Baptism and Confirmation Prayer
All-powerful God, by water and the Holy Spirit, You freed us from sin. Send Your Holy Spirit upon us to be our helper and guide. Give us the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and love, the spirit of joy in Your service.
Theme
The Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist stand at the door to the Christian experience. These sacraments are not only visible expressions of faith, but they actually produce spiritual change if we accept them and respond. Some symbols are closely associated with these sacraments: Water
symbol of life and death, cleansing, and nourishment Fire
symbol of warmth and light symbol of pain and destruction Oil •
symbol of priesthoo4 anointing healing symbol of something rich, pure, and holy White garment
symbol of purity from sin symbol of a new life and role Through these sacraments, the Lord is present in a special way, in a new
vision. We spend the rest of our life growing into this vision, conforming our will to Christ's will, our love to his.
Scripture
• Matthew 3:13 •- John 3:1 •- Colossians 2:6-10—Fullness of life in Christ 17 •21 Romans 8:12-17—The Spirit makes you God's children. — -The baptism of Questions to What meaningUnless does baptism have for me? Jesus
Ponder How does an understanding one be of the symbols of water, fire, oil, and a white garment help me understand baptism and confirmation better? born again . .
Reflections
Copyright C BROWN Publishing-ROA Media
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The Sacrament of Baptism—
• heavily filled with baptismal allusions.. •
Unfortunately, this beautiful, commtmity-suliported journey to faith was short-lived. With the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in 313, joining the Christian Church became fashionable, the thing to do. The standards of the catechumenate were relaxed, and people A lifelong journey were simply baptized on request. By the beginning of the fifth centur3r, the Baptism is a serious step—a step we spend much catec time getting ready for. We get new clothes, we get a The candle to light the way, water to help us grow, Pa for . sacraments of initiatian became three separate sacraments celebrated at separate times. Soon adultstrength, even companions for the journey. But that is hume declined. infant Baptism became the norm and Baptisms only the beghming of a much longer journey, a liferiate the process and theology of Christianinitiadon of adults time journey of commitment and discipleship. as practiced in the early Church became a lost art. proce Our journey begins with an invitation, a call ss In some instances, infant Baptism became a routine from God through the Christian community to dtual bordering on magic. It is our firm Catholic belief itself the gospel as committed disciples of Christ. When we - live that the Sacrament of Baptism expresses the wonderful had accept the invitadon gift of God by which we are "Made holy," become and made visual and "real" for us in the celebration of virtua t that call and "children of God" and "temples of the Holy Spirit." We Baptism. mast lly take aare, however, not to restrict God's eft to one response is In the Church of the first three centuries adult single disapmoment (the pouring of water) or overlook that ritualized Baptism was the norm. Those who were interested in part of the sacrament that is our lifelong response to peare Christianity were invited to join the Christian community God's gift. on a journey of faith. Those who accepted the invitation d. became candidates for the sacraments of initiation Broadening our view of Baptism (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist). The candidates, Baptism—and all sacraments, for that matter—are were called catechumens and entered into a -step-by-step much more than the moment of celebration. They neither process toward full membership in the Church. This begin nor end with the liturgical ritual. They are process was called the catechumenate. Joining the c• elebrations of lived experiences. They exist before, Church in the early centuries was no easy mutter. The • during and after the celebration. baptismal commitment was not to be taken lightly. The ritual of Baptism does not bring Cod's love into being as if that love did not exist before the
