Eucharist
The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. (CCC 1324)
The New Covenant
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever;…Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and…remains in me and I in him. (John 6:51, 54, 56)
The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Catholic faith. We believe that Jesus, at the Last Supper, gave us a New Covenant and this covenant is founded on the Eucharist. At that Last Supper, Christ clearly gave His Body and Blood, promising that whoever partakes of it will have eternal life.
As a faith community, we bring forward bread and wine, gifts from God that we now return back to Him. The priest (acting in persona Christi, or in the person of Christ) takes these gifts and prays over them the words that Jesus prayed at the Last Supper. We believe that these gifts – what appears to still be bread and wine – have changed in substance, and are now the Body and Blood of Christ.
Children preparing to receive their First Holy Communion must attend Faith Formation classes. Please contact
churchoffice@saintjohncatholicsc.org
