Concept in Definition ABC

The Eucharist is a sacramental rite of the tradition by which bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. According to what appears in the New Testament, the Eucharist was instituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper. Through the Eucharist, Christians remember the sacrifice that Christ made for all of them when he was crucified.

Christians generally recognize the presence of Christ during the rite, although according to different traditions it may to differ when and how this fact takes place. Thus, there are communities for which Christ is really present in the wine and the bread, others that see its presence as something spiritual during the liturgy, and even those who see in this sacrament a mere representation symbolic of the last supper.

On the other hand, the use of the term Eucharist is not limited only to the aforementioned rite, but it also serves to refer to the consecrated bread and wine. In this sense, one can speak of “receiving the Eucharist”, and not only of “celebrating the Eucharist”.

Catholicism and the Eucharist

For practitioners of the religion Catholic, the Eucharist is the most sacred form of prayer, which leads to obligatory attendance at Mass every Sunday and the holy days be one of the requirements of the followers of this faith not to fall into sin mortal.

The Catholic mass is divided into two distinct parts

In the first place the liturgy of the word, which consists of making two readings (from the Old and New Testament respectively), perform a psalm, read the Gospel and receive the sermon of the priest. In addition, various requests or intercessions on behalf of a member of the congregation are also usually included.

The second part of the Mass is what is properly known as the Holy Eucharist and is during which when the Catholic faithful receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the form of bread and wine.

It should be noted that the Eucharist can only be received by those people who have made their first communion, what which implies having followed some catechetical studies and being free from sin at the time of receiving that first Eucharist.

Finally, unlike what happens in the Catholicism, in the Protestant religion there is belief that the Eucharist is not a way to enter communication with divine grace, but rather is a expression of faith and obedience to Christ.

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