Eucharist

The Sacrament of the Eucharist is also referred to as the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration during Mass are the bread and wine; and by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, they become Christ's Body and Blood.  The Eucharist is the "Source and Summit of Christian life" and of the Catholic faith.  It is the Sacrament that provides spiritual nourishment to believers, and it is the Sacrament we return to on a weekly basis.  By receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, we are nourished in our spiritual life, so that we can become Christ's Body to the world and share the Good News. 

Our Parish Community gathers together to receive the Eucharist and give thanks to God, five days during week-day Masses (Tuesday through Saturday morning) and at weekend Masses.  Please view the Mass Schedules of Immaculate Conception and St. Patrick Churches for Mass dates and times. 

The usual grade to receive First Communion for children is the second grade. Catholic children in our Parish prepare for a total of one year prior to receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in order to receive their First Holy Communion, in the Second Grade. 

If you have a child about to enter First Grade and would like him or her to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Holy Communion) in Second Grade, or if you are an adult Catholic who has not received this Sacrament and would like to, please contact the Parish Office for more information (815-589-3542).

Diocese of Rockford Sacramental Requirements

Biblical Teachings on the Eucharist:

There is a lot of Biblical background to the Eucharist. Lets first start at what Jesus said, since all our beliefs center around what He taught.

When Jesus sets up a practice, He begins with teaching about it to prepare the believers to understand and follow Him. Then, before His death, He establishes the practice. The first explicit teaching on the Eucharist begins with the Gospel of John, chapter 6. The whole chapter is dedicated to this new teaching from Jesus. The first part of this chapter has Jesus producing a miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. After the people follow Jesus when He crossed the sea, they have a discussion about why they followed Him. Jesus says, "I assure you, you are not looking for me because you have seen signs but because you have eaten your fill of the loaves" (v26). The people do not deny this fact and Jesus brings this out of them right away, because He has something to teach them. They were set up for this teaching.

A couple verses later, Jesus denotes a pre-figurement (a symbol that leads to the new covenant) of the Eucharist in the manna in the desert, "I solemnly assure you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from the heavens" (v32). He is building on the past so they can begin to grasp what He is about to say. "I myself am the Bread of Life" (v35). But is this symbolic teaching or literal? As we read on, there is nothing that hints at a merely symbolic understanding. Jesus repeats Himself and goes even further saying, "I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they still died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven for a man to eat and never die" (v48-50) . This is the only symbolic teaching. But the fact that we will never die is what is symbolic in the sense of physical death. Rather, it applies to spiritual death. Jesus is talking about how the Eucharist is needed for eternal salvation. Jesus hits the peak of this new teaching by the very next words in the Bible by repeating a third time, "I myself am the bread come down from heaven," and pushing the literal language even more, "If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world" (v51). But notice the reaction of the people present. It may be similar to our own reaction. "At this the Jews quarreled among themselves saying, 'How can he give us his flesh to eat?'" (v52). It sounds like something that would scandalize anybody. Yet Jesus doubles down, saying, "Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you..." (v53) and repeats this same thought in different ways while getting more graphic in language. Jesus is so adamant about this teaching, knowing how the people cannot understand and so reject His teaching. Many People today still react in the same way saying, "This sort of talk is hard to endure! How can anyone take it seriously?" (v60). Yet still, "Jesus was fully aware that his disciples were murmuring in protest at what he had said" and responded, "Does it shake your faith?"  (v61) challenging them all the more. If the people present are misunderstanding Jesus, He would correct them. But they are in fact understanding Him correctly and choose not to believe. So strong had Jesus taught this teaching and adamant about this teaching, "many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in his company any longer" (Jn 6:66). Notice the three numbers. Still yet more, Jesus challenges the ones who are left, "Do you want to leave me too?" (V67). Even after a great loss of believers, Jesus persists.

But what does this all mean? The Gospel of John, chapter 6 is where Jesus teaches us about the testament of the new covenant He is going to leave behind in the Eucharist. When Jesus is getting ready to die, He is leaving the sign of the new covenant to be practiced. The first covenant sign was in circumcision which is now replaced with baptism (Col 2:11-12). The covenant sign from the Passover was replaced by the Eucharist. God commanded the Passover to be celebrated as a "perpetual" institution (Ex 12: 14 & 17). The word "perpetual' is used twice to stress its necessity of how long it should be celebrated. In the Passover, they are required to use a lamb. In the new Covenant, Jesus is the new "lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (Jn 1:29). At the Mass, we use the bread, and so Jesus is the bread of life. He is at the same time the Lamb of sacrifice. By receiving Communion, we mark our bodies with the Blood of Christ in a similar way that the doorposts and lintels were marked over the houses of God's own people. The angel of death now passes-over our bodies and no longer steal our soul away at the moment of our "passing".

