The Roman Catholic Eucharist as a Manifestation of the Sacred
The Roman Catholic Eucharist as a Manifestation of the Sacred
The definition of religion can be viewed in three main perspectives: functionalist, essentialist, and family resemblance. Many theorists of religion have looked at the actual rituals that take place within certain religions in order to help define religion as well. The Roman Catholic Eucharist, the roots of which can be traced back to the Passover meal when Christ gave bread and wine to his disciples as His body and blood, is one such ritual that is practiced in the Catholic Church daily. Through Jesus’ words “do this in memory of me,” this ritual has been preserved as a sacrament. In this paper, I will look at what the Roman Catholic Eucharist is, its history, and how two theorists of religion, Mircea Eliade and Mary Douglas, would have interpreted this ritual that is one of the cores of Roman Catholic belief. The first Eucharist took place with Jesus and His apostles gathered in an upper room to celebrate the Passover meal. It was at this meal that Jesus gave the bread as His body and the wine as His blood to His apostles, telling them to all take and eat, and to do it in memory of Him. After Jesus’ death, His apostles and their successors continued this sacred act and named it the “Breaking of the Bread (McBride).” Later, this ritual was moved to Sundays to establish a more prayerful setting, as was reported by an early first century document, the Didache, or “Teaching of the Apostles (McBride).” By the year 150 A.D., St. Justin Martyr said the basic structure of the Mass was put into effect (McBride). It was not until 313 A.D. when Constantine allowed Christianity to be practiced in the Roman Empire that the Eucharist was celebrated outside of people’s homes and in the public scene (McBride). In 1570, the Tridentine Mass was established. The Council of Trent, which lasted from 1545-1563, was called to address the Reformation. At this council, Catholic Eucharistic teaching was one of the main
The definition of religion can be viewed in three main perspectives: functionalist, essentialist, and family resemblance. Many theorists of religion have looked at the actual rituals that take place within certain religions in order to help define religion as well. The Roman Catholic Eucharist, the roots of which can be traced back to the Passover meal when Christ gave bread and wine to his disciples as His body and blood, is one such ritual that is practiced in the Catholic Church daily. Through Jesus’ words “do this in memory of me,” this ritual has been preserved as a sacrament. In this paper, I will look at what the Roman Catholic Eucharist is, its history, and how two theorists of religion, Mircea Eliade and Mary Douglas, would have interpreted this ritual that is one of the cores of Roman Catholic belief. The first Eucharist took place with Jesus and His apostles gathered in an upper room to celebrate the Passover meal. It was at this meal that Jesus gave the bread as His body and the wine as His blood to His apostles, telling them to all take and eat, and to do it in memory of Him. After Jesus’ death, His apostles and their successors continued this sacred act and named it the “Breaking of the Bread (McBride).” Later, this ritual was moved to Sundays to establish a more prayerful setting, as was reported by an early first century document, the Didache, or “Teaching of the Apostles (McBride).” By the year 150 A.D., St. Justin Martyr said the basic structure of the Mass was put into effect (McBride). It was not until 313 A.D. when Constantine allowed Christianity to be practiced in the Roman Empire that the Eucharist was celebrated outside of people’s homes and in the public scene (McBride). In 1570, the Tridentine Mass was established. The Council of Trent, which lasted from 1545-1563, was called to address the Reformation. At this council, Catholic Eucharistic teaching was one of the main
Cited: Doty, Willima G. Mythography. 2nd Ed. Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 2000. Print. Douglas, Mary. Natural Symbols. New York: Vintage-Random House, 1973. Print. Douglas, Mary. Purity and Danger. London: Routledge, 2002. Print. Eliade, Mircea Eliade, Mircea. Quest. Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1969. Print. Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane. Trans. William R. Trask. Florida: Harcourt, Inc., 1959. Print. Ellwood, Robert. The Politics of Myth: A Study of C.G. Jung, Mircea Eliade and Joseph Cambell. New York: State University of New York Press, 1999. Print. Girardot, Norman J. Ricketts, Mac Linscott. Imagination and Meaning: The Scholarly and Literary Worlds of Mircea Eliade. New York: Seabury Press, 1982. Print. Kunin, Seth D. Religion: The Modern Theories. Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 2003. Print. McBride, Alfred (O.Praem). “Eucharist: A Short History.” American Catholic. Oct. 2006. 26 Mar. 2011. . McCutcheon, Russel T. Studying Religion. United Kingdom: Equinox, 2007. Print. Pohle, Joseph. "The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 26 Mar. 2011 . Rennie, Bryan S. Reconstructing Eliade: Making Sense of Religion. New York: State University of New York Press, 1996.