My first Eucharist...

[stegthomson]

interesting...

 

[IslamBox]

very nice and funny story. i enjoy reading it

 

[SaintAugustine]

I went to a Catholic high school, starting my sophomore year. The ceremonies I attended inside our gymnasium were the first Catholic masses I had ever been to...it was all very strange to me. Prior to this, I had only been to Presbyterian churches. Eventually the time came in the mass for the Eucharist.

Now, keep in mind, at this time I was completely ignorant of the Catholic faith other than a few things: that they had a Pope, bishops, confessed their sins to priests, and prayed to Saints like Mary. I was also a new student, very nervous and timid.

So anyway, I noticed that people began lining up to drink from a cup of wine, and take what I thought was bread. At first I thought I shouldn't go up, since I wasn't Catholic...but then I thought "hey, we're all Christians, right?" Besides, I would have thought someone would tell me if I was supposed to do something different, and I figured I might be scolded or thought disrespectful if I remained in my seat.

In my Presbyterian church, the ceremony of the Eucharist was performed extremely rarely, and little square peices of actual bread were used. At this Catholic service, small coin-chaped crackers with crosses on them were used. As I came to the front of the line to receive my cracker, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I saw other people crossing themselves after they took the crackers...I tried to memorize "up, down, left, right".

I arrived. The priest said "Body of Christ" and held up the cracker in front of me. Instead of ceremoniously holding out my hands for the priest to place the cracker into, as everyone else had done, I awkwardly reached out and took the cracker out of his hands....and forgot to cross myself before moving on.

Now, imagine my horror when I looked down at the thing in my hands..."What the heck is this??! This isn't bread!" Oh no--was I sure I saw anyone else actually PUT it in their MOUTH? I was certain that this small disk was made of cardboard....perhaps the cross in the middle was where you poke a candle through, so that it catches dripping wax...I had no idea.

I decided to gamble. I put the thing in my mouth to see if it was bread, hoping no one would see. Yep, I was right--it definitely tasted like cardboard. At this point, I felt very embarassed--what I moron I am, putting cardboard in my mouth in front of everyone else. I still wasn't positive that it was inedible, and wasn't sure what to do with it, so I took it out of my mouth and put it in my pocket, again hoping no one would see. I took a big, awkward gulp of the wine, forgot to cross myself again, and took my seat.

Unfortunately by the time I got back to my seat, the Eucharist had ended so I could no longer see what people were doing with their little cardboard disks. I noticed no one else had brought them back to their seats....

When the mass ended without a distribution of candles, I was very perplexed. As I walked out of the gym into the halls with the rest of the students, I felt in my pocket, and the cardboard coin was still there...what am I supposed to do with this? I didn't want to risk asking someone and looking like an idiot, so I clandestinely threw it into a trashcan I passed. Problem solved! Next time I'll pay closer attention to what people were doing with these things...

Well, later that year, I told a friend the embarrassing story. "Those crackers are the Body of Christ....you threw away Jesus!" I replied that they tasted like cardboard.... "It's unlevened bread...it sort of melts in your mouth. You threw away Jesus!"

I hope you guys aren't too mad at me, it was an honest mistake...how big of an offense is this?

I have seen people put them in their pockets like change....my own first Mass was in the Anglican Church....even then I felt its mystical power...as for your mistake..don't be so hard on yourself, I once curstied following the example of my female guide....

 

[ZooGirl02]

First of all I want to say that I retract what I said in my first post in this thread. I don't know if I wasn't a practicing Catholic at the time or what. But anyway, the incident kind of shocks and horrifies me. Nevertheless, I certainly don't condemn the OP. I am just shocked and horrified that Jesus got thrown away. That's my opinion.

Here is my belief on the Eucharist: The Catholic belief is that the Eucharist literally is Jesus Christ hidden under the appearances of bread and wine. In other words, the Eucharist does appear and even taste and smell like bread and wine but in reality it is Jesus Christ. We call these appearances "accidents". Anyway, we have an entire section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church devoted to the Eucharist. The Eucharist is a Sacrament and I believe the Catholic Church would say it is the most important Sacrament since it is literally Jesus Christ. I don't know if I explained our belief well or not so I am going to quote the In Brief part of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Eucharist:

IN BRIEF

1406 Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).

1407 The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.

1408 The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship.

1409 The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.

1410 It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.

1411 Only validly ordained priests can preside at the Eucharist and consecrate the bread and the wine so that they become the Body and Blood of the Lord.

1412 The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper: "This is my body which will be given up for you. . . . This is the cup of my blood. . . ."

1413 By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651).

1414 As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.

1415 Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.

1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.

1417 The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion when they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year.

1418 Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66).

1419 Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.

You can read the entire section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Eucharist here:

Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 2 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 1 ARTICLE 3