Presentation on Christians and the Eucharist by Brother Jeffrey Gros, FSC. Used with permission.

1. OUR HUNGER FOR
COMMUNION
At The One
Table of the Lord

5. I Presences of Christ in the Eucharist
Word Sacrament Church Celebrant Poor
II Our Common Liturgical Reform
Forms Eucharistic Prayers Lectionaries
III Unity in Eucharistic Faith
Agreements: Presence Sacrifice
IV Sacramental Practice
Protestant Orthodox Catholic
The Church as Communion/ Koinonia

6. I Christ the Center

7. Word

9. Sacrament

10. Church

11. Presider

13. The Poor

14. THE ONE TABLE OF THE LORD
I Presences of Christ in the Eucharist
Word Sacrament Church Celebrant Poor
II Our Common Liturgical Reform
Forms Eucharistic Prayers Lectionaries
III Unity in Eucharistic Faith
Agreements: Presence Sacrifice
IV Sacramental Practice
Protestant Orthodox Catholic
The Church as Communion/ Koinonia

15. II Our Common Liturgical Reform
Lectionary
Eucharistic prayers
Sacrifice
Frequency
Real Presence

16. Worship Forms
ROMAN MISSAL 1969
LUTHERAN BOOK OF WORSHIP 1978
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 1979
(Anglican/Episcopal)
THE U METHODIST BOOK OF
WORSHIP
1992
BOOK OF COMMON WORSHIP 1993
(Presbyterian)

17. Worship Forms
Penitential Rite
Collect for the Day
Lessons
Homily/Sermon
Creed
Intercessions
Offertory Prayers
Canon/Great Thanksgiving ( options )
Communion
Post-Communion Prayer
Benediction and Dismissal

18. THE ONE TABLE OF THE LORD
I Presences of Christ in the Eucharist
Word Sacrament Church Celebrant Poor
II Our Common Liturgical Reform
Forms Eucharistic Prayers Lectionaries
III Unity in Eucharistic Faith
Agreements: Presence Sacrifice
IV Sacramental Practice
Protestant Orthodox Catholic
The Church as Communion/ Koinonia

19. III The Pilgrimage toward Unity
I Approaches to Real Presence
II Agreements on
Real Presence
III Agreements on
Christ’s Sacrifice

20. II Agreements on Real Presence
All of these [sacred elements], which come
from Christ and lead back to him, belong by
right to the one church of Christ. The
separated brethren also carry out many of
the sacred actions of the Christian religion.
Undoubtedly, in many ways that vary
according to the conditions of each church or
community, these actions can truly engender
a life of grace and can be rightly described
as capable of providing access to the
community of salvation. (Vatican II 1965)

21. Approaches to Real Presence
I Substantial Realism
Transubstantiation
II Objective Realism
Lutheran, Orthodox, Anglican
III Symbolic Realism
Reformed
IV Memorialism
Baptist, Pentecostal, Liberal

22. I Substantial Realism

23. II Objective Realism

26. III Symbolic Realism

27. IV Memorialism

28. THE ONE TABLE OF THE LORD

29. Ch rist’s
Pre se n ce
in a
Q ua ke r
Me e tin g

30. Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry(WCC1982)
 The Eucharist is essentially the sacrament
of the gift which God makes to us in Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
 Every Christian receives this gift of
salvation through communion in the body
and blood of Christ...
 The Eucharist is the sacrament of the
unique sacrifice of Christ, who ever lives
to make intercession for us...
 Christ’s mode of presence in the
Eucharist is unique...

31.  While Christ’s real presence in the
Eucharist does not depend on the faith of
the individual, all agree that to discern the
body and blood of Christ, faith is
required...
 The Spirit makes the crucified and risen
Christ really present...
 It is in virtue of the living word of Christ
and by the power of the Holy Spirit that the
bread and wine become the sacramental
signs of Christ’s body and blood...
 The Eucharist involves the believer in the
central event of the world’s history.

