Hindus, Christians, & Communion....the Eucharist, the Pope

I just received an update from Understand the Times ministry about some things that have been in the news over the past couple of weeks. I highly recommended going to understandthetimes.org to sign up to receive updates about what is happening in the world. I want to share a couple news items this email notice brought to my attention. All bold is my own emphasis.

Hindus and "Christians" Worship Together (but who are they worshiping???)
"Hindu nun Pravrajika Saradeshaprana, dressed in a saffron robe, blew into a conch shell three times, calling to worship Hindu and Episcopal religious leaders who joined Saturday to celebrate an Indian Rite Mass at St. John's Cathedral near downtown. The rare joint service included chants from the Temple Bhajan Band of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and a moving rendition of "Bless the Lord, O My Soul" sung by the St. John's choir."

"All were invited to Holy Communion, after the Episcopal celebrant elevated a tray of consecrated Indian bread, and deacons raised wine-filled chalices. In respect to Hindu tradition, a tray of flowers was also presented. Christians and Hindus lined up for communion, but since Orthodox Hindus shun alcohol, they consumed only the bread."

Pope Calls for All Christians to Celebrate the Eucharist

"Prayer, conversion of heart, the reinforcement of the bonds of communion, form the essence of this spiritual movement that we hope will soon lead the disciples of Christ to celebrate the Eucharist together, the manifestation of their full unity," he (the Pope) added.

More Eucharistic Talk

"He (the cardinal) called the initiative "a testimony to the liberating force" that comes from the Eucharist and allows Christians "to live in the world with eyes enlightened by hope and compassion." "

....Now for some clarification

What is the Eucharist?

In the teaching of the Catholic Church, the Eucharist is one of the seven sacraments, and is commonly referred to as "the Blessed Sacrament". The Institution of the Eucharist is one of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. The Eucharist is a commemoration, or, in Greek, anamnesis [2] of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ (called the Paschal Mystery), understood in the fullest sense that it has in Biblical tradition. In other words, it is a memorial which does not just bring to mind the event celebrated, but also makes it truly present. The Eucharist is therefore understood to be not simply a representation of Christ's presence, or a remembrance of his Passion and Death, but an actual participation in the Sacrifice of Christ, the manifestation in the present, of an event that occurred once for all in time. The Eucharist makes present that one sacrifice, not a different sacrifice. The priest and victim of the sacrifice are one and the same; the only difference is in the manner in which it is offered—the Church teaches that the Mass is the sacrifice at Calvary made present in an unbloody manner.

The bread is changed in the Eucharist into Jesus' body, but, because Jesus, risen from the dead, is living, not only his body is present, but Jesus as a whole, body and blood, soul and divinity. The same holds for the wine changed into his blood.

The Catholic Church accordingly believes that through transubstantiation Christ is really, truly and substantially present under the remaining appearances of bread and wine, and that the transformation remains as long as the appearances remain. For this reason the consecrated elements are preserved, generally in a church tabernacle, for giving holy communion to the sick and dying, and also for the secondary, but still highly prized, purpose of adoring Christ present in the Eucharist.

What is Eucharistic Adoration?

"Exposition of the Eucharist is the display of the consecrated host on an altar in a Monstrance. The rites involving exposition of the Blessed Sacrament are the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Eucharistic adoration.Consecrated hosts are kept in a tabernacle after Mass, so that the Blessed Sacrament can be brought to the sick and dying outside the time of Mass. This makes possible also the practice of Eucharistic adoration, worship of Christ present in the Eucharist, whether the sacrament remains enclosed in the tabernacle or is exposed to view in a monstrance."

Hopefully through this information, you will be able to tell that the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist and Eucharistic adoration are not the same as participating in communion that Jesus taught Christians to do in remembrance of Him. Roman Catholicism teaches that the bread and wine, once consecrated, become truly and substantially Jesus' presence so much that Catholics may actually worship the bread in the monstrance because they believe it is actually Jesus. This is nothing less than idolatry and the Pope has said many times said that the Eucharist will one day unite all "Christians". This is the Eucharistic Jesus (another Jesus). This is not the Jesus of the Bible whom they claim is "present" in the monstrance.