Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst". John, Chapter 6
THE EUCHARIST - Catholic Hythe
 |
The Catholic Hythe community has The Eucharist at the centre of its life and worshipThe following words from Vatican II provide a concise guide about our Eucharistic belief. "........At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us" (Sacrosanctum Concilium Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy - Second Vatican Council paragraph 47). |
At Catholic Hythe we see the Eucharist as defining our Catholic identity and the sign of our unity
- We hold to what the Church has taught for almost 2000 years that Christ's Body and Blood is truly present in the bread and wine after the consecration when the priest repeats Christ's words at the Last Supper .."this is My Body....this is My Blood."
- We revere the Eucharist as a great mystery - the same Jesus Christ who was born in Bethlehem, died and rose from the dead in Jerusalem, is present with us in the Eucharist
- We revere the Eucharist as the one perpetual miracle of Jesus, who at the last supper gave to the Church's first priests - the apostles, the authority and power to "do this in memory of Me" and repeat for all ages the miracle of Christ present in the bread and wine.......... linking all generations to His Sacrifice on the Cross....feeding the people of God with the 'Living Bread come down from heaven" (cf. John 6)
- As a Eucharistic community we endeavour to take Christ to the world and share the selfless love of His sacrifice with others - at home, at work and in our communities
- We foster adoration of Christ, present in the Eucharist - within and outside of the Mass.
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ? Because there is One Bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the One Bread" 1 Corinthians 10:16
Year of the Eucharist and related Encyclicals
Ecclesia de EucharistiaIn the last year of his life, Pope John Paul ll instituted the Year of the Eucharist. At Catholic Hythe we want to build on the enhanced Eucharistic devotion this special year provided. In April 2003, John Paul II released his encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (The Eucharist and its relationship to the Church). Here the Pope explains that “the Church draws her life from the Eucharist", he writes,". . . The Second Vatican Council rightly proclaimed that the Eucharistic sacrifice is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’ ‘For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself’” (cf. Lumen Gentium 11; Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5). He emphasizes that “the Eucharist, as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession that the Church can have in her journey through history” For the full text click here....... |
Mane Nobiscum DomineIn October 2004 Pope John Paul ll opened the Year of the Eucharist with publishing his Apostolic Letter, 'Mane Nobiscum, Domine' (Stay With Us, Lord). This letter is an exhortation to the entire Church to appreciate the gift of the Eucharist, both through the Mass and through Eucharistic adoration. In the letter, John Paul ll writes: "During this year Eucharistic adoration outside Mass should become a particular commitment for individual parishes and religious communities. Let us take time to kneel before Jesus present in the Eucharist, in order to make reparation by our faith and love for the acts of carelessness and neglect, and even the insults which our Saviour must endure in many parts of the world. Let us deepen through adoration and personal and communal contemplation, drawing upon aids to prayer inspired by the word of God and the experience of many mystics, old and new. " For the full text click here......... |