32. ANGLICANS AND CATHOLICS
(1982)
1) in the Eucharist the Church ... makes present the
sacrifice of Calvary.
2) God has given the Eucharist to the Church as a
means through which all the atoning work of
Christ on the cross is proclaimed and made
present with all of its effects in the life of the
Church.
3) This includes the propitiatory effect of Christ’s
one sacrifice applies in the eucharistic celebration
to both the living and the dead....

33. 3) Christ in the Eucharist makes himself present
sacramentally and truly when under the species
of bread and wine these earthly realities are
changed into the reality of his body and blood...
4) Both of our Churches affirm that after the
eucharistic celebration the body and blood of
Christ may be reserved for the communion of the
sick, or for “adoration of Christ in the reserved
sacrament” as practiced by Catholics and some
Episcopalians. And
5) “we affirm that only a validly ordained priest can
be the minister who, in the person of Christ,
brings into being the sacrament of the Eucharist”

34. • I count among the most important
results of the ecumenical dialogues the
insight that the issue of the eucharist
cannot be narrowed to the problem of
'validity.' Even a theology oriented to the
concept of succession, such as that
which holds in the Catholic and in the
Orthodox church, need not in any way
deny the salvation-granting presence of
the Lord in a Lutheran Lord's Supper.
• (Ratzinger 1993)

35. THE ONE TABLE OF THE LORD
I Presences of Christ in the Eucharist
Word Sacrament Church Celebrant Poor
II Our Common Liturgical Reform
Forms Eucharistic Prayers Lectionaries
III Unity in Eucharistic Faith
Agreements: Presence Sacrifice
IV Sacramental Practice
Protestant Orthodox Catholic
The Church as Communion/ Koinonia

36. IV Sacramental Practice
A Principles
B Practices
1) Protestant
2) Orthodox
3)Catholic

37. A Principles
1) Celebration of full
communion achieved
2) Means of building up
the communion of the
Church

38. A Practices: Protestant
1) Open Communion:
The Lord’s Table
2) Close or Closed
Communion
3) Interim Eucharistic Sharing
4) Open Table

40. B Practices: Orthodox
1) No sharing: Economia
2) Syrian Orthodox Church -
Catholic: Hospitality, Assyrian
Church of the East
3) Syrian Churches in India:
Encouragement at Marriages

43. C Practices: Catholic
1) ask for the sacrament on her
or his own initiative
2) manifest the catholic faith in
the sacrament
3) be properly disposed
4) display a spiritual need
for the sacrament

46. This Holy Mystery

47. The Wesleyan tradition has always
recognized that Holy Communion
may be an occasion for the
reception of converting, justifying,
and sanctifying grace.
Unbaptized persons who receive
communion should be counseled
and nurtured toward baptism as
soon as possible

48. It is our tradition to invite all
Christians to the Lord’s table,
and the invitation should be extended
to everyone present; but there should
o
be no pressure that would embarrass
those
who for whatever reason do
not receive Holy Communion.
(UMBW)

49. Anglican provinces regularly admit to
communion baptised believers who are
communicant members from other Christian
communities. In certain circumstances,
Anglicans permit eucharistic sharing with other
churches where there is sufficient agreement in
faith and commitment to shared life. Some
Anglican Churches recognise that the
sacramental ministry of women clergy is not
accepted by some of their faithful, and make
provision accordingly, although this results in
the impairment of full eucharistic communion.

51. Full Communion
Lutheran Episcopal Churches

52. Reconciled Diversity
 while neither Lutheran nor
Reformed profess to explain how
Christ is present and received in
the Supper, both churches affirm
that "Christ himself is the host at his
table. . .and that Christ himself is
fully present and received in the
Supper" ELCA, 3 REFORMED (1997)

53. Full communion
Reformed, Presbyterian
United Church of Christ
Evangelical Lutheran

57.  “Grave and pressing need” …
means a condition in which
being deprived of the Eucharist
would, in the judgment of a
reasonable person, cause
someone to experience a
significant sense of
deprivation…
 more than casual…

58. When other Christians
request communion…
efforts should be
made to determine
that their beliefs are
substantially the same
as Catholic beliefs…

59.  Communion should not to
be withheld at the time of
distribution…
 this circumstance should
be dealt with on another
occasion in an
appropriately pastoral way.

