Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (Christ Is Present in Our Midst)

The Holy Eucharist, is another sacrament of initiation and can be received daily if desired. The word "Eucharist"
refers to the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ truly present on the altar under the
appearances of bread and wine.

Catholics believe the Eucharist, or Communion, is both a sacrifice and a meal. We believe in the real presence of
Jesus, who died for our sins. As we receive Christ's Body and Blood, we also are nourished spiritually and brought closer
to God. In answering “Amen” to the words, “The Body of Christ,” we are actually professing in public our acceptance of
Jesus into our lives. When we receive Jesus’ body and blood in the appearances of bread and wine at Mass, we are
actually receiving Jesus into our lives
We can recognize Jesus’ presence if we faithfully celebrate the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. At mass, Christ is
present in the midst of the faithful who gather in His name. He is also present through the reading of the Scripture. The
Lord is present in the person of the ordained priest. Lastly, He comes to us in His own body and blood under the
appearances of bread and wine.

The Eucharist is our thanksgiving worship to the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. We give thanks because of
the Father’s love for us which was revealed to us in the self-giving love of Christ.

The Sacrament of the Eucharist or Holy Mass is composed of two major parts – the Liturgy of the Word and the
Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Let us look at the parts of Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist and their meaning.

PARTS OF THE MASS MEANING

Introductory Rites At Mass we come together to pray and worship as family of Jesus.

• Entrance Procession and As the priest and other ministers enter in procession, we stand and sing a gathering
Opening Song song. This is an expression of the community’s desire for unity and love.

• Greeting We make the sign of the cross. The priest welcomes us by saying “The Lord be
with you” We answer, “And with your spirit.”

• Penitential Rite As a community, we acknowledge our sins, failures, selfishness, and pride and ask
God’s pardon and mercy with the help of prayers. We thank God for
His gift of forgiveness and pray the Collect prayer.

• Gloria This was the song sung by the Angels to the shepherds when Jesus was born. We
sing this hymn of praise to God.

• Opening Prayer Expression of the theme of the day’s celebration and petitions to God the Father
through the mediation of Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Liturgy of the Word

• First Reading The lector usually reads a story from the Old Testament about God’s love for us.
The reading illustrates some link, similar or parallel with the Gospel reading.

• Responsorial Psalm Part of the Old Testament that is chosen to voice our sentiments of the prayer we
should express to God while hearing the first reading.

• Second Reading Taken from the New Testament that is parallel to the other readings

• Gospel Jesus will speak to us in the Gospel. We rise out of respect and prepare for His
Acclamation message with the
Alleluia and verse from the Gospel. Alleluia means “Praise the Lord.”

• Gospel We stand in honor of Jesus as the Gospel is proclaimed. Gospel means “good
news.” It tells about the life and deeds of our Lord. It tells the good news that we
can go to heaven by believing in Jesus and following His commandments.

• Homily The priest or deacon explains the readings to help us understand and live out the
Word of God.
• Profession of Faith We stand to declare our beliefs by praying the Apostle’s Creed or Nicene Creed.

• General These are the petitions we asked from God for the
Intercessions or Church, civil authorities, our country, and all of God’s people.
Prayer of the
Faithful
Liturgy of the Eucharist
• Offertory/Preparation of the We bring gifts of bread and wine to the altar as the table is prepared. These are
Altar and the Gifts symbols of our offering with Christ to God. The priest offers our gifts to God.

• Eucharistic Prayer In this prayer of praise and thanksgiving, the priest addressed God the Creator in
our name. Together we sing a song of praise to God for His many blessings,
especially the gift of Jesus, the central prayer of worship. At the priest’s invitation,
we lift our hearts to God and unite with him in words he addresses to the Father
through Jesus Christ.
• Preface This means “Introduction of the Eucharistic Prayer.”

• Sanctus/Holy Acclamation at the end of the Preface – thanking and praising God.
• Hossana It is a Jewish way of saying, “Hurrah.” It is a word showing great joy.

• Consecration Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine become the Body and
Blood of Jesus
Christ.

• Memorial This is the proclamation of the Mystery of Faith.

Acclamation
• Doxology with Amen “Through Him…” We join Christ in His supreme sacrifice of love.

Communion Rite
• Lord’s Prayer The prayer that Jesus taught us
• Sign of Peace The Church is a community of Christians joined by the Spirit of Love. It needs to
express, deepen and restore its peaceful unity before partaking the Body and
Blood of Christ.
We offer each other a sign of peace to show that we are all brothers and sisters in
Jesus.

• Breaking of the Bread While the priest breaks the bread, we sing or say “Lamb of God…”

• Communion We are most intimately united with Christ when we rejoice with Him worthily.

• Prayer after Communion Priest prays in our name that we have been strengthened by Christ Himself.

Concluding Rite
• Final Blessing The priest blesses us.
• Dismissal We have heard God’s Word and have eaten the Body of Christ and now it’s time
for us to go and do good work, to praise, and bless the Lord in our daily lives. We
are now ready to share the love of Christ to the world by doing acts of loving
kindness to everyone we meet.