A simple ceremony for the
breaking of the bread at a family meal may begin
a few days before, by making unleavened bread as
a family.
In the Catholic Church, the
bread used to consecrate the Eucharist must be
made from wheat flour and water ONLY. The
addition of any other ingredient constitutes an
invalid bread for consecration.
While the bread made in one's
home is not going to be consecrated into the
Body and Blood of Christ, we share a simple
recipe which has been approved by the Catholic
Diocese of Richmond (January 14, 2003) for
making Eucharistic Bread. Loaves made from
this bread are pictured above.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 1/4 cups very warm
water--110 degrees
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Directions:
Mix ingredients together in a
bowl until all the flour is mixed in.
Lightly oil or grease one's
hands and then knead the dough for five minutes.
To knead, turn the dough onto a lightly oiled
surface and push down with the heel of one's
palm, then fold the top of the bread onto the
bottom, turn the loaf 1/4 turn, and push down
with the heel of one's palm, repeating the above
steps. It is important to knead for the
full five minutes.
Cover the dough with a moist
cloth and let it rest for five minutes. In
the meantime, lightly oil or grease a cookie
sheet.
Use a knife to cut the dough
into four equal pieces. Using your hands,
press out one ball at a time into a flat,
circular loaf approximately 5 1/4 inches (13 mm)
in diameter and of equal thickness throughout.
Transfer each flat loaf to the cookie sheet.
No dough should be left over.
Using an oiled knife, score
each loaf. Press the knife blade deeply into the
dough to make 8 vertical and 8 horizontal cuts.
Do not cut all the way through, but make the
cuts deep enough so that they don't disappear
during baking. The cuts will help the
bread to be broken more easily.
Bake for 20 minutes our until
the bread dulls in color. Check the bottom
of each loaf to be sure the dough is baked
completely in the center.
Cool loaves completely on a
wire rack.
Freeze the loaves until ready
for use. Thaw the loaves
approximately 24 hours before using.
Chose an appropriate passage
to read during the Breaking of the Bread
Ceremony.
Bread was central to Jesus'
life. He was born in Bethlehem, which
means "House of Bread."
Luke 2: 1-7
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree
that a census should be taken of the entire
Roman world. (This was the first census that
took place while Quirinius was governor of
Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to
register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth
in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of
David, because he belonged to the house and line
of David. He went there to register with Mary,
who was pledged to be married to him and was
expecting a child. While they were there, the
time came for the baby to be born, and she gave
birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him
in cloths and placed him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in the inn.
Jesus would later
claim for Himself the title "Bread of Life"
and would state that this bread was His flesh.
John 6
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far
shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of
Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed
him because they saw the miraculous signs he had
performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a
mountainside and sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd
coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where
shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He
asked this only to test him, for he already had
in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “Eight months' wages would
not buy enough bread for each one to have a
bite!”
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five
small barley loaves and two small fish, but how
far will they go among so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There
was plenty of grass in that place, and the men
sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus
then took the loaves, gave thanks, and
distributed to those who were seated as much as
they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to
his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left
over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered
them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces
of the five barley loaves left over by those who
had eaten.
After the people saw the miraculous sign that
Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is
the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and
make him king by force, withdrew again to a
mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to
the lake, where they got into a boat and set off
across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was
dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A
strong wind was blowing and the waters grew
rough. When they had rowed three or three and a
half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat,
walking on the water; and they were terrified.
But he said to them, “It is I; don't be afraid.”
Then they were willing to take him into the
boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore
where they were heading.
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the
opposite shore of the lake realized that only
one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not
entered it with his disciples, but that they had
gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias
landed near the place where the people had eaten
the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once
the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his
disciples were there, they got into the boats
and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
When they found him on the other side of the
lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get
here?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are
looking for me, not because you saw miraculous
signs but because you ate the loaves and had
your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but
for food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father
has placed his seal of approval.”
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the
works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to
believe in the one he has sent.”
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then
will you give that we may see it and believe
you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the
manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave
them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is
not Moses who has given you the bread from
heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the
true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is
he who comes down from heaven and gives life to
the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this
bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He
who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who
believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I
told you, you have seen me and still you do not
believe. All that the Father gives me will come
to me, and whoever comes to me I will never
drive away. For I have come down from heaven not
to do my will but to do the will of him who sent
me. And this is the will of him who sent me,
that I shall lose none of all that he has given
me, but raise them up at the last day. For my
Father's will is that everyone who looks to the
Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and I will raise him up at the last day.”