The entire Church would pray for and with the ceremony. Baptism is the Church's way of celebrating catechumens. Instructing them in gospel values, ;haring and enacting the embrace of God who first loved us from with 'them the faith life of the Church and celebrating the the moment of our conception. Baptism is a ritualization and manifestation of teal—of the outpouring stagesoftheir faith journey with special* rituals of of Gati'a Spirit and of our acceptance of that transforming welcoming and belonging, A person's coming to • love. It remains for Ili to grow into what we already are: faith—or conversion to Christianity—was looked upon daughters and sons of God. Baptism celebrates a as a community responsibility. .familrs and a community's experience of that love in The final Lent before the initiation as a special the baptized. • • time for catechumens. It was like a 40-day retreat • There are other life experiences—birth, death, including prayer, fasting and other formiof self-scrutiny washing, growing anti so forth—that are eelebratedin • • as they prepared to accept the faith and be received in Baptism. The sacrament is multifaceted, as L5 revealed the Church. Lent started out as the Church's official in the Scripture references and the symbols of Btiptism. • preparation for Baptism which was celebrated only once Let's look at these symbols and thp Scripture passages from which they originate. a year it the Easter.Vigil. That Ls why the Scripture readings for the liturgies of Lent and Easter are so
Water and Spirit • Water is the obvious symbol that we associate with Baptism, representing life, death, cleansing and growth. In the New lbstament, then, it is appropriate that John the Baptizer baptized hi the River, symbolizing that the baptized were also to leave the slavery of sin for the freedom ofa new Promised Land. Nor is it without significance that Tesus began his • ministerial journey by being baptized in the Jordan, and that the Spirit was 'present. • Water and Spirit are strong and important symbols of Baptism. To be baptized is to be'plunged into the waters and baptized is to have the Spirit help us make order out of . the chaos to open of the Sinful world into which We are born. To be baptized is to be welcomed into the Church (the oneself to new promised land) and to be nourished there as we the Spirit journey with each other and with Jesus in his ministry. of Jesus. To be
New lzfe,.new birth, new light
To be baptized Is to be given new birth and new life' (John 35). It is interesting to note that same of the early' baptismal fonts had the shape of "a womb," to emphasize the new birth/new life aspect of the sacrament. This image is related to the darkness-light theme that is also associated with Baptism (Hebrews 6:4). In birth we emerge from the darkness of the womb to the bright light of a new world. Some early initiation liturgies had the baptismal candidates first turn to the • west—where the sun sinks into darkness, to renounce Satan—and then turn to the east, the direction of 'dawning light, to accept Christ: The new life motif of Baptism. is• intimately associated with Christ's passion, death and resurrection. • In discourses with his disciples regarding his approaching death, Jesus said, "1 have a baptism to receiVe. What • anguish I feet till it is overt" (Luke 1250). When asking James. and John if they really knew whet theY , were ready to. share in his death. "Have you the were strength...to be baptized with the baptism I am to be baptized with?" (Mark 10:38)- Pad reiterates Jesus' questions when he asks: "Are'you not aware that We who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?,we were buried With him se that, just a . s Christ was raised from the dead,we too might live a new life" (Romans 63). It is not an accident that the baptismal liturgy of th' e year is the Easter Vigil, the grand celebration of Christ's. Resurrection. Through Baptism we become an "Easter" people. The giving of a candle lighted from the Paschal •
Candle helps spell out this reality. It is also the way that the Church, through baptismal sponsors who represent the total community, "passes the torch" of Christian commitment to those being baptized.
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: Baptism ushers us into a new era. We no longer need be slaves to sin. We put our allegiance with pod and good (Rontans 6 and Colossians 3:9). To Synclize this oldinew them. the newly baptized is dr** iti'n white garment during the •ritual of Baptism..: . •••• In the early Church- the newly 0E140 were expected to wear the white gaititent and keeti : for s the 50 days of Easter. Today, lit most cases, it lial; becomes symbol that is presint.obly•for the ik• trnidiled ithe cited and then is packed away witkothet memorabilia. Among other things. the white garrnentf. chilidbli symbolizes the Chtircli's belief that Baptismsets 4 fitt .farnily • from Original Sin. •• , But lust what is Original Sin? The Church ctin1d4tis to insist on this doctrine and upon the the world—a point clearly echoed in et; daily 'nev0104 The killings. violence, greed and dishonesty Wk0e*:::• mirrored in the media are remindarathar.all•htining beings inherit the sinful tendencies and Sttus:nit4 9a to us by previous generations•• Part of die beauty of Baptism: is its asstmulcithat through this sacrament we share in Christ's,victoriibver • the power of darkness. in the world. Yet, the tioctrine.of Original Sindoes not eclipse the good news that: God's mercy and saving love are stronger than the power Of sin—even before the baptismal. waters are poured. •: ;.' •••
