Denver Catholic

5 DENVER CATHOLIC | APRIL 11-17, 2015 while 41 percent said 'no,' they are symbols. Roughly 3 per- cent said they do not know what Church teaching is. Sri explained a teaching earlier in Jesus' public ministry helped shed light on it. "In the passage known as the bread of life discourse (Jn 6:51), Jesus teaches on the Eucharist," Sri said. "He makes it very clear that he's speaking realistically, not just metaphorically, not just fi guratively, but realistically about us eating his very body and drinking his blood." In the passage, he described himself as the living bread and goes on to say the bread he will give "is my fl esh for the life of the world." The Jewish people were scandalized, Sri said, and asked: How can this man give us his fl esh to eat? Instead of backing down, Jesus responded with even stronger language: "Whoever eats my fl esh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my fl esh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my fl esh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him" (Jn 6:54-56). "These are not the words of a man speaking merely metaphorically," Sri said. "No, Jesus is speaking quite realis- tically. He wants to give us his very body and blood in the Eucharist. And why? Because in the Jewish biblical world of Jesus' day, the body expresses the whole person, and the life is in the blood." That is why Catholics call reception of the Eucharist "holy Communion." "It is just that," he said, "it is an inti- mate and holy communion with our Lord Jesus Christ." However, this Communion with the Lord, available at every Mass, is not always taken seriously. "Catholics often take for granted how mysterious, how glorious, how magnifi - cent the holy Mass is," Co n said. "We're going to be transformed with an encoun- ter with God himself." It is the most amazing thing happening in the universe, Sri said. "Every chance we get to go to Mass, Jesus becomes present among us," he said. "The bread and wine are really changed into his very body and blood … and he's coming because he loves us. He wants to be near us, he even wants to enter inside us." It is the time when the faithful are clos- est to the Lord. "You are what you eat, we become like the thing we're being fed by," Co n said. "The Eucharist has been a saint-making machine for 2,000 years, because the Lord knows we can't be saints without him. His power in us is the secret." Cover Story America's best choice for aordable travel since 1967! Travel with other Catholics! Call for Details! 877-230-1381 Please mention promo code EC0961 Sights of Scotland Tour Hosted by Father Jose Chacko 10 days from $1549* Departs September 9, 2015. Start in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland with a panoramic tour where you'll visit the medieval Edinburgh Castle that is visible for miles and see the Scottish Crown Jewels. 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Professionally monitored 24/7. • Feel Secure and Confident Living Alone • Affordable, Simple and Convenient Colorado Owned & Operated 303-770-2227 www.goldeaglesystems.com Emergency Response System Emergency Response System Emergency Response System « 1 | 1. The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek word eucharistia which means: A. To give glory B. To show love C. To celebrate D. To give thanks 2. Jesus instituted the Eucharist on which Jewish holiday? A. Passover B. Pentecost C. Yom Kipper D. Hanukkah 3. How long must one fast before receiving the Eucharist? A. 30 minutes B. One hour C. Two hours D. One day 4. What does "transub- stantiation" mean? A. That the Eucharist is acknowledged as a symbol B. Eating of the Eucharist C. Change of the sub- stance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ's body and blood D. Transporting the gifts of bread and wine to the altar 5. To be considered sac- ramentally valid, wine used at Mass must be pure and natural, and made from: A. Red grapes B. White grapes C. Any ripe grapes D. Any fruit What do you know about the Eucharist? ANSWERS: 1. D, 2. A, 3. B, 4. C, 5. C Jewish roots of the Eucharist One of the keys to understanding the Eucharist is to see how it was instituted in the context of one of Israel's greatest feasts, the feast of Passover, according to Edward Sri, Ph.D., of the Augustine Institute. "Every year at Passover, the Jews would take a lamb, sac- rifi ce it and o¡ er it up to God, but that wasn't enough," Sri explained. "They had to go on to a next step, which was to eat of the lamb. For the Jews, it was the partaking of the lamb that symbolized and established covenant union with God." When Jesus, on the night before he died, in the context of a Passover meal, said this is my body and this is my blood, he was using sacrifi cial language. "(This was) language normally used to describe the Passover lamb, but (he was) applying it to himself," Sri said. "Indeed Jesus is the new Passover lamb." After a sacrifi ce is made—this time Jesus' body on the cross—a communion meal would be expected. "It's not enough for the lamb to be sacrifi ced, you have to eat of the lamb," Sri said, "because it is the communion meal that forms the covenant with God." For more information about Symbolon, visit www.symbolon catholic.org. DENVER CATHOLIC FILE PHOTO The bread and wine are really changed into his very body and blood … and he's coming because he loves us. He wants to be near us, he even wants to enter inside us." EDWARD SRI, PH.D. "

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