| Jesus died on a Friday; the night before he ate the last meal of his life with his 12 disciples – so this is known as the Last Supper. During the meal he took a piece of bread and asked his friends to share it saying ‘This is my body which is given for you – do this to remember me.’ Then after the meal he took a cup of wine and gave it to them saying, ‘Drink this; this is my blood which is shed for you. Do this to remember me.’
The next day he was dead; then on the first Easter Day he was alive again. Since then Christians have always done what Jesus asked us to do – we take bread and wine, repeat the words of Jesus and receive the bread and wine which we believe God has now transformed so that it holds the real presence of Jesus. It is the holiest thing that Christians do.
When we take the bread and wine we meet the risen Jesus – so this is also known as Communion (‘communion’ means to meet at a deep level.) The service is also known as the Eucharist, since ‘Eucharist’ means to give thanks.
At St Margaret’s the Mass is celebrated daily and is at the centre of our worship since it is the service given to us by Jesus himself.
There is a time of preparation and prayer before a person begins to receive Communion. If you would like to know more about receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord, see Fr Ian who would be happy to talk with you about this.
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