Eucharist

Eucharist

Baptism
Confirmation
Eucharist

We call the first three Sacraments the “Sacraments of Initiation” because through them we begin our lives in Christ: we become members of the Church, we share in the mission of the disciples, and we eat at the table of the Lord.

The Sacraments of Initiation: Eucharist

“The sacraments of Christian initiation – Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist – lay the foundations of every Christian life” (CCC 1212).

“Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Mt. 26:26-28)

Catholics often talk about “going to Mass” or sometimes, “going to Communion.” It’s the way most people describe participating in the Sacrament called the Eucharist. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek and means “thanksgiving.” We give thanks for this Sacrament in particular, because through it we receive the gift of Jesus Christ in his body and blood each and every time we participate. This gift not only feeds us as we try to respond to God’s call in our lives, it also keeps us united to the rest of the Body of Christ. As St. Paul says, “The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body … Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 12:27).

When we go to Mass, or celebrate the Eucharist, we participate in a beautiful ritual in which we recount the history of God’s plan of salvation through the Scriptures (the Liturgy of the Word) and share in the sacrificial meal of Christ’s body and blood (the Liturgy of the Eucharist). In addition to the readings, which come from the Old Testament, including the psalms, and the New Testament, including both the Gospels and the letters of the early Christians, most of the prayers of the Mass come from the Bible.

Jesus himself offered bread and wine as his body and blood at the final meal he shared with his apostles before he died for all of us.

One of the most important documents of the Second Vatican Council described the Eucharist as the “source and summit” of the Christian life; that is, it’s what everything comes from (source) and what we’re all striving toward (summit) (Lumen Gentium n.11). Jesus himself offered bread and wine as his body and blood at the final meal he shared with his apostles before he died for all of us. He commanded that night that we “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Each time we participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist we remember how clearly these loving acts of Jesus show us God’s love, and we try to respond with full and open hearts to this love, which will lead us to our eternal salvation.

Those who come to the Catholic Church as adults through the R.C.I.A. receive the Sacrament of Eucharist along with the other Sacraments of Initiation, typically at the Easter Vigil. Children baptized Catholic as infants then receive the Sacrament of Eucharist (commonly called “First Communion”) at about age seven or eight.

CONTACT US: