Eucharist Source and Summit
Feb. 04, 2009
"The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life.'"
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Referencing Vatican II's Lumen Gentium,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us to consider the Eucharist as:
Praise and Thanksgiving
The term Eucharist means an act of thanksgiving. Through the Eucharist, we are giving thanks to God the Father for all he has "accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification."1
The Substantial Body and Blood
Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a true, real and substantial way. The bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ "by the power of His word and of His Spirit," a process called transubstantiation. Through the Eucharist, we are made one with Christ, sharing His Body and Blood to form a single body.
Source and Summit
The Eucharist is the "source and summit" of our faith life. Within it we find spiritual nourishment. It is administered to the dying as food for their journey home, but it is also food for our journey in life.
We are a Eucharistic people, the beneficiaries of God’s great gift.