Meaning of hostia (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Hostia:

The white wafer or unleavened bread, unleavened, of wheat flour with a circular shape used in the Eucharist or mass offered as an offering or sacrifice is known as the host. The word host is of Latin origin that expresses 'being who sacrifices himself to appease or in honor of the gods'.

During the celebration of the Eucharist the host is consecrated and offered to the faithful. In consecration or transubstantiation, the host becomes the Body of Jesus Christ and at that moment it is also called the Sacred Form or Sacred Form. For this, the priest takes the bread and repeats the words of Christ at the Last Supper: "Take and eat all of him, because this is my Body, which will be delivered by you."

Once the consecration of the bread is finished, the priest raises the Sacred Form towards the faithful so that they adore it and venerate it with the strong faith that characterizes them. Finally, the priest kneels to also adore and venerate her.

On the other hand, the word host was formerly used to refer to everything that could be used as a sacrifice, as animals and, in some religions, human beings, as sacrificial victims. However, the Spaniards use the word hostia as a blow that is given with the open hand in the face of another person, "what the hell, man!", But also to denote surprises, admiration, astonishment, as hostia, you have come to see me!

Also, in the colloquial use of the Spanish, the term hostia is the malicious intention or genius of a living being, "what a bad host your parents have today!" Also, the word is used to identify that it was going at full speed, such as: "We arrived fast, you were going to all host!"

The synonyms for host are bread, Eucharist, wafer, etc.

See also:

• Eucharist Corpus Christi.

Ostia and host

The words ostia and hostia are homophonic terms, this means, they have the same pronunciation but their meaning and writing are different. Ostia are oysters, or what is the same, molluscs, their meat being edible and appreciated for its properties and benefits for humans.

For more information, see the article Ostia.