“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
John 6:51 (NABRE)
Here is a sampling of some of the truths your child will learn about the Eucharist:
- We belong to the Catholic Church and to Jesus our Savior through the Sacraments of Initiation. The Eucharist is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism and Confirmation are the other two).
- How we prepare for Mass as Moses prepared to encounter the burning bush.
- The parts of the Mass, what they mean, and why we do them.
- The word “Eucharist“ comes from the Greek word eucharistein, which literally means “to give thanks,” and in a Jewish context refers specifically to giving thanks to God.
- Asking God for forgiveness and mercy in the Penitential Rite and praising God in the Gloria.
- The Liturgy of the Word and the parable of the Sower.
- The Nicene Creed – what we believe as Christians as defined by the Catholic Church in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicaea.
- Preparation and Presentation of the Gifts and how God takes our gifts and increases them like he did with 2 fish and 5 barley loaves.
- The Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Eucharistic Prayer, and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist through Transubstantiation: the substance of the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus, but the accidents remain (still looks and tastes like bread and wine).
- Our unity with Jesus and the whole Catholic Church when we receive Him and say “Amen.”
During this semester, there are also lessons on Lent and Easter that fit with the season.