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The Eucharist

“The Blessed Eucharist is the perfect Sacrament of the Lord's Passion, since it contains Christ Himself and His Passion." -St. Thomas Aquinas

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First Eucharist

Children:

Sacrament Preparation Information 2025-2026

Información sobre la Preparación Sacramental

2025-2026 PREP Sacrament Registration Fillable Form

2025-2026 Formulario de Inscripción Sacramental PREP

Please download and save the above Sacrament Registration Fillable Form as a PDF, open and fill it in, then save and send it as an email attachment to Mrs. Marjorie Lamb at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  You may also print it, fill it in by hand, and send a photocopy to Mrs. Marjorie Lamb.

Thank you.

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No one knows your child better than you. Beginning at the age of 7, which typically coincides with 2nd grade, a child becomes eligible to prepare for and receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and first Holy Communion. This does not mean, however, that every 2nd grade child is ready to prepare for and receive Holy Communion. As the parent, it is your right and responsibility to discern with your child whether he or she is ready to to begin preparation for Holy Communion by considering the following questions:

- Has your child been baptized and reach the age of reason (7 years old)?
- Is your child interested in receiving Holy Communion?
- Does your child have a sense of belonging to the Catholic community?
- Does your child participate in the Sunday Mass according to his or her ability?
- Does your child pray at home?
- Does your child relate to Jesus as one who loves and cares for him or her?
- Does your child understand that he or she is to care for others?
 
If you believe your child is ready to prepare for First Holy Communion, please register him or her for Family Faith Formation here.
 
SACRAMENT OF FIRST HOLY EUCHARIST FAQS
 
My child attends SGGS. What is the registration process for First Holy Eucharist?
 
1. Fill out the PREP Registration Form, either online or in the office. There is no registration fee.
2. Fill out the First Holy Eucharist Information Sheet (link above).
3. Submit the completed First Holy Eucharist sheet and a copy of your child's Baptism certificate to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or drop the form at the office. If your child was Baptized at Saint Gregory's, you should indicate it on the form but you do not need to provide a copy of the certificate.
4. There is a $50 Sacramental preparation fee.
5. Only parishioners of Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church will be prepared for the Sacraments in our parish. If you belong to a different Church, your home parish will prepare your child for the Sacraments.
 
My child attends public school. What is the registration process for First Holy Eucharist?
 
1. Fill out the PREP Registration Form, either online or in the office. The fee is $50 per student with a family maximum of $100.
2. Fill out the First Holy Eucharist Information Sheet (link above).
3. Submit the completed First Holy Eucharist sheet and a copy of your child's Baptism Certificate to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or drop the form at the office. If your child was Baptized at Saint Gregory's, you should indicate it on the form but you do not need to provide a copy of the certificate.
4. There is a $50 Sacramental preparation fee.
 
My child attends SGGS. Do we come to PREP classes on Tuesday nights?
 
No, your family does not come to PREP classes on Tuesday nights. Your child is receiving religious education in his/her classroom daily. However, Sacramental preparation is a separate and distinct program from your child's foundational, systematic religious education curriculum. In its Pastoral Directive Regarding First Holy Communion, the Diocese of Richmond informs us that, "The responsibility for sacramental preparation rests on the parents and the parish. Catholic schools may reinforce and enhance this preparation but may not replace it." You will be participating in a homeschool program called Blessed (by Dynamic Catholic). 
 
My child attends public school. Do we come to PREP classes on Tuesday nights?
 
Yes, your child will attend PREP classes on Tuesday nights. In addition, because Sacramental preparation is a separate and distinct program from your child's foundational religious education curriculum, you will be participating in a homeschool program called Blessed (by Dynamic Catholic). 
 
Are there any required meetings and events during my child's Sacramental preparation year?
 
Yes. There is one mandatory parent meeting held at the beginning of the year. There is also one mandatory retreat and workshop for students and parents for First Reconciliation and one mandatory retreat and workshop for students and parents for First Eucharist. 
 
Adults:

If you are an adult desirous of receiving Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and you are not yet Catholic, please inquire about the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) with Sister Emily, here.

