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June 5, 2020Selections from the in-brief section with a few personal thoughts
At the end of each major section of The Catechism of the Catholic Church, its editors wisely offered us a summary section with the highlights from that section. Anyone trying to get a quick overview of the teachings of the Church on any given topic would glance at this summary, called “In Brief,” and get a refresher on those truths.
The in-brief section on the Eucharist begins with the biblical foundations from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John and then continues with how this sacrament is so essential for our lives as disciples of Christ.
1406 Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; … he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and … abides in me, and I in him.”
1407 The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once and for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his body, which is the Church.
Our celebration of the Eucharist, the Mass, is one act of worship divided into two parts: Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This our act of thanksgiving where bread and wine are consecrated by Christ himself, through his instrument, the priest. The Body and Blood of Christ is our divine nourishment.
1412 The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper: "This is my body, which will be given up for you … This is the cup of my blood."
1413 By the consecration, the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine, Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity.
1414 As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.
The Bread of Angels, the Eucharist, when received properly, fortifies us with God’s life and love that unites us all with Christ and all that united to him. We share in and through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, a unity that can only be broken through ignorance and sin.
1415 Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.
1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.
1418 Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is … a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord.”
Living a eucharistic life of an intense love of Christ demands a love to each of our brothers and sisters in whom Christ is present and with whom we share our communion with Christ with. This is a foretaste of heaven.
1419 Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.
Visit the tabernacle, visit Jesus. Pray. Give thanks. Say, “I love you Lord. Help me love others. Amen.”