Saturday: 5:00 PM
Sunday: 10:00 AM
Monday: 8:30AM With School Children
Tuesday: 5:30PM
For those of you who are homebound or in a nursing home and unable to come to Mass, we have a whole host of very willing volunteers who gladly make it a priority to visit YOU!
Please contact Skip Fox to arrange for a Sunday visitor to bring you or your homebound loved-one the Eucharist. We want you to stay connected to the Eucharist, the source and summit of our Christian lives!
The Eucharist is the beating heart of Catholicism. It is the heart of everything we do. The bishops of the Second Vatican Council famously called the Eucharist the source and summit of the Christian life.
How can this be? Because the Eucharist is the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ our Savior and the gift of Himself offered for our salvation once-and-for-all on the cross. The Church teaches that the consecrated bread and wine that are the elements of the Eucharist truly are the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. He is the center of our lives. Every grace and mission we receive come to us through Christ the Divine Word. Every joy, grief, mission, prayer, and effort are directed to God through Jesus Christ. In his wisdom, God give us the Sacrament of Eucharist to nourish our faith and to draw us to return to worship every Sunday, and for some people every day.
To be clear, Eucharist is a Sacrament; one of the seven sacraments that were instituted by Christ to share His grace with the world in and through His Church. It is one of three Sacraments of Initiation. A fully initiated Catholic Christian has received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Among the seven sacraments, Eucharist and Baptism are generally held in uniquely high regard. By baptism we are reborn into the Body of Christ and by receiving the Eucharist, our life in Christ is sustained.
You may have some confusion because Catholics use the word “Eucharist” in multiple ways. The most fundamental way is to name the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus. The sacred liturgy in which this Sacrament is celebrated (often called “The Mass”) can also properly be called The Eucharist, even though it includes many elements including sacred scripture, song, prayer, intercession, the Our Father, and more. The word itself—Eucharist—means “Thanksgiving,” so eucharist is sometimes used in that sense. We often talk about leading “Eucharistic lives.” By that we mean lives that are nourished by the Sacrament of the Eucharist and so filled with thanksgiving, praise, and faithfulness to Jesus. Finally, one of the great affects of the Eucharist is to bind all who worthily receive and are devoted to the Eucharist together in the body of the Church; it makes us a communion. Therefore, we sometimes refer to this Sacrament as “Communion.” Confused yet? Don’t be. You’ll catch on quickly enough.
If you have not already received Eucharist in the Catholic Church, preparation is needed to assure that we receve the Body and Blood of our Lord in full communion, with appropriate understanding and reverence. Contact Lindy Hudson (Becoming Catholic) or Deacon Steve Eischens (First Holy Communion Preparation for Children).
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