EUCHARIST

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in Him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. – John 6:55-57

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself…The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God’s action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit. Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all. In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.” CCC 1323-1327 

In Holy Communion, we prepare to meet the Lord Jesus in this special sacrament. The Rite of Holy Communion celebrates the final step toward full initiation into the Church. First Holy Communion is most often celebrated around the age of seven or eight, when the children are of the age of reason and are capable of participating in the sacramental life of the Catholic Church. For First Holy Communion, you must go to the sacrament of Confession before receiving Holy Communion. The Eucharist is a gift that takes a whole lifetime to understand; it is a gift that requires a response from us, that is why we must take care that our children are well prepared.

For further information on Faith Formation please contact the Director of Faith Formation Laura Walsh: (516) 679-9558 or via email: faithformation@stwilliam.org.