The Holy Eucharist
Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper while celebrating the Passover meal with his apostles. The gift of the Holy Eucharist makes Jesus present to us today and every day. He did not abandon us, rather he gave us the Church in whose authority priests and bishops conseThe quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dcrate the unleavened bread and wine at the Mass by which it becomes the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus. Through this miracle the same Jesus who was crucified and rose from the dead may be received by Catholics today.
The grace of this sacrament provides supernatural food for the soul to strengthen and nourish the faithful as they seek greater union with Christ in their daily life. Each time we receive Holy Communion, we have an opportunity to grow in holiness through our openness to the graces offered in this encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Catholic tradition we call these graces the fruits of Holy Communion.
"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."
Catechism of the Catholic Church — Paragraph 292
Mass & Confession Times
Saturday
12:15 a.m. (First Saturday of the Month)
5:00 a.m. (Anticipatory - Said Mass)
Sunday
7:00 a.m. (Said Mass)
8:30 a.m. (Said Mass)
11:00 a.m. (Sung Mass)
Monday–Thursday
12:00 p.m.
Friday
12:00 p.m. (First Friday of the Month)
Monday–Thursday
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
1st Friday of the Month
4:00 - 4:50 p.m.
1st Saturday of the Month
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Frequently Asked Questions
For Catholics, receiving our Lord Jesus requires the proper disposition. The basic requirements are that one be baptized, be free of any serious (mortal) sin, and to observe the minimum one-hour fast. Additionally reception of Holy Communion serves as a sign that the believer both believes all that the Church teaches as revealed by God and that they are in visible unity with the Church.
St. Paul speaks of this unity in his first letter to the Corinthians: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread." (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
Communion in the Church represents the assent of the faithful to all that the Church teaches. Therefore, those who are not Catholic cannot participate in Holy Communion, because they do not accept all that the Church teaches and are not united as a member to His Body, the Church. Aloowing communion in that situation would falsely demonstrate a unity that does not exist.
We desire that our unity be restored, but not at the expense of the truth of the situation. Insisting on this practice is not the Church being harsh or unwelcoming, rather it is the Church protecting the holiness of the Eucharist and the awesome sign of unity it communicates. The Catechism teaches that, "The more painful the experience in the divisions in the Church which break the common participation in the table of the Lord, the more urgent are our prayers to the Lord that the time of complete unity among all who believe in him may return." (Catechism, 1398)
When he was resurrected, Jesus received a fully glorified body, which allows for him to be truly and really present in truly incredible ways, beyond our human comprehension.
Jesus' Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity are fully present in the smallest drop from the chalice (what appears and tastes like wine) or the smallest crumb from a host (what appears and tastes like bread).
So, you don't have to receive the Eucharist under both forms to "completely" receive Jesus. You get all of him no matter what!
Witnesses from the Early Church
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.
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.
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.
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!’
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