• • ,,:,••• •• • to Christ's body,. the Church. That's Whyt that we celebrate Baptism In the Chrilidamis Baptism happens , 4 itheVeklhak,,,, , notcomniunity onl with the present and actiVe1y,:pet#4" -• ItSeirkyV is the • community, after all,,who Is.weàojE,g1
• •4 y meenbers, journeying widvilitan them, supporting and nburflOilkg ••,_ i.6 , 'to ., ptpyttilit . individua to us through cu. • t. It continueS With U4ditaint41. • .living and enacting God's love itisicare through girn to the world. That's a serious commitment. i ;
Cioss • Olt One .of the most • Twice -during the • baptism Ceremony touching ceremonies in the baptism yorarl child:wilt be incdnted with an. liturgy occurs when the priest This anointing la a makes a small sign very ancient • of the cross on the • emony.• • le ikes gone by, oil was a healing. child's forehead. and asks parents and godCiarremedy rencta parents to - do the seine. The Whole ,sign of Owen }tinge, priests,imd pnipbete• 7 °Orden canummity for a symbol to its portray its deepest belief they might* stre4therrectalid healed; . reaches into about Irdiirini the comniunity of faith IS animpeat life. - As the cross is traced upon the child% • portant Moment in' the life oriolik forehead; one that callsfor future strength anddedicathatsymbOuistians • remember that. Jesus tasted the fuliness.of human lifeand will be tiOn. By rising oil, the church drainatrierTh, ol is the -With prayer crossthis cluldrforevez Together with Jean% this child will touch and taste all of life's .by Grid - that °Owns. community. 011 alto- recalls to Pi that one .this and beauties and day in the &firm the iptilitiaktomMiirdty by 'the .present, the child will never be alone. child ill once again. anoint this. Young Orson, ,w prayer sorroiva Wili Couft on confimmtion day: Again., that anointing eif Because bethe A candle1was once peoiifirinit whole Jesus ple's mostcommon source. Strength to live out thadernamis of the gos- • 8 d of light during th0, dark • pet • , ofJesus in everyday Iffe. night hours. For dins Vidal Ganitgfit • it became a symbol of Jesus who brought us out gl • wan of the kingdOm of dark: • ai WM baptized, neas into the Idngdoni of r young and old; light The diaina of Asti, 4 were clothed 'the bringer of light, is In a 3 tang white 'played opt: magnificently garment, Which 9 they wore the during the Paster Vigil 1 after week Mass when a large candle, ment a symbol of jams, is lit and - • reminded. aff in the conmumity.that 4 • new Christians were Clothed its flame then used to kin-, these their 1 that in a very real sense he Shared Christ die: the candles of. all baptism. their lives, and they his. They 1 present• The• white to cur3r that new life with them and bleep. . In: the baptism, ceremony this dramatic, ,garmanumt is mialled itimstained iere lirged until the cliiir they met the Lord - as you given a the in Today heaven.• •• _ -.• • that we- remember parents that through are biptism. your _child passes ; Wants in a. baptism' dresk and. hum the kingdom 'of darkness Into the - dressing lighted alma children kingdom 'cluttom by in whitedothes. Toward the candle, of light • • • •• anothe r 50 remind
• micro( the ceremony, a small symbolic Mlle is placed aver the dress, a reminder to air who witness the cerepiony that we are caned to live simply and sinlessly, even in the mit . • 9 iseof c icruel 4 • •whole churclifi concern for this new and •l Ill1 dais iiihert parents Ohm died befote• a chaoti 1 reached nizturity, iodpel;Bet ochild eworic to izdce-on the responsibility of rearing. o.1 L the In the faithif aiythilig happened pf.s. 1 prOnt-: • to•the parade: Tadai they prongse to help aparents ! In their.buk as Christian ntiters. r and " fathers. • e mG3dpiretts ate to. be role models for the neldhl. Therefore you Must choose godpar- • t • I ss k_ t, o• ,• a r e a s y m b o l; a s i g n O ft li e •
aids with much_ how closely they *are related to the . . child al care. how closely they seeni related to the Lord: Whit is Since godpanmts_ represent- the. best of the- Christian.&miry, they should. imtiortimt live outso itaideals in their daily hies. Is not :• t•; • r•• • ThroiallitYnOras with jle•-•watetoiees;bili , caficle,wfdtegamienti the church speaks to ..themselves; s thrile your chiki *Alive in the .Christratt -.....atld commimity.:Whatbetter way to•begn Yenis • yo* atiotit thegodparently role as Cbstattin patents thait to•Feetee the ageless symbols of the chmtb: and to tmcielu .stand both the burden and• tha•pralitse of' •being