If you are already Catholic and have not received the Eucharist in a long time, all you have to do is make a good confession through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and then attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!

 

Eucharistic Adoration

Every Friday, we have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and adoration after the 8:30am Mass until 4:00PM, ending with Benediction.

 

About the Eucharist

 

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  • When was the first Eucharist Celebrated? +

    The Christian tradition holds and the Catholic faith will always uphold that the first Eucharist was the Last Supper. At that moment Christ changed the bread that they ate and the wine that they drank into his body and blood respectively. It is fitting that it is named Eucharist which means thanksgiving (Greek) for it was a sacrifice; Christ’s perfect sacrifice for all of us. The institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper can be found in Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20 and 1 Corinthians. 11:23-26.

    To learn more, click here. 

  • How many times per day can someone receive Holy Communion? +

    Holy Communion can be received twice a day as long as it is during a Eucharistic celebration (a.k.a. Mass). If someone is dying then they can receive it for the third time that day as Viaticum. The Catholic Church says that one is able to and should receive the sacrament each time one participates in the Mass. After one receives it for the first time in his/her life he/she is obliged to receive it at least once per year. However, the Church strongly encourages the faithful to receive the Eucharist on all Sundays, feast days and even daily (if possible).

    To learn more click here!

  • You don’t really think that wafer is Jesus do you? +

    It depends on when you are speaking of that wafer. Before it is consecrated it is just a wafer, but after the priest re-enacts the Last Supper then it is truly the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This is also known as the Real Presence. The Church has maintained since the time of the apostles that the bread that is broken and the wine that is poured becomes the actual body and blood, not that Jesus is present with the bread and the wine, nor that they are merely a symbol. In the Eucharist Christ is truly, wholly, and substantially present. The two clearest expressions of the real Presence in Scripture is in 1 Corinthians 10:14-17 and John 6:22-69.

  • What three elements does the Sacramental Sacrifice include? +

    Catholics consider the Eucharist as thanksgiving and praise to the Father, the sacrificial memorial of Christ and his body, and the presence of Christ by the power of his word and of his Spirit.

  • What are the fruits of Holy Communion? +

    Why is the Eucharist sometimes called Communion? The Eucharist augments our union with Christ; we are joined in a union with Christ and his Church through the Eucharist.

    “The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Lord said: ‘He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.’ Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet: ‘As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.'” -Catechism of the Catholic Church 1391

     Also, Holy Communion separates us from sin, wipes away venial sins and preserves us from future mortal sins.

  • What is the form and matter of this sacrament? +

    The form for the Eucharist is when the priest repeats the words of Jesus saying: “This is my body…” and “This is my blood….” And, if you haven’t guessed by now the matter is bread and wine and the wine must be at least 12% alcohol (we are not sure of the reasoning for this yet).

  • Do Catholics have trouble with this belief? +

    Yes, in fact there are two stumbling blocks for all Christians; the Eucharist and the Cross. These are the same mysteries that have been a cause of division for centuries. Our Catechism says:

    The first announcement of the Eucharist divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalized them: “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” The Eucharist and the Cross are stumbling blocks. It is the same mystery and it never ceases to be an occasion of division. “Will you also go away?”: the Lord’s question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation to discover that only he has “the words of eternal life” and that to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself. 
    -Catechism of the Catholic Church 1336

  • Why is the Eucharist referred to as the “source and summit of our faith?” +

    Let’s turn to one of the documents of Vatican II, Presbyterorum Ordinis (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests) Paragraph 5:

    “The other sacraments, as well as with every ministry of the Church and every work of the apostolate, are tied together with the Eucharist and are directed toward it. The Most Blessed Eucharist contains the entire spiritual boon of the Church, that is, Christ himself, our Pasch and living bread, by the action of the Holy Spirit through his very flesh vital and vitalizing, giving life to men who are thus invited and encouraged to offer themselves, their labors and all created things together with him. In this light the Eucharist shows itself as the source and apex of the whole work of the preaching of the Gospel.”

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