Ch.3 Vocabulary: The Eucharist

VOCABULARY

ADORATION

Worship. This is the humble acknowledgment by human beings that they are creatures of the thrice-holy Creator. By obeying the First Commandment, people acknowledge and respond to the revelation of the glory and power of God.

AGE OF REASON

The age at which a person becomes morally responsible for his or her actions. It is also the age at which people are eligible to receive the Sacraments of Eucharist, Confirmation, and the Anointing of the Sick. In most parts of the world, this age is set at seven years.

ANAPHORA

The Eucharistic prayer that is prayed by the priest at Mass. It begins with the preface and ends with the Great Amen.

BENEDICTION

A prayer invoking God’s power and care upon some person, place, thing, or undertaking. The prayer of Benediction acknowledges God as the source of all blessing.

COMMUNION

From the Latin for “mutual participation” or “oneness together”: in the sense of Holy Communion, the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist; in the sense of fellowship, the bond of union with Jesus and all baptized, faithful Christians in the Church.

CONSECRATION

Dedication to a sacred purpose; to sanctify. This can refer to a church building, person, or object set aside for worship. It can refer specifically to entry into a permanent state of life entered freely in response to the call of Christ and characterized by the profession of vows. In the Mass, Consecration refers to the moment when the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ.

COVENANT

A solemn promise or contract regarding future action binding on the participants and fortified by an oath, expressed either in words or in symbolic action.

EPICLESIS

The calling down of the Holy Spirit. During Mass, as the priest extends his hands over the gifts of bread and wine, he calls down the Holy Spirit to change them into the Body of Blood of Jesus.

EUCHARIST

From the Greek for “thanksgiving”; also called the Mass or Lord’s Supper. It is the principal sacramental celebration of the Church, established by Jesus at the Last Supper, in which the mystery of salvation through participation in the sacrificial Death and glorious Resurrection of Christ is renewed and accomplished. This term applies to the species consecrated during the Mass.

EXCOMMUNICATION

Excommunication is a censure by means of which a person is excluded from the communion of the faithful in response to a grave, habitual, public sin. An excommunicated person is forbidden to have a ministerial role in the celebration of the sacraments and other public ceremonies, to receive the sacraments, or to exercise church offices or ministries (cf. CIC, 1331). Excommunication can be latæ sententiæ (i.e., automatic for certain intrinsically evil acts, such as abortion or the desecration of the Eucharist) or ferendæ sententiæ (i.e., imposed by ecclesiastical authority).

KOINONIA (COMMUNIO)

Communio is the Latin translation of the Greek koinonia, meaning communion, fellowship, or association. This term was used by St. Luke to describe both the fellowship of believers and the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. St. Paul used koinonia to denote the intimate union of the believer with Christ and the community that exists among all the faithful themselves.

MASS

Also called the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper. This name is derived from the Latin dismissal of the faithful, “Ite, missa est.” It is the principal sacramental celebration of the Church, established by Jesus at the Last Supper, in which the mystery of salvation through participation in the sacrificial Death and glorious Resurrection of Christ is renewed and accomplished.

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MISSAL

Sometimes called a Sacramentary, a liturgical book which contains the prayers of the Mass for the use of the priest at the altar, along with instructions for the celebrant of the liturgy. Scripture readings are contained in a book called a Lectionary.

MISSALETTE

A booklet for the use of the laity which generally contains the prayers, songs, and Scripture readings used at Mass.

MONSTRANCE

A vessel of precious metal used for exposing the Blessed Sacrament for adoration. At the center of the monstrance is a glass disc which allows the faithful to view the Blessed Sacrament during exposition.

PASCHAL LAMB

The pure and spotless lamb prepared for the ritual Passover meal by the Jews. It also refers to Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and establishes a new covenant between God and his people.

PASSOVER

Pesach, Pesah, Pascha—a Jewish feast commemorating the deliverance of their first-born males from death by the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the doorposts while in bondage in Egypt. The angel of death passed over their homes, allowing them to leave Egypt for the Promised Land. This was a type of the sacrificial Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, saving mankind from bondage to sin. The Eucharist celebrates Christ’s Passover.

REAL PRESENCE

The unique and true presence of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine. The Church invites the faithful to deepen their faith in the Real Presence of Christ through worship and communion in the Eucharistic liturgy, and through acts of adoration outside of Mass.

SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE

The real, true, and substantial existence of Christ’s divinity and humanity in the Holy Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine.

SACRIFICE

A ritual offering made to God by a priest on behalf of the people as a sign of adoration, thanksgiving, supplication, and communion. The perfect sacrifice was offered by Christ, the High Priest of the new and eternal covenant. This sacrifice of the Cross is commemorated and made present sacramentally in the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass.

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

A conscious, burning desire to receive Holy Communion when unable to do so physically.

STATE OF GRACE

The condition whereby one enjoys the friendship of God. One who possesses “sanctifying grace” or “habitual grace” is enabled to know, love, and serve God and others in reference to him. The state of grace is lost by committing mortal sin but may be regained through the Sacrament of Penance or by an act of perfect contrition.

TABERNACLE

An ornamented receptacle in the church in which the consecrated Eucharist is reserved for Communion for the sick and dying as well as for adoration. In Israelite history, the tabernacle was the curtained tent containing the Ark of the Covenant and other sacred items. This portable sanctuary was taken throughout their wandering in the wilderness until the building of the Temple in Jerusalem.

TRANSUBSTANTIATION

The scholastic term used to designate the unique change, in a true, real, and substantial manner, of the entire substance of the Eucharistic bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, with his soul and divinity, leaving intact the accidents.

VICTIM

A living being sacrificed to a deity in the performance of a religious ritual. For Christians, Jesus is the victim, par excellence, by his loving and freely made offering of himself on the Cross to his Father for the salvation of the world.