Blessed Sacrament: Encyclopedia - Blessed Sacrament

Blessed Sacrament

The Blessed Sacrament is a devotional name used by Roman Catholics to refer to a consecrated host, that is, a communion wafer which Catholics believe has actually become the body and blood of Jesus at the moment of the Consecration during the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass.

The Blessed Sacrament may be received by Catholics who have undergone their First Holy Communion (ie., given by a priest or other Minister of the Eucharist to a Catholic and swallowed by the communicant) as part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist during Mass. The person receiving the Eucharist should be in a "state of grace," i.e., have no mortal sin on their conscience at the time of communion.

It can also be exposed (displayed) on an altar in a Monstrance. Rites involving the exposure of the Blessed Sacrament include Benediction and Eucharistic adoration. According to Catholic theology, adoration of the host is not the adoration of bread, but of Christ, who is transubstantiated in it. Catholics believe Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of God prefigured in the Old Testament passover. Unless the flesh of that passover sacrificial lamb was consumed, the members of the household would not be saved from death.

See also

• Eucharist
• Corpus Christi

Categories: Catholic Eucharistic Theology | Sacraments

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Blessed Sacrament", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki