The True Essence Of Communion Wafers
If you are not a Christian or just vaguely familiar with the religion, then you might have wondered what communion wafers are and what it’s for.
Holy wafers are used during Holy Communions and are meant to symbolize the body of Christ. Although the symbolism might be too complicated for some people, what makes up the bread itself is quite simple.
The thing is if you taste one, it will be quite unlike anything, but this tastelessness in the wafer is crucial to the ceremony instead. It is important since it helps to let people focus their attention on the meaning behind the practice instead.
You will find that there are so many manufacturers for today’s holy wafer. Each company has their own special elements when it comes to making the bread, but most do contain two of the basic ingredients found in it.
The two basic ingredients would include water and pure wheat flour. Of course, other communion breads are made from more complicated ingredients, but that recipe would depend on the manufacturer.
Other ingredients that are used in the recipe are yeast and sometimes salt, so that it will have a tinge of flavor.
However, there is one very special ingredient that is sometimes added when making these holy wafers, and that is holy water.
Some makers sprinkle a small amount of holy water on the dough while the mixture is mixed. It is baked and then created into the holy wafers that we use in mass.
Most Christians are quite acquainted with communion wafers, but not everyone knows how to make them.
This should not be a surprise though since the work of creating them was assigned to few special people back in the day.
History dictates that churches used to pick out only one baker that was tasked to create the wafer. Apart from that, there was a special oven designated for this purpose only so that the ritual of making the wafers was kept sacred.
As time passed, the secrecy faded and the tradition of creating the wafers also changed.
Today, large manufacturers are the ones that create these wafers. They are made by people in the private sector now and are no longer exclusively made by nuns or special bakers assigned y the church.
However, even though there are quite a number of manufacturers, there are still companies that hold a monopoly when it comes to supplying wafers for the majority of the churches in the US.
The fact is there is one company that supplies over three fourths of the churches found in the United States.
The history and significance of these holy wafers cannot be underestimated. Even though most non Christians might not be familiar with them, there is no doubt that it is an essential part of the faith as well as the ceremony of these churches.
For a Christian, participating in a Holy Communion and taking in communion wafers symbolizes something far beyond the tastelessness of this holy bread, it symbolizes the faith that he has on his Lord and remembers the Lord’s undying love for his children.