The Sacrament of Eucharist

The word 'Eucharist' comes from the Greek word eucharistein. It simply means 'to give thanks'. Eu means 'well, good' and charis means 'gift', so when we say 'Eucharist' we are saying 'the gift is good!' In the Eucharist we exchange gifts with God. We offer to him the bread and the wine, and he gives us his own body and blood. The Eucharist is a shared meal.
Eating and drinking together is one of the most sociable things we can do, and during the Eucharist we join with the whole of the Church to eat and drink together. But the Eucharist is more than just a cosy meal, it is also a sacrifice. The roots of the Eucharist lie in
the Jewish Passover meal which commemorates the delivery of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The story is told in the Old Testament, in the Book of Exodus. In order to persuade a reluctant Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go free, God killed every first-born son. During the first 'Passover every Jewish household was instructed to sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle its blood on their door posts so that the angel of death would see the blood and 'pass over them, sparing the life of their first-born son. When Jesus spoke of himself as 'the lamb of God', and the bread and wine of the last supper as
his body and blood, he was speaking of himself as the Passover sacrifice, the lamb whose
blood would be shed so that the people of Israel might go free.

The Mass is the new Passover, with Jesus offering his own body and blood so that we might go free. In other words, as well as being a sacred meal, the Eucharist is also a link with Jesus' death. When we take part in the Eucharist we take part in the Passover meal which he celebrates with us now, shedding his blood so that we might be saved.

Mass is celebrated every day, but above all on a Sunday — the first day of the week, the day of Jesus' resurrection. The Mass we celebrate today has the same overall structure as it has done throughout the centuries:
It is in two parts,
The liturgy of the word, with readings, a homily and intercessions,
The liturgy of the Eucharist which consists of the presentation of bread and wine, the
consecration and communion.

Transubstantiation
The Church teaches that Christ is really present in the bread and wine that have been blessed by the priest at Mass. This means that the bread and wine have become the body and blood of Christ. Although the bread and wine still look and taste like bread and wine, the substance, what is actually there, has changed. The word 'transubstantiation' is used to describe this real change. Transubstantiation just means 'a change in substance'.

When we talk about the Eucharistic celebration we often refer to it simply as 'the Mass'.
This is the name it has been given from at least the sixth or seventh centuries. The word 'mass' comes from the Latin word 'missio the sending. This refers to the words of dismissal at the end of Mass: 'ite missa est' — Go! It is sent forth!' which in today's Mass is translated; 'The Mass is ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.' No one quite knows why the Eucharist came to be known as the 'missa' or 'mass; but some think that it is because of the way that monastic prayers were conducted in the early Middle Ages. When the monks gathered for prayers, they were often concluded with a short Eucharistic celebration.
These Eucharist's sometimes took only ten minutes or so, and as they marked the end of the whole set of prayers, they signalled the end of the service. This, it is suggested, is why the Eucharist came to be known as the 'dismissal; the Mass.

Early Days
From the earliest days the Christian community has come together to celebrate the Eucharist or, as it is often referred to, the Mass. The Acts of the Apostles, written around the year 7O AD tells how the early Christians met regularly for "the breaking of bread" (Acts 2:42).
And in one of the most valuable documents we possess, Justin the Martyr gives us this unique picture of the celebration of Mass in 150 AD.:

"On the day which is called Sun-day, all, whether they live in the town or the country,
gather in the same place. Then the memoirs of the Apostles or the Writings of the Prophets are read for as long as time allows. When the reader has finished, the president speaks, exhorting us to live by these noble teachings. Then we rise together and pray. Then as we said earlier, when the prayer is finished, bread, wine and water are brought. The president then prays and gives thanks as well as he can. And all the people reply with the acclamation, 'Amen'. Then the Eucharistic gifts are distributed and shared out to everyone, and the deacons are sent to take them to those who are absent"

The Mass is a mystery which touches the life of the whole world. It is like an irresistible magnet which in the huge sprawling cities and the remotest villages stirs people out of their homes and groups them together around the Lord. The language can be different, the external shape and form can change, but the essence of the mystery remains always intact. Nothing has changed since Justin's day.

