The Holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1322).
"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet; in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 47; quoted in CCC, 1323)."
The Eucharist--Source and Summit of Ecclesial Life
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 11)." "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch (Decree on the Life and Ministry of Priests, 5; quoted in CCC, 1324)."
"The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and the unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit (CCC, 1325)."
Finally, by the Eucharistic celebrating we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all (CCC, 1326).
In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: "Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking. (St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 18, 5: PG 7/ 1, 1028; quoted in CCC, 1327)."
The Liturgical Celebration of the Eucharist
The Eucharistic celebrating always includes; the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship (CCC, 1408).
The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action (CCC, 1409).
The Sacramental Sacrifice: Thanksgiving, Memorial, Presence
It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice (CCC, 1410)
By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his should and his divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651; quoted in CCC, 1413).
The Fruits of Holy Communion
As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God (CCC, 1414).
Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance (CCC, 1415).
Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ (CCC, 1416).
The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy communion when they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year (CCC, 1417).
The Eucharist – "Pledge of the Glory to Come"
Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is...a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66; quoted in CCC, 1418).
Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unite us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints (CCC, 1419).