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Eucharist the initiation sacraments, because they are the foundations of the Christian life. Through these sacraments, we are immersed or initiated into the mystery of Christ's saving death and Resurrection. We are reborn and consecrated by these holy sacraments to become "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (I Peter 2:9). To be a fully initiated member of the Catholic Church, one needs to be baptized, confirmed, and share In the Eucharist. Most Roman Catholics are accustomed to the practice of infant Baptism, with Confirmation and reception of the Eucharist to follow in later years. In this common practice, a child's full initiation into the Church is spread over a number of years under the committed care and formation of parents, family, and the Christian community. The celebration of Baptism for adults and children of school age, on the other hand, normally includes the sacraments of Confirmation and the reception of the Eucharist in the same celebration. This model, for receiving the sacraments of Initiation follows an older tradition when adults were prepared for Baptism over several years and then were baptized and confirmed at Easter, receiving their first Eucharist at the Easter Vigil liturgy. This practice has always been the tradition in the Eastern Churches for infants and adults and has now been restored in the Latin Church for adults and children of catechetical age in the Rite of Christian initiation of Adults (RCIA).
Baptism When in Baptism we are immersed into the dying and rising of Christ, all our sins are forgiven, original sin as well as all personal sin. We become a new creation in Baptism. Our old selves are put to death and we emerge from the waters of Baptism reborn as sons or daughters of God. Our lives are taken up into the mystery of the Holy Trinity and we become partakers of divine life. Eternal life is our promised inheritance. Baptism, then, is more than just a rite for Church membership. When we are Joined to Christ, we are united to him in such an intimate way that Saint Paul could write, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). One with Christ, we share his mission as priest, prophet, and king. To be one with Christ also means that we are one with his Church. We "are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, "we are built up together in the Spirit into a house where God lives" (Christian initiation; General Introduction, 4). Christians are called to live in communion with one another, striving always for the unity for which Jesus prayed to his Father when he said, "As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us" (John I7:21). Confirmation Confirmation is intimately connected with Baptism. It brings an increase and deepening of bavtismal grace. In the sacrament of Confirmation, we are sealed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Through this anointing with holy chrism oil and the imposition of hands, we are conformed more closely to Christ and are more perfectly bound to the Church so that we may bear witness to him In the world. The Spirit of Pentecost is given to us so that we might have the courage and wisdom, unshakeable faith, and resolute spirit to be doers of the word and credible disciples of Christ. Through Baptism and Confirmation, we become missionaries commissioned to carry on the work of Jesus. Because Confirmation imparts an indelible character or spiritual mark on the Christian, the sacrament of Confirmation cannot be repeated.
The Catacombs of Saint Callbctus - The Cubicles of Sacraments
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THE CUBICLES OF SACRAMENTS ".710 , '7 1
In this Gallery A, on the left side, 1 there are five small rooms, truly 1 family tombs. Their importance is due to the frescoes which date back from the beginning of the 3rd century. They frequently depict symbolically the sacraments of Baptism and of the Eucharist.
With these drawings•the Christians of the first centuries wished to recall their catechumenate (i.e. their preparation to Baptism) and I Cubicoll del Sacramenti leave a message to their 0 Pontificia Commissions di Amheologia Sacra contemporaries. They had become Christians through Baptism and had persevered in their Christian life by frequent communion. They also wanted to remind their dear ones, and whoever visited their tombs, that one day they would be united again only if they shared the same means of salvation. The Baptism As the Fathers of the Church taught in their writings, these means of salvation were prefigured in the Old Testament This appears in the miracle of Moses striking the rock, enabling the Jewish people to quench their thirst in the desert (gx17,1-71). The Baptism of Christ is also a prefiguration of Christian Baptism. On the back wall in Cubicle A2 is found the oldest representation of a true Christian Baptism: a priest dressed in tunica and pallium places his right hand on the head of the person being baptized, and standing in a stream. Other representations of Baptism are the fisherman, the Samaritan woman at the well of Sichem, the paralytic in the pool of Bethesda.
