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The form of this celebration in the middle of the second century is described by Justin Martyr as very similar to today's Eucharistic rites known in the West as the Mass and in much of the East as the Divine Liturgy. The regular celebration was held each week on the day called Sunday, [167] which Christians were also calling the Lord's Day. [168]
Ecclesia de Eucharistia (The Church from the Eucharist) is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on April 17, 2003. Its title, as is customary, is taken from the opening words of the Latin version of the text, which is rendered in the English translation as "The Church draws her life from the Eucharist".
He shifted the hour of the celebration to after sunset and restructured the service. [17] The Paschal candle is the center of the service of new fire, rather than a three-branched candle of medieval origin that had existed only for use in this service; the congregation lights its own candles as well, a participatory innovation. The water is ...
The Eucharist, the Church's sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present, and in which he unites us to his one offering of himself. The Holy Eucharist is called the Lord's Supper, and Holy Communion; it is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering.
In the Catholic Church the Eucharist is considered as a sacrament, according to the church the Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life". [83] "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it.
The Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist the center and the summit: "The celebration of Mass, as the action of Christ and of the People of God arrayed hierarchically, is the center of the whole of Christian life for the Church both universal and local, as well as for each of the faithful individually." [8]
In 1964 at the Second Vatican Council, the decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum was issued. This document sought to improve unity both between Latin and Eastern Catholics and between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Christian churches while placing a renewed emphasis on the distinctive elements of each tradition.
The document is divided in three parts revolving around the Eucharist as a mystery (1) to be believed, (2) to be celebrated, and (3) to be lived. To be believed. In Sacramentum caritatis, Benedict quotes John 6:51, ""I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I ...