Holy Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, is the sacrament in which Jesus gives his Body and Blood to us for our salvation. He hopes that we might give ourselves to him and be united with him through this sacrament. Any Catholic in a state of grace can receive the Eucharist. A state of grace means that the person is not guilty of any mortal sins. Orthodox Christians can receive the Eucharist under special circumstances with special permission. We can prepare for receiving the Eucharist by praying and fasting. It can be received no more than once per day.
Form The form is the words said by the minister as the sacrament is performed. In the Eucharist, the minister will say, "“Take this, all of you, and eat of it: for this is my body which will be given up for you. “Take this, all of you, and drink from it: for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant. which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. “Do this in memory of me.”
Matter The matter of the sacrament is the elements that are required. The matter of the Eucharist is the break made from wheat and water, and the wine made from grapes.
Minister The minister is the person who performs the sacrament. The only people that can consecrate the bread and wine to become the Body and Blood is a priest or a bishop. Lay people can be trained to hand out the Eucharist, but they cannot consecrate it.
Rite The consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and then distrubuting it to the congregation.
Adoration Adoration is a time of prayer spent before the Blessed Sacrament, usually placed in a monstrance. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed and people adore it. The teaching of adoration is that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. In very early years of Christianity, the Eucharist would be brought home from Mass to people who were too ill to go there. Monasteries began to reserve the Eucharist and people would treat it with great reverence.
At Kellenberg, the ARK sponsors First Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during the school day in the Maria Regina Chapel. The Eucharistic Ministers also sponsor a prayer to begin Adoration at each period during the school day. At my parish, St. Rose of Lima, adoration is usually offered on the first Monday of the month at 10:00 A.M. in the Father Graham Chapel, and the last Monday of the month following the 7:30 P.M. Mass in the Church.
An amazing Eucharistic Miracle of the Church occurred in Siena, Italy in the 18th century. On August 14, 1730, the Catholic community in Siena attended a special Mass for the eve of the feast of the Assumption. While they were at Mass, a group of thieves entered the Church of St. Francis and stole a golden ciborium that contained a numerous amount of consecrated hosts. Two days later, someone discovered a white object sticking out of an offering box in another Catholic Chuch in Siena. When the priests opened the box, they found the stolen hosts covered in dirt, dust, and cobwebs. They cleaned the hosts the best they could and placed them in a new ciborium. It was then taken back to the Church of St. Francis, where the priests decided to let the hosts deteriorate since they could not be consumed. The hosts never deteriorated. Over the course of the next few years, everyone was shocked to see that the hosts appeared fresh. 285 years later, the hosts can still be seen in the Basilica of St. Francis.