The Eucharist As seen in these cubicles the preference of the Christians for the symbols of the Eucharist goes to the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (Jo 6,1-15). Through this miracle, Jesus promised a very particular and different bread: his body scene of the multiplication of the loaves is always repeated in the same way: seven person ( Jo 6,22-59). The sit round a table. The number seven is symbolic and indicates that all are called by God to be saved. Two or three dishes with loaves are placed on the table, and at the sides of the table are baskets of bread which may contain seven to twelve loaves. The Biblical Jonah The prophet Jonah, a biblical figure very dear to the early Christians, appears in all these cubicles. Jonah had preached repentance and conversion to the inhabitants of Nineveh, that is to the pagans. Jonah symbolizes the call to salvation of all men, whether Jews or pagans. Indeed, since the faithful buried in this crypt were originally all pagans, the prophet http://www.catacombesomalientoubicolihtml 2/5/03
The Catacombs of Saint Cabals - The Cubicles of Sacraments Page 2 of 2
came to be the image of God's universal mercy. Jonah is also a symbol of resurrection. Jesus himself quotes Jonah as a figure of this reality: "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the be* of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and then rise again (Mt 12,40). The "Martyrs' Staircase" At the end of the Cubicles of Sacraments there begins the "Martyrs' Staircase", excavated about the middle of the 2nd century, and which still preserves steps of that period. It was called the "Martyrs' Staircase" because the Popes buried in the nearby crypt passed that way. It is also thought that young Tarcisius used it when he came to pray at the tombs of the martyr popes, or to get the Eucharist and carry it to the Christians in prison or in their homes during a period of persecution.
http://www.catacombe.mmaltien/cubicoliltml 2/5/03
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Baptism is a symbol of Christ's passion • • You were led'don' to the font of holy baptism just as Christ was taken down from the cross and pla the c tomb which is before :your eyes. Each of you was asked, ed in "Do you believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy. Spirit?" You made the piafession of faith that brings salvation, you were plunged into the water, and three times you rose again. This symbolized the three days Christ spent in the tomb. As our Savior sent three days and three nights in the ,depth of • theearth, -so • y9ur -first ri water represented the first day and your first immer s represented sing from the the first night. At but .ion in the day he walks in the light. So-when you were immersed in the water it was like night for yowand you night • could not see, but when Toti rose . intoit broad daylight. . ing again was• like. corn-In the ssinie instant you died -A- man ,cannot see, and were born again; the saving water was both your tomb. and your mother. • St*MOrt'-&phrase in, another ' here. • He spoke Of a time to 'Vim birth, and a time to die. 'F9rcOntext you, however, •wa the reverse: a time to die, and is very:itapposite a time to be born, althoUgh in fact both events took place at the smile time and your birth was simultaneous with your death.' . .• • •I•• • • •. • • This is something amazing and unheard of! It was not we who actually died, were •buried and rose again; We only did' these things symbolically, but we •have' been saved in actual fact. It is 'Christ who s • .was binied and who rose again ,itiributed and , all this has been • vas_Frn,cified; who •and gain salvation in reality. What boundless love 'for men! Christ's undefiled hands were pierced. by the nails; -to .he suffered the pain.. I experience•no pain, no anguish,. the share that have in his iuffe:tings he freely .yet us.by We grants me. salVation: share in Let no one • - • imagine that baptism consists only in the his forgiveness of sins and in the grace of adoption. Our Sufferin baptism is not like the baptism of John, which conferred gs only the forgiveness of sins. We know perfectly well that syrnbOli •! baptism, besides washing away our sins and bringing c gift of the Holy Spirit, is a symbol of the sufferings ' the -of Christ: This is why Paul exclaims: Do you not know ally that when we were baptized into Christ 7esus we •were, by that very action, Sharing in his death? By baptism. we went with him into the tomb.
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Catechism paragraphs 1285-1321, 1631 The sacrament of Confirmation completes the grace of Baptism.
saying, "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit"
When adults or older children are baptized, they are usually confirmed immediately afterward by the same priest who baptized them. Lilo Baptism, Confirmation imprints a permanent spiritual mark, or character, on the soul, so a person can receive this sacrament only once.
