Importance of HC (Mass)

• Catholics believe in transubstantiation:

  • this means that when the bread and wine are consecrated, although their physical appearance, taste and texture remain the same, their substance is change and they become the Body and Blood of Christ
  • Christ is really present in the consecrated blood and wine
• It is a sacrament:

  • in receiving Communion, Catholics receive Christ into their bodies
  • This spiritual feeding makes a real change to them
  • Through it they are united with Christ and with one another
  • It is a foretaste of the heavenly Kingdom of God
• There are three aspects of any sacrament: form, matter and intention. For HC these are:

  • form: the ritual actions and words used at the consecration
  • matter: the bread and wine
  • intentionL the intention of the priest to celebrate Mass
• What are the three aspects of a sacrament?

  Form, matter and intention
• The Mass is a re-enactment of the sacrifices of Christ on the cross for human sin:

  • the Fraction symbolises the breaking of Jesus' body on the cross
  • the sharing of the peace is a sign of the unity of those present with one another
  • at the end of the Mass, Catholics are sent back into their homes and communities to spread to everyone by word and action the love of Christ that they have experienced in the Mass
• Transubstantiation= the name given to what happens when the bread and wine are consecrated: their substance is changed and they become the Body and Blood of Christ
• Consecration= means 'making holy' and refers to the part of the Eucharistic Prayer when the priest invokes the presence of the Holy Spirit, performs certain ritual actions and repeats the account of the Last Supper