1. What is the meaning of
the words: Eucharist, Mass and Communion?
Eucharist comes from the Greek word meaning ‘thanksgiving’.
Mass comes from the Latin word meaning ‘sent forth’.
Communion comes from the Latin word meaning ‘union with’.
Each word expresses an aspect of the richness of the gift
that Jesus left to us and commanded that we do in memory of
him.
At the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples: “Do
this in memory of me”. Since the beginning, therefore,
those who called themselves ‘Christian’ have met
for the ’Breaking of Bread’. When they do so they
express and celebrate all that is most important in their
lives: the love of God and the love of one another. For Christians,
Christ is the unique and ultimate expression of that love
and the Mass makes Him present and accessible for us today.
If love is not expressed and celebrated, then it withers and
dies, and so the Church reminds people of their need to grow
in love by deepening their relationship with Christ and one
another through the celebration of the Eucharist. Sunday commemorates
the Resurrection of the Lord, which is the day on which Christians
have traditionally gathered to celebrate their faith.
The first part of the Mass is known as the Liturgy of the
Word. It is the time when God speaks, through his inspired
Word, of his great deeds of love for his people. As the Second
Vatican Council tells us, when the Scriptures are proclaimed,
God himself is speaking to his people.
4. What happens to us when
we receive Holy Communion?
The main effect of the Eucharist is to draw us ever more
closely to God and to one another. In this way the Eucharist
‘makes the Church’. As the Church receives the
Body of Christ, so too it becomes the Body of Christ in and
for the world. In other words, we become Christ as we receive
Christ.
5. Why does the church encourage
us to receive Communion under both kinds?
During most of the first millennium it was a matter of course
to receive Communion under both kinds. Anxiety about the possibility
of spilling, as well as other factors, led to the eventual
withdrawing of the chalice. While it is Catholic belief that
the whole Christ is present under either kind, receiving Communion
in the form of bread and wine expresses more fully what Jesus
did at the Last Supper when he said “Take and eat”
and “Take and drink”. When we receive under both
kinds, we are making a more exact memorial of what Jesus did
at the Last Supper.
It is an ancient tradition in the Latin rite that the bread
for the Eucharist should be wheaten and unleavened. It was
in the haste of their liberating departure from Egypt that
the Israelites used unleavened bread for their last meal.
It would have been unleavened bread that Jesus used for his
last meal with his disciples as they celebrated the Passover
meal in memory of that event. It is fitting that we do the
same as he did as we commemorate our liberation and redemption
through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
7. Are Catholics obliged
to fulfill their ‘Easter duties’?
In the Middle Ages the faithful did not frequently celebrate
the Sacrament of Forgiveness, or receive Holy Communion, even
though they regularly attended Mass. In 1215 the Lateran Council
addressed this unfortunate trend by reminding them of the
importance of these sacraments and encouraging their celebration
at least once a year - at Easter, or thereabouts. Thank God
that few, if any of us today need to think of Reconciliation
or Holy Communion as an ‘obligation’.
8. Is it a sin
to miss Mass on a Sunday?
The third Commandment is: ‘Remember the Sabbath Day,
to keep it holy’. Sunday was the day of our Lord’s
Resurrection and from the time of the Apostles it replaced
the Jewish Sabbath. The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s
Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s
life, and has been so since the earliest days of the Church.
It is our way of fulfilling the law, inscribed by nature in
the human heart, to render to God an outward, visible, public
and regular worship, in return for His infinite goodness.
Sharing in our ‘Sunday Mass’ is a faithful witness
of our belonging to Christ and His Church and brings us grace
and strength for our daily life. Reasons which may excuse
us from this ‘Sunday obligation’, (such as sickness,
care of others, grave inconvenience, etc.) as with all our
moral obligations, must be judged before God with a well-informed
conscience.
9. Is there
a place for silence at Mass?
At a well celebrated Mass silence is observed at designated
times as part of the celebration. Its character depends on
the time it occurs. At the penitential rite, and again after
the invitation to pray, we have has a few moments of stillness
and quiet before God; at the conclusion of the readings or
the homily, we meditate briefly on what has been proclaimed;
at the intercessions, we have a brief silence for our own
prayers and intentions; after Communion the silence is an
invitation to praise and thank God in the silence of our heart.
10.Are
there any circumstances when other Christians can receive
Communion?
On special occasions, e.g. baptism, confirmation, wedding,
funeral. Those closest may receive Holy Communion provided
that they are practising Christians, share our beliefs in
the Eucharist, and expressly ask permission to receive.
11. What are
the present rules regarding the Eucharistic Fast?
The Church recommends that we fast from food and drink, except
water and medicines, for one hour before receiving Holy Communion.
In this way we begin our preparations and make ourselves ready
to receive the Eucharist with respect and due devotion. The
elderly and the sick, and those who care for them, are exempt
from this norm.
12. Why do
some people genuflect and others bow as they come into church?
There are different traditions in the way that we show respect
and adoration. In the Church of the West it has become more
customary to genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament, while
the Eastern tradition has the custom of a deep bow. Both express
a true sense of awe and reverence.
13. Why is
the Eucharistic Prayer so important?
The Eucharistic Prayer is the ancient prayer of blessing and
thanksgiving over the gifts of bread and wine prayed by the
church. It is the prayer by which the Church praises the Father,
calls down the Holy Spirit on the gifts of bread and wine,
represents the story of the Last Supper and asks for God's
care for the Church and our world.
The meaning of the prayer is that the whole congregation joins
Christ in acknowledging the works of God and in offering the
sacrifice. The great "Amen" at its conclusion expresses
the faith of the assembled community.
14. Is the
Mass a meal or a sacrifice?
The Mass is both a meal and a sacrifice. The sacred actions
of Jesus with bread and wine took place during a festive meal.
Both as food and as sharing, the symbolism of the Eucharist
is a symbolism about life, but the life it signifies is the
life of God shared with us. But the Eucharist is not just
a sacrificial meal. The Eucharist is the sacramental sign
of Christ in his death and Resurrection, so it makes present
here and now not historically but sacramentally, the one great
sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The sacrificial dimension
of the Eucharist reminds us that the Eucharist is an action
in which we encounter the risen Christ giving himself to us
here and now.
15. May a Christian believe in
reincarnation?
Reincarnation means coming back, after death, to life in the
flesh. It is a Hindu concept based on the perpetual cycle
of rebirth in this world. Christian teaching is very different.
We believe that each human being is a unique creation, and
that after death comes judgement before God. Resurrection
is a far more noble belief than reincarnation. Resurrection
promises the continuity of my individual life in a glorified
state as a child of God and heir of the kingdom of heaven
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