Perhaps you are already familiar with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit They are:
Unless the person to be confirmed is an infant or very young child, the Church has some requirements for Confirmation: The person must be baptized, profess his or her faith in Christ, be in a state of grace, and really want Confirmation. Each person confirmed must be willing to be an active member of the Church who gives witness to a belief in Christ by the way he or she lives. The rite of Confirmation usually takes place during Mass. The sacrament is given when the bishop lays his hands on the person's head and then anoints the person on the forehead with the oil of chrism while
Wisdom: to help us make wise decisions that keep God first in our lives. Understanding: to help us grasp the meaning of the truths of our faith. Counsel (or right judgment): to help us seek good advice from others and also to give good advice when we are asked. Knowledge: to help us know all we can about God and our faith. Fortitude (or courage): to give us inner strength to live our faith even when it's difficult to do so. Piety (or reverence): to help us truly • love and worship God. Fear of the Lord (or wonder and awe): to help us appreciate the wonders of God's love all around us. Confirmation pours these gifts into our souls. By our Confirmation, these gifts are poured out into the Church and from her into the world. The Holy Spirit continues to make us holy!
At Confirmation, the bishop calls each person being confirmed by his or her Confirmation name. A person can choose to use his or her given name. Many people, however, choose to take another name, not to replace their own name but to add another patron saint on whose life a person can model his or her own life.
NIL Overview of Sacraments In the early Church there was no mention of 7 sacraments. Early Christians did hold some actions higher than others—for instance, baptism and eucharist In the 12 th By this time, rituals we know as 7 sacraments were gaining Century one prominence. docume Ins nt the 13 th The Council of Trent (1545-1563) defined the meaning actually and the number of sacraments. Century listed 30 — the 7 sacs. Please look at the diagram in your packet: sacramen ts were The first sacrament that we receive is BAPTISM, in which affirmed die to sin and rise to new life in Christ. Baptism washes away original sin—which is not something a person does but it comes with being human as we enter a world of sin. It is a sin for us only in an analogous sense because we have not willed it. It is part of our original state or condition rather an action of ours— a tendency toward alienation from God. Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ and calls us to ministry.
I RCIA -111 - Overview of Sacraments Catholics believe that you are baptized only one time—as long as the baptism is with water and the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Christian faiths such as Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Baptists—all who are followers of Jesus Christ—come under the umbrella of Christianity. So in RCIA, if you have been baptized, you are not baptized again and you are called a CANDIDATE. If you have not been baptized, you are called a CATECHUMEN. Baptism in the first few centuries was administered mostly to adults. Baptizing members of Christian families during infancy gradually became normal practice. The symbols of baptism are water, which is vital for life; oil which is healing and strengthening by the Holy Spirit; Candle which represents Jesus as the Light of the World and is warm, inviting and comforting; and the White Garment which is a symbol of purity and our becoming a new person in Christ. Baptism is the first Sacrament of Initiation.
RCIA - 1111 Overview of Sacs. The second sacrament of initiation is CONFIRMATION. Confirmation focuses on spiritual adulthood. In the sacrament we receive the SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, which are KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, WISDOMN,COUNSEL, COURAGE, REVERENCE, WONDER AND AWE.
Symbols are the laying on of hands and the oil which is called CHRISM.
EUCHARIST, (HOLY COMMUNION, BLESSED SACRAMENT) is the Third Sac. Of Initiation. The word "Eucharist" means "Thanksgiving" so there is always an emphasis on giving God perfect thanks and praise.
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In the Eucharistic liturgy bread and wise are consecrated. This consecration brings about a change called TRANSUBSTANTIATION. Bread and wine become the BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. This is the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Christ's presence has taken over the bread and wine, so that, for us who believe, it is no longer merely bread and wine but Christ himself. After Mass, the remaining Hosts are placed in the tabernacle in reserve for those who wish to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament when they are sick or dying. The tabernacle is in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. RCIA members are asked to participate in the Communion Procession by placing hands across chest as you approach the priest or minister and to receive a blessing until you have come into full communion with the Church.