The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist

Mane nobiscum Domine

Purpose of the Course

The purpose of this course is to lead the students to a deeper understanding of the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist and a deeper appreciation of its centrality in Christian life

Expected Learning Outcome

At the end of the course the student is expected to give a well-founded and personal response to the following questions: What is the mystery of the Eucharist?  What is its place in the life of a believer and of the Church? Which are the most important doctrines on the Eucharist that have to be believed and lived? How is the Holy Mass to be celebrated? What are some of the dangerous deviations and abuses that we must guard against in the celebration of the Eucharist? How is the Eucharist and mission/ministry related to each other?

Teaching Methods

Most class periods will be in a magisterial Lecture format with suggested reading assignments. Questions will always be welcome and interaction is expected. PowerPoint presentations and visual aides (slides) will be used, together with discussion in small groups and feedbacks to the whole class. Comprehensive class-notes will be provided to the students at the beginning of the Course.

Course Content

I. Introduction:

1.      Toward understanding the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist

2.      A Short History of the Eucharistic Faith

II. Biblical Foundations of the Holy Eucharist

1.      The Eucharist Figures in the Old Testament

2.      The Institution Accounts in the Synoptic Tradition

3.      The Last Supper as a Passover Meal

4.      The Last Supper and the Origin of the Christian Eucharist

5.      John’s Theological Reflection

6.      The Sacrificial Interpretation of the Lord’s Supper

7.      Resurrection and the Holy Eucharist

8.      Summary of the New Testament Data

III. Patristic and Later Developments

1.      Early Patristic Times

2.      The Great Mystagogies of the Fourth Century

3.      Eucharistic Realism and Its Challenges in the Early Middle Ages

4.      The Scholastic High Middle Ages

IV. The Reformation and the Council of Trent

1.   .   The Reformers: Luther and Calvin
2.       .  The Council of Trent and its Doctrine on the Holy

V. The Liturgical Reform of the Second Vatican Council

1.      .  Some Salient Features of the Reform
2.       .. The Implementation of the Liturgical Reform
3.       . The Structure of the Order of the Holy Mass
4.       . The Reform of the Eucharistic Prayer
5.       .  General Instruction of the Roman Missal – 2002
6.       .  The New Translation (English) of the Roman Missal (2011)

VI. The Spirit of the Liturgy

1.      .  Typical Liturgical Abuses
2.      .   Redemptionis Sacramentum (2004)
3.     .    The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000)

VII. The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist

1.      The Church’s Eucharistic Faith – A Summary

2.      The Doctrine of Transubstantiation and Real Presence

3.      Eucharistic Adoration

4.      Communion Under Both Species

5.      The Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (2007)

6.      Eucharist as a Mystery to be Lived: Body Broken, Life Shared

Required Essential Texts:

General Instruction of the Roman Missal (2002), [Including adaptations for the Dioceses of Kenya], Nairobi: Pauline Publications, 2007.

John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 17^th April 2003. English Translation: The Eucharist Life of the Church, Nairobi: Pauline Publications, 2003.

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, The Sacrament of Redemption, Instruction on certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist, Nairobi: Pauline Publications, 2004.

Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, (22^nd February 2007), Nairobi: Pauline Publications, 2007

Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, (30^th September 2010), Nairobi: Pauline Publications, 2010.