This week, I want to begin a series of teachings about the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Each week, I'll reprint here two or three paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and add my own commentary. I hope this will help you appreciate the meaning of the Eucharist, and help you participate at Mass with more understanding. My prayer is that you will fall more in love with Jesus in the Eucharist, and that it will promote increased participation in weekly Mass. Please read, think about, receive, and respond to what Jesus has for you, and pass these articles on to others!
The paragraphs about the Eucharist are in Part II of the Catechism, entitled 'Celebrating the Christian mystery.' Here are the first two paragraphs in the section on the Eucharist:
#1322 – 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.
#1333 – "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” (Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #47).
Commentary:These first two paragraphs begin by saying the Eucharist ‘completes Christian initiation.’ With Baptism and Confirmation, the Eucharist ‘initiates’ us into Christ’s way of life.
Every organization has some kind of ‘initiation’ to teach members its history and ideals, and call forth a commitment to live them out. It’s the same with the Church. Baptism, the first Sacrament we receive, teaches us that Christ’s self-sacrificial death (immersion into the water) is the way that leads to life and resurrection (coming up from the water). Baptism, says the Catechism, ‘raises us to the dignity of the royal priesthood.’ After Baptism, we’re called to rule over our bodies, put to death our selfish passions, and offer our lives every day as a pleasing sacrifice of self-giving love for God and neighbor.
Confirmation, the second Sacrament of initiation, teaches us we’re not alone in the daily struggle for holiness. The Holy Spirit seals and empowers us. The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus to conquer the devil in the desert. The Spirit also empowered him to offer his body on the cross in love for the Father and us. The same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus now empowers us. After Confirmation, we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with his gifts of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and reverence, to empower us to conquer the deadly pull of pride, envy, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, and laziness.
The Eucharist, the third ‘Sacrament of initiation,’ makes us one body and one spirit with Christ. His words, ‘This is my Body, given for you … This is my Blood, poured out for you,’ teach us the meaning of our bodies. Our bodies are gifts to be given. Through our bodies, we make a gift of ourselves to God and others through daily labor. Every sacrifice, act of service, suffering, toil, and work can be united with Jesus in the Eucharist and offered with Jesus to the Father for the salvation of the world. At every Mass, we’re called to imitate what we receive – to give and pour ourselves out ‘for others.’ It’s the weekly ‘initiation’ we need to stay focused on the true meaning of life.
The Catechism goes on to quote Vatican II’s statement that the Eucharist ‘perpetuates the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages.’ After he ascended into heaven, Jesus brought his sacrificial death before his Father, to intercede for us for us. Jesus is always presenting his sacrificial love for us to the Father on our behalf. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus’ prayer to the Father – on the cross, and perpetually in heaven – is opened for us to participate in. We unite all our sacrifices to Jesus’ prayer, and intercede of the salvation of the world.
The Eucharist will continue to be celebrated ‘until Christ should come again.’ Then we’ll no longer need the Sacrament of Christ’s death and resurrection. When Christ comes to complete history, we’ll be raised incorruptible and participate in the eternal exchange of Trinitarian love – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Catechism lists some characteristics of the Eucharist that will be elaborated in future paragraphs: the Eucharist is a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet, a means of filling our mind with grace, and a pledge of future glory. There’s a lot packed into the Eucharist! We’ll continue to unpack its meaning in these articles as we learn from the Eucharist who we’re called to be as followers of Christ in his Church.
I'll continue this series next week with the following two paragraphs from the Catechism. God bless!