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Significance of the Eucharist

The Eucharist is a very important part of Christianity, as it represents the blessed body and blood of Christ as given to the disciples during the last supper. To me and many Christians, the Eucharist is a symbolic reminder of God’s love for us and sending his only son to guide us on our own spiritual journey to find Him. It also serves as a reminder that Christ suffered and died for our sins, as represented in the symbolic consumption of his body and blood. I attended St. John’s Abbey, a Catholic church located in the middle of Creighton’s campus, and a Lutheran Church in Fort Collins, Colorado called Trinity Lutheran Church and observed the differences in the service and the participation in the Holy Eucharist. Overall, the services were …show more content…

John’s church on the other hand is a catholic church, so there are several minute differences in the way the service is held. There is a lot more structure and symbolism in a Catholic Church service. When I attended St. John’s last Sunday, it started off with the priest entering with altar servers. This church is more heavily ornamented than Trinity Lutheran church. It has high archways and many panels of stained glass windows giving St. Johns an archaic effect. After making the sign of the cross, he begins greeting people and says a prayer. The next part is the liturgy of the word, where three scripture readings are given, usually starting off in the Old Testament. The liturgy of the Eucharist starts with the preparation of the altar and gifts. This means parishioners are randomly selected to take part in presenting the gifts, meaning they step to the altar with a tray of bread and a pitcher of wine and give them to the priest and altar servers. They bow to each other after the priest and altar servers have the gifts. This occurs after the donations to the church are collected. Once the priest has the gifts, the priest starts the Eucharistic Prayer. This is the longest event leading up to the sharing of the communion. It is composed of three short songs and the congregation kneels during the prayer’s entirety and recites the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father). The priest then gives the communion to himself and then distributes bread and wine to Eucharistic ministers who, after

Show More
Related

  • The Eucharist in Fellowship of the Ring, Return of the King, and Two Towers

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    J.R.R. Tolkien's use of waybread takes on the properties of the Catholic Eucharist in The Lord of the Rings. He creates lembas, a special kind of dried bread and made it the primary food source for the main characters. This special food is, in certain ways, a type of Eucharist, as defined by the Catholic church. Specifically, the parralells can be found in the outward similarities and the surrounding effects.

    Read More

  • Comparing a Non-Denominational Church with the Catholic Denomination

    1680 Words  | 4 Pages

    Attending a non-denominational church we start out with worship and being free to sing and dance and let our spirits take over. This may come out as someone running around the pews, or on their knees, but while in the Catholic Church the environment was much different. It was a lot more structured and formal in a sense than that of the non-denominational church where I practice my faith. Another difference was the offering, or as the Catholic Church calls it, the Gift. I am use to this concept, but rather than taking Gifts at the beginning of the service they take it at the end; then came communion. This is where you take part in eating the bread and drinking the wine in symbolism of Jesus’ body and blood. This I was also familiar with, but was informed by the couple that I went with that they partake in com...

    Read More

  • Blue Like Jazz Themes

    2340 Words  | 5 Pages

    Christianity is one of the largest religions in world with believers spreading across barriers of language and culture. Christianity can come in many forms with beliefs on different subjects varying wildly, but there is one practice that remains relatively the same: church attendance. The ritual of getting up every Sunday morning and attending a church service including a sermon by a pastor and sometimes a smaller, more focused lesson given during what is called “Sunday School”, is something that is practiced by many faithful Christians across the world and the United States, in particular. Attending church is a practice that is integral to the Christian faith as it is shown in the Bible. It informs and impacts the lives of many believers of

    Read More

  • Comparison of the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    The offerings of bread , wine and other gifts are brought to the altar. The next section is the Eucharistic Prayer. The Communion is the fifth and probably the most important part of the Mass. It starts with the Lord's Prayer ( Paternoster ) and ends with the Communion for the Clergy and Congregation. Communion is where the gifts of bread and wine are blessed and then received.

    Read More

  • Religion In The Eucharist

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Eucharist is a Christian sacrament, additionally referred to as Mass, Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper. The Eucharist is a religious ceremony that takes place during every Catholic mass. First, the priest prepares the bread and wine in an act called “Preparation of the Altar.” Recalling the words of Jesus at The Last Supper, the priest then recites the Words of Institution:

    Read More

  • Example Of A Cultural Plunge

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Neumann Catholic church on Sunday with my friends. The outside of the church has a big cross hanged on top of the building, which is similar to all the Christian churches I saw before. Without mentioning this church is a catholic church, I would not be able to distinguish the difference between Christian and Catholic churches. When I first walked in the church, the interior was beautiful, but I was shocked when I saw a lady kneeling down pew kneeler. Then a group of people who were wearing whites vestment walked with a big cross on their hand, and there was one person who wore green vestment walked in the middle. The mass starts with a song, then a speech, then they talk about the book section. However, I have always heard the rumor that Catholics discourage Bible reading. This mass has proven this stereotype was incorrect. Catholics actually do read the bible and they also discuss about it during the mass. For the most of the time, they discuss the bible reading and sing. Also, as you can see in my Cultural Plunge picture #3, there is a photo of the mass schedule where listed the bible reading assignment for each mass. Towards the end of the ceremony, the priest told people to hold hands and pray, and they also ask everyone to introduce themselves to the people around them. Towards the end of the mass, there were people pass a basket around to collect money. I was a little to confuse about this process, but I believe this basket would be use for some good

