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2. Eucharist or Holy Communion, one of the main ritual practices of the
Roman Catholic, is a commemoration of the Last Supper that Jesus Christ had with his
12 Apostles before being captured and crucified. On that day, Jesus broke off pieces of
his bread to share with his apostles and said to them that these pieces of bread are like
pieces of his body, given to them as a memory of himself. He offered them with a share
of the wine from his glass in the same way, and said the wine represented his blood. In
the Eucharist rite, participants will perform the Mass, called “Missa”, by receiving the
consecrated bread and wine to be eaten and drunk together as a symbol of taking in the
body and blood of Jesus into themselves. Consequently, they become the people of God
1 and are connected to other Christians in the bond of Agape love. Catholic Christians
truly believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist. This ceremony is performed
by Catholic priests everyday, especially on Sunday, the day believed to be when Jesus
was resurrected. The Eucharist is served individually to each person participating in
the mass until all the good people who came to hear God’s words, listen to the sermon,
have eaten the consecrated bread and drink as a food for life and soul together. The
rite is attended by followers more frequently during holy days, such as, at Christmas
in December, the period of Christ’s birth, and during March to April, the time of the
Passover festival, the Last Supper and the resurrection of Christ, a time known as the
Easter period.
3. Confirmation. This ritual ceremony is to demonstrate that the presence
of the Holy Spirit is with the person who is being confirmed as a member of good faith
in the Christian life. In the ceremony, the Bishop, who is the master of the ceremony will
place his hand onto the head of the attendee and put a mark of a cross on his forehead
with olive oil, a symbol of power and strenght. The consecrated olive oil used in this
rite is called “Chrism”.
4. Penance or Sacrament of Reconciliation. The rite called “confession”
helps Christians who were lost by their own misconduct to return to a new beginning with
hope. God always gives another chance to man, therefore, one can always “reconcile”
2
with God and be “redeemed.” The redemption can be performed by priests who are
God’s representatives, and are authorized to speak on behalf of God in order to forgive
the sinners. The confession is ordinarily practiced just before the Missa.
1 Eucharist or Holy Communion
2 Confirmation
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