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Did you know...
Did you know that the Eucharist is rooted in the Jewish ritual of feast day meals?
Did you know that the exchange of peace before communion symbolically represents the persons with whom we must reconcile in every day life?
Did you know that the Eucharist related the Passion of Christ, his death and his resurrection lived out in the community?
Did you know that the altar on which the Eucharist is offered represents the tomb of Christ?
Did you know that in the Ancient Church the bread for the Eucharist was supplied by the faithful themselves?
Did you know that in the East, the practice of daily mass became the norm during the Middle Ages?
Did you know that at the end of Antiquity and during the Middle Ages, only the faithful who had received a specific preparation and with a pure conscience were allowed to receive communion during the Eucharist?
Did you know that during the Middle Ages, only the priest was allowed to receive communion at the Eucharistic celebration?
Did you know that the word transubstantiation in the Eucharist was prescribed at the Council of Lateran lV in 1215?
Did you know that the elevation of the host and the chalice was introduced in the Xlllth century?
Did you know that before the Xllth century, several forms of Eucharistic liturgy existed?
Did you know that uniformity of the liturgy was only achieved from the beginning of the Xllth and Xlllth centuries after the introduction of a common missal for all?
Did you know that perpetual adoration appeared in Europe at the end of the XlVth century?
Did you know that during the XVllth century, processions became very popular among the faithful?
Did you know that during the XVllth century the manner in which the faithful were placed in the church reflected the dominant social structure of the time?
Did you know that after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) receiving communion was not obligatory for the faithful during the Eucharistic celebration?
Did you know that perpetual adoration became more popular after the Council of Trent (1545-1563)?
Did you know that the Celebration of the Blessed Sacrament became a popular celebration in the XVlllth century?
Did you know that during the XlXth century several religious congregations were founded in France the objective of which was to revitalize the Eucharist and adoration of the Real Presence?
Did you know that during the XlXth century sacramental communion became generalized among the faithful and that this practice was encouraged by most theologians?
Did you know that during the XlXth century, in France, Eucharistic devotion was developed as a reaction to the ciriticism of the rationalists, who in a spirit of laicisation questioned the faith and religion?
Did you know that the first International Eucharistic Congress was held in Lille, in France, in 1881?
Did you know that the Congresses affirm themselves as a great popular manifestation of Jesus in the Host shown to the crowds and as much as possible in public areas?
Did you that the practice of the first communion for children was generalized as late as the end of the XVlllth century and the beginning of the XlXth century?
Did you know that receiving communion at each Eucharistic celebration was recommended by Pius X in 1905 in a decree called Sacra Tridentina Synodus?
Did you know that certain innovations of the Council of Vatican ll such as the mass in the vernacular and facing the faithful was gradually put into practice in Europe during the years 1940-1950?
Did you know that with the Eucharistic celebration in the vernacular it was possible to integrate certain new cultural elements into the celebration?
Did you know that the Eucharist of the Church, in obedience to the command given by Christ at the Last Supper, is the Sacrament of the Passion of the Lord?
Did you know that for the Apostle Paul, Eucharist is a sacrament of unity between the Church and Christ?
Did you know that for the Fathers of the Church, the Eucharist is lived as an imitation of what Jesus did at the Last Supper?
Did you know that the Eucharist celebration on Sunday reminds us of the Resurrection celebrating the victory of God beyond the death of His Son?
Did you know that the first reading during the Eucharistic celebration is taken from the Old Testament in order to enlighten the Gospel of the day?
Did you know that a homily is not the same as a sermon?
Did you know that a homily is a liturgical act whose object is to open our hearts to the reception of the Word of God, including the spirit, the intelligence and the will to put the homily in practice?
Did you know that the homily comprises four different parts: the opening, the liturgy of the Word, the liturgy of the Eucharist and the rite of conclusion?
Did you know that the breaking of the bread at the Eucharist by the priest reminds us of how Jesus broke his life for his friends?
Did you know that communion is the paramount moment of mass remembering how Christ gives himself to his brothers and sisters, accompanying them on his paschal road, feeding them and introducing them into the Triune life?
Did you know that since Vatican ll several liturgies exist according to the local cultures such as the Zairian liturgy and the liturgy of aymara from Perou?
Source:
Maurice Brouard (ed.) Eucharistia: Encyclical on the Eucharist Paris:Cerf,2002
Interesting references:
Jean Comby: «Wanting to react to laicisation, to anticlericalism and to indifference, the Christians want, not only the conversion of hearts but the social proclamation of the faith parallel with the adverse ideologies »
Object and means for the International Eucharistic Congress:
«The purpose of Eucharistic Congresses is to make known more and more, to love and to serve Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, by periodical and solemn celebrations while working to extend His social reign in the whole world. At each Congress this purpose is persued in two ways: 1) by prayers, communions, adoration, solemn homage given to the King of Kings and especially by a final homage that should be a public action, very demonstrative and as much as possible national in reparation and in love towards the Blessed Sacrament; 2) through sessions to study the best way to proceed to revive and spread devotion to the Holy Eucharist under all forms authorized by the Church.» (Eucharistia, 278)
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