Catechesis Notes for the Week — Administering the Lord’s Supper according to Christ’s Institution — The administration of the Lord’s Supper involves more than Jesus’ Words of Institution and the earthly elements of bread and wine. It also involves catechesis and preaching which precede the administration of the Sacrament and its distribution to penitent Christians. Jesus bids us to receive His Word, so we learn it by heart. Jesus commands that the Sacrament only be given to penitent sinners who have been baptized and believe in Christ. The Apostle Paul directs the Church to proclaim the Lord’s death in sermons prior to the distribution of the Lord’s Supper, and that everyone who communes is to confess that it is His true body and blood given and shed for their forgiveness. The Apostle Paul also teaches us that when we partake at a particular altar that it is a confessional act in which we are saying that we believe, confess, and celebrate the unity of faith with that church. All this is involved in the right administration of the Sacrament of the Altar.CP240303