60. Manifesting Catholic
faith in the sacrament
means that
approximately the same
knowledge and faith
should be required of a
Catholic in similar

61. Being properly disposed
means being in a good
relationship with God or,
if not, taking whatever
steps are necessary to
return to a good
relationship with God.

62. invitations to receive the
Eucharist at their table may
not be accepted by Catholics,
we should try to make it clear
that our actions flow from a
different perspective on the
Eucharist and do not represent
disdain on our part for their
service.

64. The path itself is long and strewn
with obstacles greater than our
human resources alone can
overcome, yet we have the Eucharist,
and in its presence we can hear in the
depths of our hearts, as if they were
addressed to us, the same words
heard by the Prophet Elijah: "Arise
and eat, else the journey will be too
great for you" (1 Kg 19:7).

65. The path taken by the Church in
these first years of the third
millennium is also a path of renewed
ecumenical commitment. The final
decades of the second millennium,
culminating in the Great Jubilee,
have spurred us along this path and
called for all the baptized to respond
to the prayer
of Jesus "ut unum sint " (Jn 17:11).

66. The treasure of the Eucharist, which
the Lord places before us, impels us
towards the goal of full sharing with
all our brothers and sisters to whom
we are joined by our common
Baptism. But if this treasure is not to
be squandered, we need to respect
the demands which derive from its
being the sacrament of communion
in faith and in apostolic succession.

77. THE ONE TABLE OF THE LORD
I Presences of Christ in the Eucharist
Word Sacrament Church Celebrant Poor
II Our Common Liturgical Reform
Forms Eucharistic Prayers Lectionaries
III The Pilgrimage toward Unity in
Eucharistic Faith
Agreements: Presence Sacrifice
IV Our Diverse Practice
Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic
The Church as Communion/ Koinonia

78. Multiple Dimensions of Christ's
Presence in the Eucharistic
Celebration
 Mediator Dei (1947) Pius XII
 1) Action of Priest at Mass
 2) Eucharistic Elements
 3) Sacraments
 4) Assembly gathered to pray and
sing

79. Sacrosanctum Concilium
#7 (1963) Vatican II
1) Action
 2) Elements
 3) Sacraments
 4) Word proclaimed
 5) Assembly

80. Mysterium Fidei
(1965) Paul VI
1) Assembly
 2) Church performing works of
mercy
 3) Pilgrim Church
 4) Word
 5) Church in shepherds


81. Ecclesia in America
(1999) John Paul II
 1) Scripture
 2) Liturgy
 3) Elements
 4) Needy and poor
 5) Bishops & Priests

86. Lectionary

94.  1382: John Wyclif's teachings are condemned by the
Synod of London.
 1410: Jan Hus
 1520 Babylonian Captivity Luther
 1521 Luther against the Enthusiasts
 Ulrich Zwingli
 1529: The Marburg Colloquy
 1536: John Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion
 1549: Thomas Cranmer issues the Book of Common
Prayer


95.  1545-1564: The Council of Trent
 1559: Elizabethan "Book of Common
Prayer"
 1560: Church of Scotland

96. Swiss positions on
Lord’s Supper
• Zwingli – symbolic memorialism
• Bullinger – symbolic parallelism
• Calvin – symbolic instrumentalism
(symbolic realism)

97. THE ONE TABLE OF THE LORD
I Presences of Christ in the Eucharist
Word Sacrament Church Celebrant Poor
II Our Common Liturgical Reform
Forms Eucharistic Prayers Lectionaries
III Unity in Eucharistic Faith
Agreements: Presence Sacrifice
IV Sacramental Practice
Protestant Orthodox Catholic
The Church as Communion/ Koinonia