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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.

Special Features
The Sacraments: Eucharist

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What does the Eucharist mean to you?
We'll post selected responses in this feature.

What the Eucharist Means to Me: Our Readers Respond
As the Year of the Eucharist came to an end, 10 of our readers revealed how their lives were changed by the Body of Christ.

"Eucharist: Food for Mission"
Pope John Paul II's 2004 Message Eucharist and Mission

201 Inspirational Stories of the Eucharist
by Sister Patricia Proctor, O.S.C.

Newsletter Articles:
 
Catholic Update
"Eucharist: Heart of the Church"
John Paul II's encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia in condensed form

"The Liturgy of the Eucharist"
By William H. Shannon

"The Real Presence: Jesus' Gift to the Church"
by John Bookser Feister

"Eucharist: Sign and Source of Christian Unity"
by Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M.

"Mass and Communion Service: What's the Difference?"
by Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M.

"Eucharist: Understanding Christ's Body"
by William H. Shannon

"Participating Fully at Sunday Mass: An Adaptation of Gather Faithfully Together: A Guide for Sunday Mass"
by Cardinal Roger Mahony

"Real Presence in the Eucharist"
by Jeffrey D. VonLehmen

"First Communion: Joining the Family Table"
by Carol Luebering

"The Sacrament of the Eucharist: What Has Happened to My Devotion?"
by Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M.

"A Walk Through the Mass: A Step-By-Step Explanation"
by Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M

"Is the Mass a Meal?"
by Charles Gusmer

Scripture From Scratch
"Jesus, Bread of Life"
by Virginia Smith

"The Eucharist"
by Thomas Bokenkotter

Youth Update

"Making Mass a Real Celebration: Tips on Planning"
by Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M.

"Eucharist: Say Yes!"
by Mary Cummins Wlodarski

Millennium Monthly
"The Eucharist: A Foretaste of Heaven"
by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk

"Eucharist: The Mystical Body"
by John Gallen, S.J.

"Eucharist: The Real Presence"
by John Gallen, S.J.

Update Your Faith:

Is Jesus really present in the Eucharist?

May I receive Communion during a service in a non-Catholic church?

May Catholics give holy Communion to non-Catholics?

May I take the host to the cup and dip?

How many times may I receive holy Communion in one day?

How should we prepare for Communion in the home?

FAQs on other Sacraments



Click here to return to the main Sacraments page.


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Blaise: We know more about the devotion to St. Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself. His feast is observed as a holy day in some Eastern Churches. The Council of Oxford, in 1222, prohibited servile labor in England on Blaise’s feast day. The Germans and Slavs hold him in special honor and for decades many United States Catholics have sought the annual St. Blaise blessing for their throats 
<p>We know that Bishop Blaise was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316. The legendary <i>Acts of St. Blaise</i> were written 400 years later. According to them Blaise was a good bishop, working hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. Although the Edict of Toleration (311), granting freedom of worship in the Roman Empire, was already five years old, persecution still raged in Armenia. Blaise was apparently forced to flee to the back country. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, but he made friends with the wild animals. One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears.</p><p>As the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, the legend has it, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command the child was able to cough up the bone.</p><p>Agricolaus, governor of Cappadocia, tried to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused, he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. (English wool combers, who used similar iron combs, took Blaise as their patron. They could easily appreciate the agony the saint underwent.) Finally, he was beheaded.</p> American Catholic Blog To give drink to the thirsty is now, as it was then, a supreme work of mercy in that it involves giving the living water of the Spirit to those who cry out for him.

 
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