At this the Jews began to grumble about him
because he said, “I am the bread that came down
from heaven.”
They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of
Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can
he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
"Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus
answered. “No one can come to me unless the
Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise
him up at the last day. It is written in the
Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’
Everyone who listens to the Father and learns
from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father
except the one who is from God; only he has seen
the Father. I tell you the truth, he who
believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of
life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the
desert, yet they died. But here is the bread
that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat
and not die. I am the living bread that came
down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. This bread is my flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among
themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh
to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood
is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks
my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as
the living Father sent me and I live because of
the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live
because of me. This is the bread that came down
from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and
died, but he who feeds on this bread will live
forever.” He said this while teaching in the
synagogue in Capernaum.
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This
is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about
this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?
What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where
he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh
counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to
you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are
some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had
known from the beginning which of them did not
believe and who would betray him. He went on to
say, “This is why I told you that no one can
come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”
From this time many of his disciples turned back
and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus
asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall
we go? You have the words of eternal life. We
believe and know that you are the Holy One of
God.”
Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the
Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant
Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though
one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
Jesus instituted the Eucharist
with bread and wine, on the feast of Unleavened
Bread.
Luke 22: Verses 1-22
Now the feast of Unleavened Bread, called the
Passover, was drawing near, and the chief
priests and the scribes were seeking a way to
put him to death, for they were afraid of the
people. Then Satan entered into Judas, the one
surnamed Iscariot, who was counted among the
Twelve, and he went to the chief priests and
temple guards to discuss a plan for handing him
over to them. They were pleased and agreed to
pay him money. He accepted their offer and
sought a favorable opportunity to hand him over
to them in the absence of a crowd.
When the day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
arrived, the day for sacrificing the Passover
lamb, he sent out Peter and John, instructing
them, "Go and make preparations for us to eat
the Passover."
They asked him, "Where do you want us to make
the preparations?"
And he answered them, "When you go into the
city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of
water. Follow him into the house that he enters
and say to the master of the house, 'The teacher
says to you, "Where is the guest room where I
may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' He
will show you a large upper room that is
furnished. Make the preparations there."
Then they went off and found everything exactly
as he had told them, and there they prepared the
Passover.
When the hour came, he took his place at table
with the apostles. He said to them, "I have
eagerly desired to eat this Passover 5 with you
before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not
eat it (again) until there is fulfillment in the
kingdom of God."
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, "Take
this and share it among yourselves for I tell
you (that) from this time on I shall not drink
of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of
God comes."
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke
it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my
body, which will be given for you; do this in
memory of me." And likewise the cup after they
had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant
in my blood, which will be shed for you. And yet
behold, the hand of the one who is to betray me
is with me on the table; for the Son of Man
indeed goes as it has been determined; but woe
to that man by whom he is betrayed."
After the crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus, our Lord made Himself
known to two disciples who recognized Him in the
breaking of bread.
Luke 24--28-30
As they approached the village to which they
were going, Jesus acted as if he were going
farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with
us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost
over.” So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table
with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it
and began to give it to them. Then their eyes
were opened and they recognized him, and he
disappeared from their sight. They asked each
other, “Were not our hearts burning within us
while he talked with us on the road and opened
the Scriptures to us?”
In the first days of the
Church, Christians gathered together to break
bread in memory of Christ.
Acts 2:42-47
They devoted themselves to the apostles'
teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking
of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with
awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were
done by the apostles. All the believers were
together and had everything in common. Selling
their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone
as he had need. Every day they continued to meet
together in the temple courts. They broke bread
in their homes and ate together with glad and
sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the
favor of all the people. And the Lord added to
their number daily those who were being saved.
St. Paul and the other apostles handed on to us
the truth of Christ's Real Presence in the
Eucharist.
1 Corinthians 11:23-34
For I received from the Lord what I also passed
on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was
betrayed, took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body,
which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after supper he took the cup,
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my
blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in
remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the
Lord's death until he comes.
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the
cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be
guilty of sinning against the body and blood of
the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before
he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For
anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing
the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on
himself. That is why many among you are weak and
sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
But if we judged ourselves, we would not come
under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord,
we are being disciplined so that we will not be
condemned with the world.
So then, my brothers, when you come together to
eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry,
he should eat at home, so that when you meet
together it may not result in judgment. And when
I come I will give further directions.
CHRISTMAS
AND EASTER UNLEAVENED BREAD
