Receiving Jesus in the Holy Communion:

Catholic Core belief about the Eucharist:

The Holy Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life" (LG 11, CCC 1324). We, Catholics believe in the Real Presence.

The Eucharist is not a symbol or a reminder. The Eucharist is Christ truly present, his Body under the form of bread, the Blessed Sacrament, and his Blood under the form of wine, the Precious Blood. It is the "Heart of the Heart of God" (Fr. Simon referencing to approved Eucharistics miracles). It is the sacrament in which Jesus is truly present - Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity under the appearances of bread and wine. 

Preparation for Receiving Communion: 

• Be in a state of grace when we receive Holy Communion. If we have committed a mortal sin, we must first go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion. If one were to receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin this would be the serious sin of sacrilege.

• We must actually believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.

• We must observe the Eucharistic fast of no food or drink (except water and medicine) for one hour before receiving Holy Communion. Those who need to take medicine with food would not be obligated by the ordinary norm.

• We must fully, actively and consciously participate in the liturgy during the Mass.

• We may recieve the Communion standing or kneeling and either in the hand or on the tongue. When receiving the Host in the hand, we must consume the Host in front of and within the view of the Priest, Deacon, or Minister distributing the Eucharist before walking away.

• After receiving the Holy Eucharist, we should spend time quietly in thanksgiving.

Non Catholic and Fellow Christians:

Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily NOT admitted to Holy Communion. You may stay seated in the pews and may not to come to the altar.

Those who will not Receive Communion: 

All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another. We welcome to St. Lambert Parish and to the celebration of the Holy Mass those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family.

Listen to Fr. Simon's homily on Real Presence and reverence to the Eucharist. HERE

Holy days are important feast days in the life of the Catholic community on which, in addition to Sundays, Catholics (who are above the age of reason and who are not sick) are obligated to participate in Mass according to the precepts of the Church.  They celebrate an important mystery of the Catholic faith.  The number of these holy days can vary from country to country. 

In the United States of America, there are six holy days of obligation.
 

January 1 - Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God 

This feast, closely connected to the feast of Christmas and celebrated on the octave of Christmas, is the most important and oldest of the major feasts of Mary. Mary's Divine Maternity became a universal feast in 1931. Liturgical reform initiated by Vatican II placed it on January 1 in 1969. Prior to this, the feast celebrated on January 1 was the circumcision of Jesus.  Mary is indeed the mother of God and our mother is well.  As we begin a new year, it is fitting that we honor and venerate Mary as an essential part of the Catholic Church and of our own lives.
Photo: SLP/RCHarder
 

May 13, 2018 - The Ascension of Our Lord 

Observed on the seventh Sunday of Easter or on the Thursday after the sixth Sunday of Easter 

This feast is celebrated on the fortieth day after Easter Sunday and commemorates the elevation of Jesus into heaven by his own power in the presence of his disciples. It is narrated in Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

In March 2000, the Catholic bishops of the Wisconsin province transferred the Feast of the Ascension to the seventh Sunday of Easter, one week before Pentecost Sunday. The Vatican, at the request of the bishops of the United States, granted permission for the date change, giving ecclesiastical provinces in the United States the authority to make the transfer. Observing the Ascension on the seventh Sunday of Easter allows for heightened celebration and an increased opportunity to educate people about the meaning of the feast. 
 

August 15 - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

This is the principal feast of Mary. It has a double purpose: first, the happy departure of Mary from this life and second, the assumption of her body into heaven. Departure from this world and entrance into the next is the same movement in two different expressions. Little is known for certain about the day, year and manner of Mary's death. The dates assigned for it vary between three and fifteen years after Jesus' Ascension.  Since Mary was preserved free from all stain of original sin, she was spared bodily decay and was taken up body and soul into heaven once her earthly life was over.  Thus the Lord has exalted her as Queen over all things. 

Mary's Assumption takes nothing away from Christ. On the contrary, it demonstrates the power of his Resurrection. Since Mary was the mother of Christ and the first to believe in him, she was raised by Him to the glorified life of heaven. It is, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection" (no. 966).

Mary is not only the first disciple and mother of Jesus; she is also a symbol of the Church and a model for all Christians. By reflecting on the graces God gave the Blessed Virgin, we understand more about his gifts to us. The Assumption of Mary is the realization of the hope that all believers share. Her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is a sign of the promise made by Jesus to all Christians that one day they too will be received into paradise.
 

November 1 - Solemnity of All Saints (All Saints' Day)

This feast honors all the saints, known and unknown.  This feast was first celebrated on May 13, 610, when Pope Boniface IV proclaimed the day Feast of All Holy Martyrs in Rome. The intent was to honor all martyrs who were not included in local records. In 835, Pope Gregory IV changed the date and name to November 1 and Feast of All Saints.   There are many saints who are not popularly known or who are not celebrated during the course of the liturgical year.  This feast day provides an opportunity to remember and celebrate their lives.
Photo courtesy: SLP/Aileen O

December 8 - The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

The Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is the belief that God preserved Mary from any inclination to sin, the inheritance of original sin passed on to all humankind from Adam and Eve.  Even though Mary was conceived in the normal way by her parents, she was preserved from original sin and redeemed by God’s grace from the moment of her conception. Mary is indeed “full of grace.” The official teaching of the Church says: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all original sin.”  What Christ does for everyone who calls upon his name and is baptized (Acts 2:38; 4:12; Romans 10:13) he did for his mother when she was conceived. “By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.” [Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 493]

The feast of the Conception of Mary appeared in the Roman calendar in 1476. After the dogmatic definition by Pope Pius IX in 1854, it became the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Photo source: denvercathedral.org

December 25 - Christmas, The Nativity of Our Lord

This feast, one of the two major feasts of the liturgical year, celebrates the birth of Jesus.  We celebrate the Incarnation, when God became flesh and entered the world.  We have a God who loves us and saves us!
Photo: RCHarder

Important reminder:

When the following holy days fall on a Saturday or Monday, there is no obligation to attend Mass:

• January 1
• August 15
• November 1

Source: Archdiocese of Boston, Photo: SLP/RCHarder