    Read More

  • Theories of the Atonement

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... is to remember Christ, once again we are just confirming what has already bee said here. “The bread and the cup are not holy elements in and of themselves. But they do represent something that is very holy… recognizing it is a symbol of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross” (Laurie 2008:nn). Laurie above sums it up well, the wine and the bread are only symbols of what really happened on the cross 2000 years ago, we must not revere the symbols or the elements but Christ and His work on the cross

    Read More

  • Essay On Religion As A Living And Dynamic Tradition

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...le, the scripture passage Luke 24:30-32 in the bible explores the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is recognised after “he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them” This is important to Christian followers, as it is the foundation of Christian beliefs. This has also impacted the way Christians practise traditional rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism. Also the scripture reference provides adherents with the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection and how he will be “with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28), even after his death and resurrection. Thus, the ritual of Eucharist and Baptism supports adherents in seeking where Christ is in their everyday lives. Hence, the rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism are significant to Christianity, through it shaping it as a living and dynamic tradition

    Read More

  • Communion: Catholic Vs. Methodist

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    First off Catholics believe that they are receiving the very Body and Blood of Christ Himself. At the Last Supper Jesus said, "This is my body which is given for you" and offering His disciples the cup of wine said, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." In the Gospel of John they read: "Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (St. Louis Parish para 1).” When receiving communion and the person ahead of you is receiving Communion you offer a simple bow of reverence with your head and then step forward. You receive Holy Communion either in your hands or directly on the tongue. If you receive in the hands you should take care that they are clean (as a sign of reverence) and place one hand over the other and raise them up high, forming a throne with our hands to receive Jesus. As the priest places the host in our hands and says "The Body of Christ" you should respond loudly and clearly "Amen (St. Louis Parish para 5)." Also, one major point in Catholic Communion is with non-Catholics. Non-Catholics are not permitted to receive Holy Communion. The very action of receiving Communion says that the church believes it is the Body and Blood of Christ and that we share in the whole life of the Catholic Church. Inviting non-Catholics to Communion can be an obstacle to one day reaching full communion by blurring the differences in belief among Christian denominations.

    Read More

  • Cultural Immersion Activity

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once the service started, my friend showed me where the schedule for the service was and what each number meant. There were different colors of numbers in the book and those indicated what section the reading or song was coming from. This was different from the church that I attend because we have a choir and a band that plays the songs and if you wish to join in you can but for the Catholic Church there is, no choir and the members of the church are the ones who sing. After some singing, the priest came up to talk and this is very different from what I expected. I was used to flipping through the channels and seeing the catholic churches with the priest who were a ...

    Read More

  • The Eucharist: The Breaking Of Bread

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    For Catholics, it is put forth by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy, that "the gift of Christ and his Spirit, which we receive in Eucharistic communion superabundantly fulfills the yearning for fraternal unity deeply rooted in the human heart” (McNamara, 2004), where this connects people with Christ and provides the opportunity to engage in personal healing. Through the sacred transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, the congregation can acknowledge the sacrifices made, eternally connecting Catholics to their

    Read More

  • The Holy Communion as the Most Important Form Of Worship

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    meal. He knew that it was now time for him to return to his father.

    Read More

  • Passover Meal Meaning

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Luke 6:54-55 (NLT) reads, "But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." Ultimately, Christians are accepting the precious gift of salvation when consuming the body (wafer) and blood (juice) of Christ. The bread and wine can be perceived as "miniature rehearsals of what will be the greatest victory celebration in all history" (Tkach, 2016). Communion is a direct result of the Last Supper that has allowed Christians to have a new found fellowship with God.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Visit To A Church

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    As I was attending mass, I noticed, it was very organized. There was a lot of sitting and standing, where I found myself struggling to understand. I noticed that they read some passages from the bible and sang a lot of psalms and hymns. The only thing that was familiar to me was the Eucharist.

    Read More

  • Mass Reflection Paper

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Only through the words of consecration, “This is my Body… and this is my Blood”, can we truly experience the fruits of the Eucharist. This is only possible through God’s accordance with the Scriptures, Sacraments(the Eucharist in this case), minister(priest or bishop), and the people of the Church(The Body of Christ). Just like Jesus and his disciples during the Last Supper, all of the members of the Mass join in intercession in order to properly bestow power upon the Sacrament of the Eucharist. As the priest serves as a representation of Jesus, we serve as his disciples.

    Read More

More about Symbolism In The Eucharist

Open Document