El Sacramento de la Eucaristía
La Santa Misa está en el centro de nuestra vida Católica porque la Sagrada Eucaristía es "la fuente y la cumbre" de nuestra Fe.
Hay una preparación de dos años para el Sacramento de la Primera Eucaristía.
Por favor vea nuestra página de Educación Religiosa AQUÍ para información de registro o contacte:
Director de Educación Religiosa (Español): Ginny Richardson [email protected]
Director de Educación Religiosa (Inglés): Meg M. Keenan, [email protected]
Asistente de la Oficina de Educación Religiosa (Inglés): Christine Healy, [email protected]
Dirección: 13 Hodges Street Attleboro, MA 02703
Teléfono: 508-222-0707
Jesus Gives Us the Eucharist
Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper while celebrating the Passover meal with His Apostles. Through this gift, Jesus continues to make Himself present to us today. He did not leave us, rather he gave Himself to the Church and remains with us in the Eucharist.
At Mass through the ministry of the priest, the bread and wine are consecrated and they become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Through this miracle, we receive the same Jesus who was crucified, died, and rose again.
The Eucharist is spiritual food that strengthens and nourishes us as we seek a deeper relationship with Christ. Each time we receive Holy Communion with faith and an open heart, we are invited to grow in holiness and receive the grace Chist offers us.
The Fruits of the Holy Communion
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the fruits of Holy Communion as:
"Holy Communion increases our union with Christ and with his Church. It preserves and renews the life of grace received at Baptism and Confirmation and makes us grow in love for our neighbor. It strengthens us in charity, wipes away venial sins and preserves us from mortal sin in the future." ~ Q & A 292.
Holy Communion strengthens us in charity, forgives veniel sins, and helps preserve us from mortal sin. Through the Eucharist, we are continually nourished and strenghtened in our Christian life.
Christ's Real Presence
Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist. After the consecration, Christ is present in the consecrated Host and Precious Blood, and His Eucharistic presence remains as long as the Eucharistic elements remain.
Because of Christ's enduring presence, the consecrated Hosts that remain after Mass are reserved in the tabernacle. The tabernacle is a sacred place where the Eucharist is kept and where we can come to pray and adore Jesus.
Throughout the history of the Church, the Eucharist has also been brought to those who are sick or homebound and unable to attend Mass. This ministry is possible because Christ remains truly present in the Eucharist. Those who cannot join us at Mass can still receive Jesus in the Holy Communion.
First Holy Communion
Children ordinarily prepare to receive their First Holy Communion around the ages of 7-8 (second grade). Preparation includes receiving the Sacrament of First Penance (Confession).
Adults who have not yet been baptized, as well as those who were baptized in another Christian tradition and seek full communion with the Catholic Church, prepare to receive the Sacraments of Christian Initiation through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA).
The Real Presence: Witnesses from the Early Church
From the earliest centuries of Christianity, the Church has professed faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Early Chistian writes spoke of the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ and described the transformation of the bread and wine through the Church's prayers.
"So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread is become the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ." ~ St. Athanasius
"Just as the bread and the wine of the Eucharist before the holy invocation of the adorable Trinity were simple bread and wine, but the invocation having been made, the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the wine the Blood of Christ. ~ St. Cyril of Jerusalem"
"They [the Gnostics] abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of Our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in his goodness, raised up again." ~ St. Ignatius of Antioch
"The bread, as the Apostle Paul says, ‘is consecrated by God’s word and by prayer’; not through its being eaten does it advance to become the Body of the Word, but it is made over immediately into the Body by means of the word, just as was stated by the Word, ‘This is My Body!’ …In the plan of His grace He spreads Himself to every believer by means of that Flesh, the substance of which is from wine and bread, blending Himself with the bodies of believers, so that by this union with the Immortal, man, too, may become a participant in incorruption." ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa
These witnesses from the early Church demonstrate the longstanding Christian belief that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist.
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Preguntas Comunes
Cuando resucitó, Jesús recibió un cuerpo totalmente glorificado, que le permite estar verdaderamente presente en formas realmente increíbles, más allá de nuestra comprensión humana.
El Cuerpo, la Sangre, el Alma y la Divinidad de Jesús están completamente presentes en la gota más pequeña del cáliz (lo que aparece y sabe a vino) o la miga más pequeña de un anfitrión (lo que aparece y sabe a pan).
Entonces, no tiene que recibir la Eucaristía bajo ambas formas para recibir "completamente" a Jesús. ¡Lo obtienes todo sin importar qué!
Para los Católicos, recibir a nuestro Señor Jesús requiere la disposición adecuada. Los requisitos básicos son que uno sea bautizado, que esté libre de cualquier pecado grave (mortal) y que observe el ayuno mínimo de una hora. Además, la recepción de la Sagrada Comunión sirve como una señal de que el creyente cree todo lo que la Iglesia enseña según lo revelado por Dios y que está en unidad visible con la Iglesia.
San Pablo habla de esta unidad en su primera carta a los Corintios: "La copa de bendición que bendecimos, ¿no es compartir en la sangre de Cristo? El pan que partimos, ¿no es una participación en el cuerpo de ¿Cristo? Porque hay un solo pan, nosotros, que somos muchos, somos un solo cuerpo, porque todos participamos del mismo pan." (1 Corintios 10: 16-17)
La Comunión en la Iglesia representa el asentimiento de los fieles a todo lo que la Iglesia enseña. Por lo tanto, los no Católicos no pueden participar en la Sagrada Comunión, porque no aceptan todo lo que la Iglesia enseña y no están unidos como miembros de Su Cuerpo, la Iglesia. Permitir que los no Católicos reciban la Comunión demostraría falsamente una unidad que no existe.
Por supuesto, los Católicos desean que nuestra unidad sea restaurada, pero no a expensas de la verdad de la situación. Insistir en esta práctica no es que la Iglesia sea dura o inoportuna, sino que es la Iglesia que protege la santidad de la Eucaristía y el asombroso signo de unidad que comunica. El Catecismo enseña que, "Cuanto más dolorosa sea la experiencia en las divisiones en la Iglesia que rompen la participación común en la mesa del Señor, más urgentes son nuestras oraciones al Señor que el tiempo de completa unidad entre todos los que creen en él puede volver." (Catecismo, 1398)
Links to Resources
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