The Eucharist.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

The Eucharist: RS Assignment.

Traditionally Sunday is the day in which Mass is attended as it states in the 10 Commandments. “Keep holy the Sabbath day”. During mass various hymns and prayers are said, which mean and ask for different things, these are then reflected upon. These are the actions that I shall now explain.

In a Roman Catholic mass there are many representations of God in everyday objects, the most obvious being the bread and wine, representing Jesus’ body and blood. Also the Priest represents Jesus himself, acting as a ‘go between’ for confession and prayers to God .The altar in the Church is a symbol of a sacrificial table which would have been used at th Passover.

The Bible which the Priest reads passages from is known as God’s word so therefore acts as a representation of his thoughts and feelings towards us.

The mass begins when the priest makes the sign of the cross asking for repentance for the people. Then the Gloria follows this, “Glory to God in the highest.” This can be either sung or spoken, however it is an act of praising God and showing your respect for what he has done. This comes before anything else because it is one of the most important things done in the mass, giving thanks.

A Roman Catholic mass is in two separate sections first comes the Liturgy of the Word, followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Liturgy of the Word is when God is praised and questioned (the praying part). This will include a teaching from the Old Testament, it is a reading from the Gospel, this is a reading that has many hidden meanings, and representations, which advise us on everyday situations in our lives. The Homily is joined to this part of the mass. Its purpose is to show he relevance of the reading to everyday life and explain what the reading actually means. The entire reason for this part of the mass is to teach people how to combine the teachings which God gave and help them to solve problems which regularly occur in our lives.

The Gospel is then followed by the Creed, this comes from the word ‘credo’ which means I believe. So therefore the Creed is a statement of religious beliefs which people agree to be true by their faith. The Creed states what the Roman Catholic Church believes such as “God is in three parts”, “God exists” and “God is perfect”. The purpose of the Creed is to remind and strengthen Christians of their religious beliefs.

Then follows the part of the Mass in which we ask God to help with the needs of others, but we are praying ...

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Then follows the part of the Mass in which we ask God to help with the needs of others, but we are praying for God to put right the world and rid it of famine and crime. By praying for the whole world we are acting as Catholics, because the word Catholic means universal and for all. These bidding prayers end the first part of the mass, ‘The Liturgy of the Word.’

The sacrificial part of the mass ‘the Liturgy of the Eucharist’. It begins with the offertory, where the bread and wine is taken from the Eucharistic Minister by the priest in order for him to perform the Consecration or blessing of the bread and wine. “ Take this bread…”

This is where the communion is taken the part of the mass where we believe that transubstanciation occurs, Catholics believe that the bread and wine turn into the body and blood of Jesus. After communion, people have a few moments to reflect and thank God again for what he has done for them.

Then finally the priest explains the mission of the mass, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord” This passage means to go and spread the word of God throughout that week and do your utmost to live your life like Jesus did by trying to help and also to show love and consideration for your neighbours.

A catholic attends mass because it is a celebration, which is in memory of Jesus’ resurrection. If a Catholic regularly attends mass they are bound in a community of believers, in which they are able to share their faith, and show their support for one another.

A Catholic mass is more of a family gathering than a meeting, in which children are welcomed (unlike the Baptist church in which only adults attend). The advantage of children attending mass is that it becomes a routine in later life and they go to mass as second nature. Also it allows the faith to be passed down through generations.

If a catholic attends mass it gives them a chance to worship in public prayer rather than the more personal private prayer. This version of prayer often draws each other closer together and gives us the opportunity to reunite our faith and strengthen the religious bonds. Also prayer allows us to celebrate the resurrection together, and makes our thoughts much more powerful as we all mean what we are saying.

Mass can also act as a time to reflect on yourself and on your life, and act as time to evaluate what you have achieved and if you have fulfilled all your ambitions as Jesus did. This time can be very important giving us all time to realize that we are not all perfect and that we are sinful, but as long as you understand this you can develop and strengthen your beliefs and faith.

It is important for a catholic to regularly attend communion, it brings you closer to God and leaves you strengthened and inspired as you are literally fed by Gods word, it has to be clear to a catholic that this is were the act of transubstantiation takes place, the conversion of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Also to be spiritually strengthened and revitalized by the mass and Eucharist is equally important a, being a witness to this celebration is one of the most important reasons to go to mass.

Whilst witnessing the Eucharist you are filled with the courage which Jesus had, the courage to go and spread thew word of God and to show care and loyalty to those who need it. It helps us to do the right thing instead of often following the majority and committing sin.

This also occurs in the Gospel readings accept we are filled with the courage to commit our own lives to God and to follow the path which Jesus did and try and prevent sins from being committed, also to try and reform those who have sinned to those who do good .If everyone who had sinned was reformed then the world would be free from crime and famine.

If a Catholic regularly attends mass then they will or should usually go to confession this is when all of their past sins are forgiven, they are made pure again. This can act as a spiritual relief, but also this purity is important the mission relies on it. You cannot go around spreading the good word of God when you are filled with sin or people would think, “don’t look for splinters in my eyes. When you have to big planks in yours. The mission is one of , if not the most important reason for a catholic to go to mass, it comes at the end of the ceremony “go in peace to love and serve your lord” This means go and do good for all those who need it and go and show your affection to those who want it , and spread the word of God.

Summary

The mass acts as a religious filling station, it is a time each week to be recharged and inspired by Gods word, and Jesus’ actions. They are examples of how we should devote our lives to helping others. By doing so each week we can be filled with God’s teachings and spread his word to everyone, this is why Catholics should regularly attend mass.

“Praying to God is more important than attending church services”

I partly disagree with this statement because in the ten commandments which God wanted us to live by, it states “keep holy the Sabbath day” If we did not do this then we would be committing sin. Also it is important to gather in public to pray, but not to show off and gain attention, it should be because your faith draws you to do it.

On the other hand in the Sermon on the Mount God said that you must pray in private, and I agree. Praying in public is a good way of praising and thanking God, because we are all doing it. Yet when it comes to more personal matters private prayer is much more powerful and meaningful, because you have actually taken time to be alone and pray for something, something you consider to be more important to you.

My opinion is that God would prefer you to do both, but as long as we help and care for one another and live by his guidelines which he has set for us he will not mind. I believe that God would rather us pray privately and help a person in need than pray to him constantly and ignore a person wanting help, as he showed with the story of the Good Samaritan.