The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the entire Christian life." "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." CCC#1324
Today we celebrate The Feast of The Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ (Corpus Christi). We see that the theology of The Eucharist as ‘the source and summit of all Christian life’ stems from the very foundation of the early Church Herself. In The Acts of the Apostles we see the first description of the gathering of the disciples as fulfilling what the Lord had commanded when He said “Take and eat…do this in memory of Me”. It says of the early Church: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” [Acts 2:42]. So the Eucharist was, along with the Apostolic Teaching of The Church, the essential and genuine source of the Christian life! As Christ had ascended to His Father, so now the Apostles began to fulfill His memorial as our Lord intended. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us . . .
"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.'"SC47 [CCC#1323].
When the CCC teaches us that this Mystical Bread of the Last Supper was instituted “…to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages”, it does not mean that Christ is sacrificed again and again. Rather it is we, as temporal creatures, who enter into again and again the sacrifice of Christ offered once for all on the cross [Rom 6:10]. The sacrifice as a memorial therefore is not merely ‘remembered’ like an anniversary date. Rather, when we enter into the sacrifice of the Eucharist again and again and we experience the words of Christ, "This is My body which is given for you" and "This chalice which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in My blood.", we are experiencing in our own time and in our own place the self-same sacrifice of Christ upon the cross, albeit in a sacramental, unbloody, and yet mystical manner. Hence the CCC teaches…
The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit: Christ, our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper "on the night when he was betrayed," he wanted to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit [CCC 1366].
This Eucharistic teaching of the Church follows entirely upon the lines of the Jewish Passover, which commemorated and “made present” to those who partook of it the events of Exodus. It is therefore in continuity with the Old Testament, but at the same time superseding it entirely with the New Covenant of Christ. The bread and wine of Melchizedek, the unleavened bread and the "cup of blessing" of the Jewish Passover meal, the manna in the desert, the Lamb of sacrifice in the Temple, all these were foreshadowings of the Eucharist which would be instituted by Christ as the New Covenant Memorial Sacrifice we celebrate in the Mass. Hence, Jesus, as the New Lamb of God, really is present, His sacrifice is really entered into and eaten, and He really continues to bring to completion our redemption at each Mass that we have the privilege and the blessing of God to attend.
Catechism of The Catholic Church The Celebration of the Eucharist The Mass of all ages
1345 As early as the second century A.D., we have the witness of St. Justin Martyr for the basic lines of the order of the Eucharistic celebration. They have stayed the same until our own day for all the great liturgical families. St. Justin wrote to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161) around the year 155, explaining what Christians did:
On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits. When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things. Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves … and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation. When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss. Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren. He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts. When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: ‘Amen.’ When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the “eucharisted” bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.
In The “Our Father”, The Greek word epiousios, which is translated “daily” in The Lord’s Prayer, cannot be found anywhere else in the New Testament, or in any of the writings of the period. Literally it means “super-essential” – something most vital, something we need more than anything else in the world. This is how the Early Christians described the Eucharist. This is why we pray The Lord’s Prayer before Holy Communion at Mass.
O SACRED BANQUET, in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory given to us!
Today we celebrate The Feast of The Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ (Corpus Christi). We see that the theology of The Eucharist as ‘the source and summit of all Christian life’ stems from the very foundation of the early Church Herself. In The Acts of the Apostles we see the first description of the gathering of the disciples as fulfilling what the Lord had commanded when He said “Take and eat…do this in memory of Me”. It says of the early Church: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” [Acts 2:42]. So the Eucharist was, along with the Apostolic Teaching of The Church, the essential and genuine source of the Christian life! As Christ had ascended to His Father, so now the Apostles began to fulfill His memorial as our Lord intended. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us . . .
"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.'"SC47 [CCC#1323].
When the CCC teaches us that this Mystical Bread of the Last Supper was instituted “…to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages”, it does not mean that Christ is sacrificed again and again. Rather it is we, as temporal creatures, who enter into again and again the sacrifice of Christ offered once for all on the cross [Rom 6:10]. The sacrifice as a memorial therefore is not merely ‘remembered’ like an anniversary date. Rather, when we enter into the sacrifice of the Eucharist again and again and we experience the words of Christ, "This is My body which is given for you" and "This chalice which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in My blood.", we are experiencing in our own time and in our own place the self-same sacrifice of Christ upon the cross, albeit in a sacramental, unbloody, and yet mystical manner. Hence the CCC teaches…
The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit: Christ, our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper "on the night when he was betrayed," he wanted to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit [CCC 1366].
This Eucharistic teaching of the Church follows entirely upon the lines of the Jewish Passover, which commemorated and “made present” to those who partook of it the events of Exodus. It is therefore in continuity with the Old Testament, but at the same time superseding it entirely with the New Covenant of Christ. The bread and wine of Melchizedek, the unleavened bread and the "cup of blessing" of the Jewish Passover meal, the manna in the desert, the Lamb of sacrifice in the Temple, all these were foreshadowings of the Eucharist which would be instituted by Christ as the New Covenant Memorial Sacrifice we celebrate in the Mass. Hence, Jesus, as the New Lamb of God, really is present, His sacrifice is really entered into and eaten, and He really continues to bring to completion our redemption at each Mass that we have the privilege and the blessing of God to attend.
Catechism of The Catholic Church The Celebration of the Eucharist The Mass of all ages
1345 As early as the second century A.D., we have the witness of St. Justin Martyr for the basic lines of the order of the Eucharistic celebration. They have stayed the same until our own day for all the great liturgical families. St. Justin wrote to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161) around the year 155, explaining what Christians did:
On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits. When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things. Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves … and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation. When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss. Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren. He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts. When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: ‘Amen.’ When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the “eucharisted” bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.
In The “Our Father”, The Greek word epiousios, which is translated “daily” in The Lord’s Prayer, cannot be found anywhere else in the New Testament, or in any of the writings of the period. Literally it means “super-essential” – something most vital, something we need more than anything else in the world. This is how the Early Christians described the Eucharist. This is why we pray The Lord’s Prayer before Holy Communion at Mass.
O SACRED BANQUET, in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory given to us!