The Sacrament of the Eucharist
The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our Catholic faith, and the Holy Mass is at the center of our Catholic life.
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Jesus Gives Us the Eucharist
Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper while celebrating the Passover meal with His Apostles. Through this gift, Jesus continues to make Himself present to us today. He did not leave us, rather he gave Himself to the Church and remains with us in the Eucharist.
At Mass through the ministry of the priest, the bread and wine are consecrated and they become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Through this miracle, we receive the same Jesus who was crucified, died, and rose again.
The Eucharist is spiritual food that strengthens and nourishes us as we seek a deeper relationship with Christ. Each time we receive Holy Communion with faith and an open heart, we are invited to grow in holiness and receive the grace Chist offers us.
The Fruits of the Holy Communion
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the fruits of Holy Communion as:
"Holy Communion increases our union with Christ and with his Church. It preserves and renews the life of grace received at Baptism and Confirmation and makes us grow in love for our neighbor. It strengthens us in charity, wipes away venial sins and preserves us from mortal sin in the future." ~ Q & A 292.
Holy Communion strengthens us in charity, forgives veniel sins, and helps preserve us from mortal sin. Through the Eucharist, we are continually nourished and strenghtened in our Christian life.
Christ's Real Presence
Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist. After the consecration, Christ is present in the consecrated Host and Precious Blood, and His Eucharistic presence remains as long as the Eucharistic elements remain.
Because of Christ's enduring presence, the consecrated Hosts that remain after Mass are reserved in the tabernacle. The tabernacle is a sacred place where the Eucharist is kept and where we can come to pray and adore Jesus.
Throughout the history of the Church, the Eucharist has also been brought to those who are sick or homebound and unable to attend Mass. This ministry is possible because Christ remains truly present in the Eucharist. Those who cannot join us at Mass can still receive Jesus in the Holy Communion.
First Holy Communion
Children ordinarily prepare to receive their First Holy Communion around the ages of 7-8 (second grade). Preparation includes receiving the Sacrament of First Penance (Confession).
Adults who have not yet been baptized, as well as those who were baptized in another Christian tradition and seek full communion with the Catholic Church, prepare to receive the Sacraments of Christian Initiation through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA).
The Real Presence: Witnesses from the Early Church
From the earliest centuries of Christianity, the Church has professed faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Early Chistian writes spoke of the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ and described the transformation of the bread and wine through the Church's prayers.
"So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread is become the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ." ~ St. Athanasius
"Just as the bread and the wine of the Eucharist before the holy invocation of the adorable Trinity were simple bread and wine, but the invocation having been made, the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the wine the Blood of Christ. ~ St. Cyril of Jerusalem"
"They [the Gnostics] abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of Our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in his goodness, raised up again." ~ St. Ignatius of Antioch
"The bread, as the Apostle Paul says, ‘is consecrated by God’s word and by prayer’; not through its being eaten does it advance to become the Body of the Word, but it is made over immediately into the Body by means of the word, just as was stated by the Word, ‘This is My Body!’ …In the plan of His grace He spreads Himself to every believer by means of that Flesh, the substance of which is from wine and bread, blending Himself with the bodies of believers, so that by this union with the Immortal, man, too, may become a participant in incorruption." ~ St. Gregory of Nyssa
These witnesses from the early Church demonstrate the longstanding Christian belief that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist.
Videos on the Eucharist
The mystery of eating Jesus' flesh
The real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist
The Bible and the Sacrifice of the Mass
Common Questions
When he was resurrected, Jesus received a fully glorified body, which allows for him to be truly and really present in truly incredible ways, beyond our human comprehension.
Jesus' Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity are fully present in the smallest drop from the chalice (what appears and tastes like wine) or the smallest crumb from a host (what appears and tastes like bread).
So, you don't have to receive the Eucharist under both forms to "completely" receive Jesus. You get all of him no matter what!
For Catholics, receiving our Lord Jesus requires the proper disposition. The basic requirements are that one be baptized, be free of any serious (mortal) sin, and to observe the minimum one-hour fast. Additionally, reception of Holy Communion serves as a sign that the believer both believes all that the Church teaches as revealed by God and that they are in visible unity with the Church.
St. Paul speaks of this unity in his first letter to the Corinthians: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread." (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
Communion in the Church represents the assent of the faithful to all that the Church teaches. Therefore, non-Catholics cannot participate in Holy Communion, because they do not accept all that the Church teaches and are not united as a member of His Body, the Church. Allowing non-Catholics to receive Communion would falsely demonstrate a unity that does not exist.
Of course, Catholics desire that our unity be restored, but not at the expense of the truth of the situation. Insisting on this practice is not the Church being harsh or unwelcoming, rather it is the Church protecting the holiness of the Eucharist and the awesome sign of unity it communicates. The Catechism teaches that "The more painful the experience in the divisions in the Church which break the common participation in the table of the Lord, the more urgent are our prayers to the Lord that the time of complete unity among all who believe in him may return." (Catechism, 1398)
