Eucharist

Celebration of the    Eucharist

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.

"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.’" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1322--1323)

In the celebration of the Eucharist, the People of God are gathered together to hear God’s word proclaimed and broken open.  The priest, as the presiding celebrant, together with the assembly then praises and thanks the Father through the Paschal Mystery of the Son in the Holy Spirit for the work of our redemption.  In the Eucharistic Prayer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ so that the faithful may themselves be changed to be more like him.  This sacramental food nourishes the assembly to continue the mission the Lord gave to the apostles.

While the reception of Communion by the faithful is "that more perfect form of participation in the Mass" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 55), Communion is also distributed outside Mass, though always using the proper ritual, to those who are sick or dying, manifesting their connection with the Eucharistic assembly.

The real presence of the risen Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is also the focus of the cult of adoration.  This adoration, whether during exposition or informally, extends the grace of the Eucharistic sacrifice and promotes "those right dispositions that enable [the faithful] with due devotion to celebrate the memorial of the Lord and receive frequently the bread given us by the Father" (Eucharisticum mysterium, 50).