THE EUCHARIST
1. What is the Holy Eucharist?
The Eucharist is a sacrament, a sacrifice, and a sacred banquet. Under
the appearance of bread and wine our Savior Jesus Christ is entirely
present in this sacrament, body and blood, soul and divinity. In this
sacrament He offers Himself in sacrifice to the Father, and is received
as spiritual nourishment.
The word
"Eucharist" means
thanksgiving. Our Lord in a most special way gave thanks to the
Father
as He offered it. Moreover, the Eucharistic sacrifice is the most
excellent means we have of expressing our thanks to God.
2.
Why is the Eucharist the
center of Catholic life?
The Eucharist is the center of Catholic life precisely because Christ
is the center of all our life. In this sacrament Christ gives Himself
totally, that we might share His life and be bound together in His
mystical body.
"No Christian community can be
built up unless it has its basis and center in the celebration of
the Most Holy Eucharist" (PO 6). "For the Most Blessed Eucharist
contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, that is, Christ Himself,
our Passover and living bread" (PO 5).
3. Was the Eucharist foreshadowed in the
Old Testament?
Yes. In every age God taught
mankind to hope for salvation. But in the
divine plan salvation was to be achieved only by the sacrifice Christ
offered of Himself upon the cross, a sacrifice that is made present now
in all places through the sacrifice of the Mass. The sacrifices of the
old law could not of themselves bring salvation, but they could and did
foreshadow the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The Eucharist as sacrifice was
symbolized in a special way in the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, at
the time God was about to lead His people from the slavery of Egypt and
guide them toward the promised land. The Eucharist was represented by
the manna given to sustain the people of God as they wandered through
the desert to the homeland that God planned to give them.
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4. When did Christ institute the
Eucharist?
Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper which He
celebrated with His apostles the night before He died for us. "He took
bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and
said, ‘Take and eat, this is My body’ " (Matt. 26.26). Taking a cup of
wine, he said: "This cup which is poured out for you is the new
covenant in My blood" (Luke 22.20). Finally, he commanded the apostles
to do as He had done: that in every place bread might become His body,
and wine His blood, and that through His priests He might offer in
every place the perfect sacrifice to the Father. "Do this in
remembrance of Me" (1 Cor. 11.24).
By offering
this first Eucharistic sacrifice at the time of the paschal feast,
Jesus indicated the fulfillment of the promises symbolized by the first
Passover. Through the sacrifice of the cross, referred to and made
symbolically and really present at this sacrificial meal, He redeemed
the whole human race from the slavery of sin and made it possible for
all to come to the Promised Land of heaven.
5. Was the Eucharist celebrated
in the early Church?
Yes. In describing the life of the early Church, Christian writers of
that time gave special attention to the Eucharist. For the Eucharist
was the community’s essential celebration. It signified, and kept most
real, the presence of Christ in the community.
St. Luke says
of the first Christians in Jerusalem: they "devoted themselves to the
apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the
prayers" (Acts 2.42).
6. Why is the Mass called a true
sacrifice?
A sacrifice is the offering of a victim by a priest to God alone, to
acknowledge his divine sovereignty and to obtain his mercy. Now the
Mass is called a true sacrifice because in it our High Priest, Jesus,
truly offers Himself totally to the Father. Jesus does not rise and die
again every time the Eucharistic liturgy is enacted, but His one
sacrifice is made present to all in every celebration of the Mass. At
Mass, as on the cross, Jesus is the chief priest; and the ministerial
priest serves as His instrument. It is He who is the Victim, freely
offering Himself as He did on the cross, freely offering the suffering
and death He endured for us.
But in the
Mass His Church joins Him in the sacrifice. With Him, in obedience to
Him, the Church also performs the role of priest and victim, making a
total offering of itself together with Him.
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7. Why do we call the presence of Jesus in
the Eucharist a "real presence"?
Jesus is present to the Church in many ways. He is with the Church as
she believes, prays, and does works of mercy. He is present in the
activity of bishops and priests of the Church when they preach God’s
word, govern His people, and administer His sacraments. All these
presences of Jesus are of course real. But in speaking of the "real
presence" in the Eucharist we are recalling that this is the fullest
and most rich presence of Jesus. Jesus is present in many ways by His
action, care, and power; but the Eucharist is Jesus. He is totally
present wherever the Eucharist is present. He is present with all His
humanity and all His divinity.
Obviously
Jesus does not take on a new miniature body to be present in the
Eucharist. He has but one body, the body that once hung on the cross
and is now at the right hand of the Father. What changes is not Jesus,
or His glorious condition, but the number of places in which He is
present. When bread is changed into His body, the one body of the Lord
begins to be really present where there had been bread.
"Instructed in
these matters and certain in faith that what seems to be bread is not
bread — though it tastes like it — but rather the Body of Christ, and
that what seems to be wine is not wine — though it seems so to the
taste — but the Blood of Christ … strengthen your heart by receiving
this Bread as spiritual food and gladden the countenance of your soul"
(St. Cyril of Jerusalem).
8. To whom is the Eucharistic
sacrifice offered?
Because the Eucharist, which makes really present the sacrifice of the
cross, is the supreme act of worship, it can be offered only to God.
9. For whom is the Eucharistic
sacrifice offered?
At every Mass the chief priest is Christ, and His ministerial priest
must share Christ’s universal saving purpose. Every Mass is offered for
the salvation of all, the living and the dead.
Often the
faithful ask that a Mass be offered for a special intention; for
example, for one who has died, for some spiritual or temporal need, or
for giving thanks to the Lord. When Mass is said for a special
intention, it is in truth only a plea that part of the fruits of
Christ’s sacrifice might favor an intention for which one has special
concern.
When a financial offering is made with the request
that Mass be said for such a special intention, this is to be
understood as an expression of a desire to make a sacrifice of their
own, joining that small sacrifice to the Eucharistic sacrifice. By this
they also contribute in a particular way to the needs of the Church and
the sustenance of its ministers.
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What is the
Year of the Eucharist?
I place myself in the presence of Him, in
whose Incarnate Presence I am before I place myself there.