The Last Supper is where Jesus established the Mass as the New Covenant celebration that fulfills the Passover as perpetual. "The night he was betrayed" (1 Cor 11:23) Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and "gave it to them saying, 'this is my body to be given for you. do this in remembrance of me'" (Lk22: 19) and "He did the same with the cup after eating, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you'" (v20). Because this is Jesus, who is God speaking, what He says happens. Just like at creation when God spoke, it happened. "In the beginning was the Word" (Jn 1:1) that was sent and "through him all things came to be" (v3). Jesus speaks, and so it is. He spoke, "This is my body" (Mt 26:26) and so it is. So it is here in the Gospel where the Son of God recreates the bread and wine into His own body and blood, simply because He says it. There is no logical progression of thought. It is purely faith that we believe. "The bible tells us so".

Practice of the Apostles in the Bible:

Jesus taught us this new teaching, and then He gave us the means to practice this new teaching. But how did the Apostles practice it? This teaching was so far beyond our imagination, the Apostles had a hard time grasping it. After the resurrection, Jesus gave them further instructions by having the "breaking of the Bread" on that Easter evening at Emmaus (Lk 24:13-25). As the men are walking their way to Emmaus, Jesus is explaining the scriptures to them and their hearts burned as He exposed the meaning of the scriptures (v32).  This is the liturgy of the Word, the first part of the Mass. When they invite Jesus to come in for the evening, Jesus, "took bread, pronounced the blessing, then broke the bread and began to distribute it to them" (v30). "With that their eyes were opened and they recognized Him" (v31). Those disciples went back to the Apostles that night and told them about, "how they had come to know Him in the breaking of bread" (v35). This illustrates they are beginning to understand that the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus.

After Pentecost, the Apostles are affirmed in the teaching of the Eucharist by the Holy Spirit that they had the whole community, devote "themselves to the apostles' instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and prayers" (Acts 2:42). So very early in the the Church's ministry, they practiced the Eucharist and it's teachings.

But did the Church and the Apostles continue this practice? Yes. In fact, Paul carries such teachings and lays out the practices as well as using His authority to guide further instruction as to how the Mass is to be celebrated in 1 Corinthians, chapter 10 and 11. It seems that there were abuses in coming together in the "breaking of the bread". Many people were getting confused as to what this meant.  Paul corrects them in writing, "When you assemble, It is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for everyone is in haste to eat his own supper. One goes hungry while another gets drunk. Do you not have homes where you can eat and drink? Would you show contempt for God, and embarrass those who have nothing? (1 Cor 11:20-22). People were becoming prideful and causing divisions within the community at Mass. They considered it just a symbolic meal and so brought their own food from home for themselves only. It seems that Jesus took the time to make sure Paul understood the meaning of the Eucharist during Paul's three years with Jesus in Arabia. Paul states, "I received from the Lord what i handed on to you..." (v23). Paul proceeds to tell them what Jesus taught him about the Eucharist, "Namely, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread...In the same way he took the cup... (v23-25). Paul is quite clear of what he understood about what Jesus taught him. If Jesus was so adamant about this teaching in John 6, it makes sense that He would teach clearly now after the resurrection to Paul about the deeper meaning of such a great mystery. What follows is his careful instruction on how to receive communion in a worthy manner and why it is so important.

"Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes again. This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord. A man should examine himself first, only then should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. He who eats and drinks  without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgement on himself..." (1 Cor 11:26-29).

The situation is so dire in the abuse, Paul reminds them of God's judgement of the matter; "That is why many of you are sick and infirm, and why so many are dying" (v30). Paul considers the death of many or the people the effects of sinful reception of the Eucharist. He believes that Jesus is punishing the people for this to preserve His teaching and keep others from the pains of hell. He further states, "...he chastens us to keep us from being condemned with the rest of the world. Therefore, my brothers, when you assemble for the meal, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home so that your assembly may not deserve condemnation..." (v 33-34). This meal is not to feed the poor as an act of charity, that is a different meal. This meal is something liturgical.

It might seem harsh that people would be dying because of receiving the Eucharist unworthily. We should remind ourselves of when the chalices were used in blasphemy (Daniel 5:1-4). The king died for that sin. Strangely enough, it was the abuse of the same instruments used in the Mass for the Eucharist, a chalice. The wine, at Mass becomes the blood of Christ. Paul says, "Is not the cup of blessing we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16). Jesus states this reality at the Last Supper, teaches that the bread is His body in John 6 and has evidently taught Paul the same in 1 Corinthians 11 as well as in chapter 10. Jesus taught it explicitly. Paul taught it explicitly. People died because of it explicitly.