The ministry of the Sacrament
During this part of the service the community make a sign of peace to show that they are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Then the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper are repeated. Communion is then given. The people kneel at the altar rail and receive the bread and then the chalice of wine.
Many Anglicans, along with many other Protestant denominations believe that the Eucharist is a time for remembering and being thankful for the death of Jesus. For these Christians the bread and wine remain what they are - bread and wine. They believe that the Last Supper is a historical event that cannot be fully repeated. The bread and wine are symbols but not the real body and blood of Christ. This belief is known as 'consubstantiation'.
Other Anglicans follow the Catholic and Orthodox belief that the bread and wine do become the body and bloood of Christ in a mystical way.
In most Anglican churches Holy communion is celebrated each Sunday as part of a family service. Children may not receive the bread and wine, but do come forward for a special blessing.
In other Protestant churches communion is not celebrated weekly or daily. Many Protestant denominations will celebrate a communion service once a month.
In a Baptist Church the communion service takes place within a normal Sunday service. The service of readings contains readings about the Last Supper. The bread and wine are placed on the communion table. While there would be a chalice on the table, it is rare for wine to be in it. Usually the wine is served to the people in small individual glasses. The wine is usually non alcoholic, as many Protestant Christians do not take alcohol at all.
Protestants, such as Baptists do not believe in transubstantiation and so anyone may take the bread and wine when it is served. Normally the bread and wine is brought from the table to where the people are sitting. The idea of having individual glasses is that all Christians can have communion at the same moment.
For many Protestant Christians the actions of Jesus at the Last Supper, while important are not the centre of their worship. Many groups may only celebrate a communion service once every three months! These Christians belief that if they did the communion service too often then it would become a thoughtless custom and lose its real meaning.
Some Protestant denominations do not celebrate a Eucharist. Christians such as the Quakers or Salvation army consider that however many times you took part in this service you could not gain faith, For these Christians taking part in a eucharist service would not help this process of becoming closer to God.
key ideas
· Christians have different names for the service that re-enacts the meal of the Last Supper. In the Roman Catholic Church the service is known as the Mass.
· Different denominations reflect their worship in the regularity of the Eucharist service. Roman Catholics have this service daily, while other groups may only have this service once a month.
· All Christians try to put the Eucharist service into practice in their daily lives.
The different names for Holy Communion *
The actions of Jesus at the Last Supper are remembered by many Christian groups. There are five accounts of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples in the New Testament:
Mark 14:17-25
Matthew 26:20-29
Luke 22:14-38
John 13:1- 16:33
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
This service is known by different names by Christian groups.
Roman Catholics call this service the Mass, although as we saw last year it is better to refer to this service as the Eucharist. As we saw last year, Eucharist brings out the thanksgiving aspect of the Christian faith.
Many Anglicans refer to this service as Holy Communion. This name brings out several ideas. It suggests a union with God. The word 'communion' also suggests the community aspect, where people share in the bread and wine together.
Orthodox Christians call the service the Holy Liturgy or the Divine Liturgy. These names bring out the holy or sacred nature of the actions.
Other Christian denominations call the service the Breaking of bread or the Lord's Supper. Denominations that use these names tend to do the action as an imitation or repeating of the event of the meal Jesus had with his apostles. These names are used because these are used in the New Testament (see Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 11:20). All these names reflect the beliefs and differences of the churches. In the next sections we shall look at these names in a little more detail.
The Mass*
In the Church of the first Christians there was a meal known as the agape meal. Christians met and brought food to share. The centre of this meal was a copying of the events of the Last Supper using bread and wine. Christians had remembered Jesus' words "to do this in memory of me".
The very simple meal of the first Christians gradually developed and changed over the centuries. In the Roman Catholic Church it has developed in a certain way. The Eucharist is often known as the ‘Mass’. However, it is important to remember that it is still basically a meal.
The word ‘mass’ is a translation of a Latin word, which means ‘sent’. Until 1965 the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church was in Latin. At the end of the celebration, the following words were said: ‘Ite missa est, which means: ‘Go, it has been sent’ or ‘ Go, it is ended’. No one is sure why, but this word ‘missa’ came to be used to describe the whole celebration. The word ‘Mass’ is nowhere near as rich in meaning as the word ‘Eucharist’. We must still look at the word ‘Eucharist’, if we are to understand the meaning of the Mass today.
Throughout the world the Mass follows the same outline.
1.The Introduction.