Coming Together
The first thing we see is people coming together. They come from different homes and situations: some happy, some sad, some fulfilled, some lonely. But there is a unity. Catholics are united in that we believe that coming together for the Sunday Eucharist, or Mass, is important. For we believe that, despite all the problems, God's power is at work in the world and that God's strength can overcome human weakness. This is true for people of every race, colour and creed. Our coming together as Christ's followers brings this belief in God's power within each one of us into focus.

Listening
The second thing we see at Mass is that very soon everyone sits down to listen to the Scriptures being read. There are a lot of ways in which we believe that God has spoken and continues to speak to people. Human experience and our own conscience, for example, are ways in which God touches everyone. Yet for Christians there is something more: there is Jesus Christ and all that he has taught us about God and his love for his people. That's why, at the final reading, which is from the Gospels, we stand to listen to the words Jesus himself spoke. When we listen to God's word in the Scriptures it brings God's voice in the world into focus.

Thanksgiving
The third thing we see as central to the Mass is what Catholics call the Eucharistic Prayer. The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek word meaning "thanksgiving". Everyone gathers around the altar with the priest to re-enact what Christ did with his disciples at the Last Supper. We listen afresh to Christ's words thanking and praising God saying:

"Take this all of you, and eat it. This is my body which will be given up for you."
Then, "Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in memory of me."

We believe what Christ said. We believe that when we remember and act on his words, Jesus is present. This is the most precious moment of life. The bread and wine which has been brought forward to represent our life and work are now changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. He is present, as he said he would be, and is our reminder of God's unending promise. But this precious moment doesn't mean that what's happening in the rest of the world is irrelevant. The opposite is true. This moment reminds us of the importance of every single person in God's eyes. Our celebration of Christ's presence among us brings into focus just how precious is the whole of God's world.

Communion
Finally, at the heart of the Mass is Holy Communion. This is a personal moment. When we share in this sacred meal we do indeed share in the life of Christ. We are experiencing the result of God's great desire to come to us and be one with us. To make the bread and wine for our Communion, grapes and grain are crushed. Jesus Christ was also crushed for our communion. He was crushed and crucified on the Cross, so that the power of God's love for all could be shown. In all our lives there is suffering, but our suffering is not meaningless. For when suffering is faced with love, that which is crushed and broken is transformed by such love into new life. Our celebration of Communion brings into focus the cost of all true loving and shows us where such love will lead us- into the hands of God the Creator of love.

What does the Eucharist tell us?
When we think about the reality of what our celebration at Mass tells us it becomes clear that in the Eucharist we find all that we need in life. We find unity with others, guidance from our heavenly, Father, food for the journey and confirmation of the promise which was made to us by Jesus Christ. The Lord has not the slightest intention of leaving us to our own devices and our narrow outlook on life. Having created each of us to be special and unique he doesn't leave it there any more than we would leave a new born baby to fend for itself. No, our heavenly Father intends to nurture and cosset us every moment of our lives until the day we are completely one with him in love, unity and peace.

God gives us his Body and Blood as a sign of his continued presence to nurture and continually form us in his likeness. We are called to bring Christ to our home, our workplace, our world. And we are called to do this, not by hollow words and empty gestures, but as Christ comes to us — in a simple, everyday way; a gentle way with ordinary, everyday gifts and actions which transform and nurture in a profound and authentic way.

What is the Eucharist?
Christ's own preaching of the Eucharist met with small success. In the synagogue at Capernaum his claim that he would give his flesh for the life of the world was greeted very unsympathetically. Many of his followers walked away. And, at the Last Supper, with his closest disciples, he took bread and wine saying, "This is my body ... this is my blood poured out for you", one of those with Jesus had the mind to betray him.
To the ancient world the Eucharist seemed "intolerable language". (John 6:60) It appears no more reasonable to the modern world. And so it has been throughout the Church's history. Jesus' claim seems to defy reason. "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" How can it make sense to suggest that, "Christ becomes present in this sacrament precisely by a change of the bread's whole substance into his body and the wine's whole substance into his blood"? (St Thomas Aquinas)

We must be clear about two things. Firstly, in the Eucharist we are going beyond appearances. In the Eucharist Christ is as truly present as he was nearly two thousand years ago in Capernaum. And, even then, people judged only by external appearances. "This is the son of Joseph. We know his father and his mother," they said, "how can he claim to have come down from heaven?... What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you?" Appearances were deceiving. Appearances are deceiving.

