Eucharist

You can register online at: Click Here.

In 2019, the respected Pew Forum released the results of a survey of Catholic regarding their belief in the Eucharist. Only one third of those questioned subscribed to the Church’s official teaching that Jesus is really, truly, and substantially present under the signs or appearances of bread and wine. Fully two-thirds held that the Eucharistic elements are merely symbolic of Jesus’ presence.  Note that this was a survey of Catholics, not the general public.  The Second Vatican Council clearly taught that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” To that end Light of Christ is offering a study of the Eucharist from the early church to the present.

Over the course of this study, we will examine three important aspects of this inexhaustibly rich Sacrament: the Eucharist as sacred meal, as sacrifice, and as real presence. These elements unite the Church across time and unite us to our fellow Catholics in every sacred liturgy.

The sessions will be Mondays, September 11, 18, 25.  Each session of the course will meet at 9:15 AM and 6:30 PM in Rooms 5/6 in MAH.  The same material will be covered in the morning and evening.  The course was developed by Bishop Barron of Word on Fire Institute.  Registration will begin today, August 20, after each Mass at the entrance in the back of church.  You can also register online at: Click Here. There is a $20 cost for the study guide (scholarships available). The Study Guide is optional. For more information please call Rich Fulk at (727) 479-9438.

The topics are:

Sacred Meal – The Sacrum Convivium, or Sacred Banquet, is continually presented and represented throughout the Old and New Testaments. Bishop Barron depicts multiple occurrences of this sacred banquet: the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; the sacred banquet on God’s holy mountain of Zion with his people, Israel; the miraculous feast of loaves and fishes that Jesus provides for his followers; and the “Last Supper” that Jesus shares with his Apostles.

Sacrifice – Bishop Barron reminds us: “In a world gone wrong, there is no communion without sacrifice.” Sacrifice is essential to understanding salvation history as a divine rescue mission that returns humanity to the fellowship Adam and Eve had with God prior to the Fall. God sets himself the task of saving his compromised creation, and the principal means that he chooses is the formation of a people who would learn to walk in his ways and would become thereby a light to all the nations.Real Presence –  The Eucharist is not simply symbolic of Christ’s body and blood; it is his real Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in their entirety. Robert Sokolowski beautifully sums up this doctrine: “The Eucharist is the sacramental extension of the Incarnation.”