The Mass begins with the whole community singing or saying a song which helps all the people to realize that they are part of a community and have come together to celebrate. The priest welcomes the people and introduces the theme of the Mass. This theme follows the Church's year and the cycle of prayers and readings set up in the Church.
This is followed by the Penitential Rite. This is where the community recognizes that they have not always stayed close to God and ask him for his forgiveness. ‘Penitential’ means ‘being sorry’. The people say that they are sorry for their sins at the very start of the Mass. After this there is a hymn of praise to God. It is called the Gloria. The introduction ends with the Prayer of the Day. This is a special prayer (a petitionary prayer) which asks God’s help and often reflects the theme of the mass (such as the life of a saint or time of the year).
2.The Liturgy of the Word
The next part of the Mass is the Liturgy (service) of the Word. It is made up of Readings. Sometimes there are two Bible readings, on Sundays and other special days there are three. The last reading is always from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John). The readings are to remind the people who are gathered together what God wants of them. Before the Gospel there is a psalm, which is from the Tanak and can often be sung. In the Roman Catholic Church the Sunday readings are prepared so that all the Gospels are read in a three-year cycle. There is a separate two yearly cycle of readings for weekdays. After the readings the priest gives a homily or sermon. He tries to explain the readings and get people to realize how the passages can be put into practice in their own lives.
This is often followed by The Creed. This is a prayer that lists what a Christian believes in. It is an ancient prayer or affirmation (list of beliefs) that is only said at Sunday or on Holy Days in the Roman Catholic Church. It is known as the Nicene Creed, because it was agreed at Nicaea in 325. It was a development of the Apostles Creed, which we have already studied. The Liturgy of the word ends with the Bidding Prayers often known as the ‘Prayers of the Faithful’. At this point the community pray for their needs and the needs of the world.
3.The Preparation of the Gifts
At this point in the Mass the people bring the gifts of bread and wine to the altar. As well as these gifts there are often other gifts too. Money is given for the running of the parish and sometimes offerings of work or promises of time are brought up as an offering to God. The bread and wine are then blessed.
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness, we have this bread to offer,
Which earth has given and human hands have made.
It will become for us the bread of life.
To which everyone answers:
Blessed be God forever.
Then the wine is blessed.
Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation.
Through your goodness, we have this wine to offer,
Fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become our spiritual drink.
Again the congregation reply:
Blessed be God forever.
4.The Liturgy of the Eucharist
This is the most important part of the Mass. It is introduced by a prayer that reflects the season or theme of the Mass, which is known as the Preface. This is followed by the Eucharistic Prayer. In the Roman Catholic Church there are four versions of this prayer which can be used. All of them are very ancient and one can be traced back to the beginnings of the first Christian community. This is the most sacred and most important moment in the Mass. It is the part of the Eucharist where the actions and words of Jesus at the Last Supper are used.
We call the actual words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper are known as the consecration. We call the words that Jesus used to start the Eucharist, the words of institution.
On the night when he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Roman Catholics believe that at the consecration they are present at the first Last Supper and that bread and wine change into the body and blood of Christ. The term for this is ‘transubstantiation’. After the consecration there is a memorial prayer. This is followed by the saying of The Our Father (Lord’s Prayer) and all the people giving a sign of peace to show that they are united as a family.
After this comes the moment when the community share in the body and blood of Christ. This is known as Communion. Through communion the believers become one with Christ. St.Paul explains this idea when he wrote (see 1 Corinthians 10:16-17):
The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
5.The Conclusion
After Communion the priest blesses the people and sends them out to carry out God’s work. He often says ‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord’. At this point special ministers of the Eucharist take the sacrament to those who were unable to attend the Mass. Often there is a hymn as the priest leaves the Altar.
Roman Catholics believe that they must put the Mass into practice in all parts of their lives. It is important to remember that for Christians just taking part in the Eucharist is not the end. In their daily lives Catholics try to carry out Jesus’ work on earth.
They do this in the ways shown in the diagram on the previous page. Through their everyday lives people try to put Jesus’ teaching into practice and to carry on his mission to those in need. Many people also do some kind of voluntary work through their parish to help those in need. Organisations such as the Knights of St.Columba, the Catholic Women’s League, the St.Vincent de Paul Society all work in the community to help. Some parishes have created their own groups to work for particular things or to help certain people in our society.
What ever the group it is important to realize that worship is not just about prayer it is also about putting one’s beliefs into practice through actions. Catholics can only fully show their faith and take part in the full meaning of the sacrament if they actually do something. The Mass is a thanksgiving, if Catholics are really thankful they must use the gifts that God has given in the way he has intended us to do.
