Eucharist | Holy Communion - Beaumont Parish

Eucharist (Holy Communion)

The Eucharist is the very sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus which he instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. Thus he entrusted to his Church this memorial of his death and Resurrection. It is a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet, in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.

The Eucharist is celebrated in our Parish every day, except Good Friday.

First Holy Communion, preceded by First Confession, is celebrated every year in our parish, in conjunction with St Fiachra's JNS.

In Ireland, First Confession and First Holy Communion are normally celebrated when a child reaches Second Class of Primary School.

Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist are the three Sacraments of Initiation. Receiving the Eucharist, which we call Holy Communion is Christ’s total gift of Himself to us. When we receive the Eucharist in a state of grace, we grow in closeness to Jesus and in our membership of the Church. In receiving the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ where we, in the words of St Augustine, ‘become what we receive’.

The Second Vatican Council declared that the Eucharistic sacrifice is the “source and summit of the Christian life”. St John Paul said that “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. […] In the humble signs of bread and wine, changed into his body and blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and he enables us to become, for everyone, witnesses of hope.”

More Information

The Catechism of the Catholic Church and its shorter Compendium are helpful starting points for further study.