“Eucharist” refers both to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (known as Holy Mass), as well as the Body and
Blood of Christ hidden beneath the likeness of bread and wine. It is the greatest of all Sacraments, as the
Catechism explains:
The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”[1] “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.
Catholics believe in the Real Presence. That is to say, Jesus Christ is “present in a true, real, and
substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (CCC 1413).” When we compare the Man
who walked the earth some 2,000 years ago with the consecrated Bread and Wine, the only difference is
appearance — all the same, it is Jesus Christ our Lord.
By his power over all creation and according to his boundless love, bread and wine at Holy Mass are
transformed into the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ, which we consume during Holy Communion. In this
moment, Christ and his beloved become one in flesh and spirit. Such is the intimacy that Christ desires with each
one of us! In this union with Christ, we also have communion with all our brothers and sisters spread throughout
the world (CCC 1398).
We celebrate the Holy Mass daily, but Catholics are obliged only to attend Mass on Sundays and a few other
days of obligation. For this is how Mother Church wants us to observe the Lord’s Day — by gathering around his
Table as one family.