Importance of Holy Eucharist

How important is the Eucharist to the Episcopal faith in general? To your faith specifically?

The Episcopal Church holds that a celebration of the Holy Eucharist is the principal act of Christian worship. This means that all the rites and rituals of the Church should be conducted with the reception of the sacraments of bread and wine at the center. This is the way Jesus is present with us in our worship. This is how we are nourished by his presence in this life and in the life to come. On Sundays and feast days, we celebrate the Eucharist. I always encourage the celebration at Burials and Weddings, though it’s not always done.

For me, specifically, receiving the Eucharist is of utmost importance to my faith. I feel that it is how we are “in communion with” God and each other. It’s how we connect with each other by sharing in the broken bread and cup, which is Christ.

Episcopal Church and the Eucharist

What is the official Episcopal teaching on the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?

Taken directly from our catechism, which can be found in the Book of Common Prayer, 1979, The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection until his coming again. It’s called a sacrifice because the Eucharist, the Church’s sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present and in which he unites us to his one offering of himself. We believe a sacrament is an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace. The outward and visible sign in the Eucharist is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ’s command. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people and received by faith. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet, which is our (viaticum – food for the journey) nourishment in eternal life.

What we mean when we say that Jesus is “present” in the Eucharist is because when he gave us the mandate to continue breaking the bread and sharing the cup until his coming again, he said that he would be present with us always, even to the end of the ages. The 1991 statement of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission notes, “The elements are not mere signs; Christ’s body and blood become really present and are really given. But they are “really present” and given so that, receiving them, believers may be united in communion with Christ the Lord.” A classic Anglican statement attributed to John Donne (or to Queen Elizabeth I) and included in The Hymnal 1982 (Hymn 322) is “He was the Word that spake it, he took the bread and brake it, and what that Word did make it, I do believe and take it.” In Eucharistic Prayer A of Rite 2, the celebrant prays that God the Father will sanctify the gifts of bread and wine “by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 363). The Catechism notes that the inward and spiritual grace in the eucharist is “the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people and received by faith” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 859). Belief in the “real presence” does not imply a claim to know how Christ is present in the eucharistic elements. Belief in the real presence does not imply a belief that the consecrated eucharistic elements cease to be bread and wine. 

Like I've said before, “physical things, like bread, wine, water, oil, etc… become the vehicles God uses to share the power and presence of Jesus Christ, through the workings of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the risen Christ in the Eucharist is ultimately an inexhaustible mystery that the Church can never fully explain in words or philosophical ideologies."

Gestures for Prayer (Standing, Sitting, Kneeling)

Q: Why is it considered less joyous if we kneel during prayers and Eucharist? I find it easier to concentrate and be in the moment while kneeling.

I'm not sure it's considered less joyous, but each person experiences different things while praying using different postures. Over the years, the church has become less prescriptive about postures during the prayers. I even use the phrase (please stand, sit, or kneel as best helps you to pray). It is my intent to have you determine your own prayer posture so that you can concentrate and be "in the moment." 

That doesn't preclude us from learning that gestures and postures say different things. We all know about body language and how we can portray things to others by the way we stand or cross our arms or whatever. Prayer postures are much like that.

Kneeling is a sign of humility and reverence. I would say that kneeling is always a great posture for prayer. Sometimes it is uncomfortable. Especially if you have knee joint problems. Kneeling is often thought to be penitential or submissive. 

Standing is a sign of worth, dignity and respect. We are taught in our culture that we stand when someone important enters the room. Standing during prayer is often a sign of thankfulness and praise of Jesus who, through his death and resurrection, made us able and worthy to be reunited to God. Prayer B (starting on page 367 of the Book of Common Prayer) has the phrase "made us worthy to stand before you." It seems confusing to say that we lift our hearts up to the Lord as we are giving praise in celebration to fall on our knees... confusing, but sometimes appropriate during particularly penitential seasons like Lent. 

The Episcopal Church is full of gestures, as a kid we called them Episco-robics! Stand, Sit, Kneel, Stand, Kneel, Sit, Bow, Kneel, Stand, etc... Worship can be an incredible workout. I personally use these simple guidelines.

• Stand: to sing, proclaim, and pray during Easter (proclaim: such as reciting a creedal statement)
• Sit: to learn (during the lessons, readings, preaching, etc...)
• Kneel: to pray (especially in Lent) 

Fun fact to know and tell: The first council of Nicaea (from which we get the Nicene Creed) as early as 325 actually addressed standing during prayers at the liturgy, especially the consecration. This resulted in a church disciplinary canon. I don't think that anyone today will be arrested for kneeling during prayers at church. ;)