Sacrifice and communion are central concepts in any serious discussion of the Eucharist, but have seldom been without controversy, either in themselves or in relation to each other.

The essays in this book, originally delivered as papers at the fifth Fota International Liturgical Conference, seek to re-examine both these aspects of the Eucharist.

The authors come from a wide range of academic backgrounds, and the subject-matter is treated from a scriptural, patristic, liturgical, dogmatic, spiritual and canonical point of view.

Taken as a whole, the contributions demonstrate not only the historical importance but also the abiding relevance of these essential eucharistic categories.

Topics and Contributors: The holy Eucharist as sacrifice in canonical discipline - Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke The sacrificial character of the eucharistic celebration in the Letter to the Hebrews - Robert Abyneiko, O Cist Liturgical food for thought in John's Revelation - Klaus Berger Reasonable worship (Romans 12:1): Joseph Ratzinger's theology of sacrifice - Mariusz Biliniewicz Continuity in sacrifice: from Old Testament to New - Gerard Deighan O sacrum convivium: St Thomas Aquinas on the Eucharist - Patrick Gorevan What is the holy Mass?

The systematic discussion on the 'essence' of eucharistic sacrifice - Manfred Hauke The verum sacrificium of Christ and of Christians in De civitate Dei 10: Eucharist, Christology, and Christian identity - Daniel Jones The eucharistic magisterium of Blessed John Paul II - Thomas McGovern Mysterium fidei: Divo Barsotti on the Eucharist - Joseph Murphy The understanding of the sacrifice of the Eucharist in pre-Norman Ireland - Neil Xavier O'Donoghue The mystery of the Eucharist in the systematic theology of Matthias Joseph Scheeben - Michael Stickelbroeck Rubrics and the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist - D. Vincent Twomey SVD