As the source and summit of Christian life, the Eucharist is most respected of the sacraments. All of the other sacraments, the pastoral work of the Church, and the charitable service of Catholics comes from the Eucharist and returns to it.
Celebrating the Eucharistic Sacrifice is the most ancient and perfect form of worshipping God. It is a foretaste of being united with Jesus in Heaven for eternity, which is the ultimate goal of Catholics.
Instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper, the Mass is an essential rite of the Church where the faithful participate in the saving Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus and actually receive Him in the Eucharist.
Jesus gives Himself to Catholics in the form of bread and wine which have become his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, providing them with the strength and grace that living a faithful Christian life requires.
At the end of every Mass, Catholics are sent out and instructed to live the Eucharist, serving the Lord by spreading the Gospel of Jesus and sharing the gift of God’s love with others through works of charity and mercy.
Even outside of Mass, Catholics spend time with Jesus present in the tabernacle in Church or lovingly gazing on Him in the most Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance during Eucharistic Adoration.
The heart of the Church:
A big deal:
No greater spiritual good:
“Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from Heaven to eat.’” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from Heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.” So they said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.”
John 6: 31-35
Spiritual food for a hungry soul:
Sharing God’s Body and Blood:
Nourishment and strength for the Christian:
Taking part in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life, they offer the Divine Victim to God, and offer themselves along with It. Thus both by reason of the offering and through Holy Communion all take part in this liturgical service, not indeed, all in the same way but each in that way which is proper to himself. Strengthened in Holy Communion by the Body of Christ, they then manifest in a concrete way that unity of the people of God which is suitably signified and wondrously brought about by this most august sacrament.
Pope Paul VI, Lumen Gentium, 21 November 1964
Attempting to rise to the level of God:
The great mystery of the Catholic faith:
The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the 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.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1324
Sent on a mission:
The grace to do as Jesus did:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Jesus is waiting in the chapel:
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