Secondly, Christ's presence among men and women was not in itself sufficient to save those who met him. To be saved, they had to approach him in faith. We have to communicate with him. He is present as our food, the eating of which gives us a share in his saving sacrifice and resurrection.

Yet Christ's presence among us, and especially his unique presence in the Eucharist, is the foundation of our faith. It is the mystery of faith. How does the Church describe the vital change which takes place in the bread and wine at the words of consecration at Mass?

Most Catholics are familiar with the word transubstantiation which has been used by the Church since the 12th century to describe this change. The substance of the bread changes; but the accidents do not.

Accidents are those qualities which are perceived by the senses — taste, touch, sight etc. The substance is what is grasped by the mind. Only an intelligent human being can say "what" a thing is.

Usually, when the senses perceive the qualities of whiteness, softness etc. the mind, left to itself, says, "that is bread". But Jesus Christ has not left the mind to itself. He tells us that by the power of his word the bread and wine are changed into his Body and Blood.

Eucharist means thanksgiving.
The eating of the bread and wine, which are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to be the food of eternal life, is the sign of our union with Christ. In the synagogue in Capernaum Jesus said, "Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life and I shall raise him up on the last day." (John 6:54)

Jesus instituted the Eucharist within the Jewish Passover meal on the night before he died. Jesus said, "I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-1 6)

Then Jesus took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying,
'This is my body which shall be given for you; do this as a memorial of me'. He did the same with the cup after supper, and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you.'

In the Eucharist then, we are united with Christ through the power of the Spirit and so united with the risen Christ's worship of his Father. "Nourished by his body and blood and filled with his Holy Spirit, we become one body, one Spirit in Christ" and so are able to offer glory and honour to the Almighty Father.

The Mass Perpetuates Christ's Sacrifice On The Cross.
The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of Calvary. This is the central mystery of our faith. But what does it mean? After all, the casual observer sees no similarity whatever between the cold callousness of Calvary and the calm comfort of today's celebration, separated by nearly two thousand years.

How do we explain our statement of the truth? We will make our explanation in three stages:

1. What happened at Calvary.
On the Cross, Jesus chose to offer himself to the Father, in the supreme sacrifice of the giving of his blood. At that moment Jesus breathed his last with the words, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

But then, into Jesus' lifeless body the Father poured his life-giving Spirit. The Son, who offered his life into the hands of the Father, now sits at the right hand of his Father, raised up as Lord.

On the night before he died Jesus had instituted the Eucharist to be a sign of his true and continuing presence. To understand the full significance of his presence, then, we look at the full meaning of the sign.

2.What happens at Mass.
And what do we see? We see the sign of Christ's body and blood on our altar offered to the Father by the priest. In the name of Christ he consecrates the bread and wine, changing them into Jesus' body "given up for you" and blood "shed for you".

On our altar at Mass then, Christ is present in the moment of offering himself to his Father. Jesus Christ, filled with the life giving Spirit of his Father, is given for us. What happens in a bloody manner on Calvary takes place in a sign ,but just as truly, at Mass.

3.What is the difference between Christ's offering on Calvary and at Mass?
On Calvary Jesus was offering directly in his own Person. But at Mass Jesus offers through the person of his priest and also in union with his followers, his Church.

On Calvary, suspended between heaven and earth, Jesus was alone, isolated from the men and women who had rejected him. But, at Mass, we are united with Christ's offering. We are part of his Body, the Church.

At Mass, in other words, Christ's offering becomes our offering; for in baptism we became members of Christ's Body. We are not spectators at the sacrifice of the Mass like the bored soldiers playing dice at Calvary, nor even like Mary and John looking up into the face of the dying Jesus. We are members of Christ's Body. We offer the sacrifice through him, with him, and in him.