Even by the time I was a teenager, I don't think that I had ever heard the word "eucharist." I was a baptized Christian who worshiped faithfully and who participated in the Lord's Supper whenever it was offered (which was once a month). I had almost perfect attendance in Sunday School, and I had three years of Saturday catechetical instruction to my credit. But I still don't think that I had ever heard of "The Eucharist."

This fact does not mean that my education regarding the sacramental meal was neglected. It was not. My textbook was Luther's Small Catechism. Saturday after Saturday the pastor would ask the members of my confirmation class, "What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?" Sometimes singly, sometimes together, we would answer: "We are told in the words 'for you' and 'f…