Eucharist in the Catholic Church

The Eucharist is the term used in the Catholic Church for the sacrament in which, according to Catholic doctrine, the body and blood of Christ are made present under the appearances of consecrated bread and wine during the eucharistic liturgy, commonly called the Mass. The 1983 Code of Canon Law describes the Eucharist as "the most August sacrament … in which Christ the Lord himself is contained, offered, and received and by which the Church continually lives and grows," and further teaches that the eucharistic sacrifice is "the summit and source of all worship and Christian life," with all other sacraments and works of the apostolate ordered to it. Catholic theology commonly distinguishes three closely related dimensions of the sacrament: Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, the reception of Holy Communion, and the sacrificial character of the Mass.
The term "Eucharist" derives from the Greek word, meaning "thanksgiving", and is associated with the New Testament accounts of the Last Supper in Matthew 26:26–28, Mark 14:22–24, Luke 22:19–20, and 1 Corinthians 11:23–29—where Jesus "gave thanks" over the bread and the cup. In Catholic usage, three commonly used terms relate to the Eucharist: "Mass" refers to the liturgical celebration in which the Eucharist is consecrated; "Holy Communion" designates the reception of the consecrated species; and "Blessed Sacrament" refers to the Eucharistic species outside the celebration of Mass, especially in devotional practices such as adoration. In Catholicism, consecrated hosts are reserved in a tabernacle so that Holy Communion may be brought to the sick and the dying and to support the practice of eucharistic adoration.

Theological references

Old Testament

passages have long been interpreted in Christian and especially Catholic tradition, as well as by many theologians and biblical scholars, as prefigurations of the Eucharist. Among the most frequently cited examples in this tradition are Melchizedek's offering of bread and wine, the covenant sacrifice on Mount Sinai, the manna given to the Israelites during their journey to the Promised Land, and the bread from heaven that strengthened Elijah. In this typological reading, some theologians describe the Sinai covenant as establishing "God’s sanctuary presence among them" and as anticipating "the presence of the incarnate Passover Lamb and humanity’s final deliverance from slavery to sin." Some Catholic theologians characterize the manna as "wholly supernatural", "manifesting God’s extraordinary power over creation," and regard it as "essential if one is to contemplate the Eucharist," since it represents God's provision of holy food to Israel. Within this Christian interpretive tradition, Christ is understood as the new paschal lamb, and the Eucharist as the new bread of the Passover.
Thomas Aquinas developed this typological reading by identifying several Old Testament figures as anticipations of the Eucharist. According to Thomistic interpreters, Aquinas taught that Melchizedek's offering prefigured the Eucharist's sign aspect, that the Day of Atonement sacrifice prefigured its content as Christ's self-offering, and that the manna prefigured its effect as grace. He further held that the paschal lamb exemplified all three dimensions—sign, content, and effect—within a single figure. Therefore, Melchizedek's act of bringing out the bread and wine has been interpreted as Eucharistic foreshadowing, a view also reflected in Catholic teaching. Jesus' statement, "This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins," has been interpreted by theologians as fulfilling Old Testament sacrificial themes.
In the New Testament, Jesus’ final meal with his disciples is presented in the synoptic Gospels as a Jewish Passover meal, and this setting is central to Catholic Eucharistic interpretation. Some theologians compare the Passover, as a thanksgiving celebration, to the todah or thanksgiving sacrifice, while noting that in the Eucharistic context it is Jesus' body "which is given for you." Tim Gray argues that Jesus' citation of Psalm 22 on the cross exemplifies "a characteristic todah movement from lament to praise". The Passover ritual required a sacrificial lamb and unleavened bread, elements that inform Christian interpretations of the Last Supper. Jesus’ words over the cup—"this is my blood of the covenant"—echo the Mosaic covenant in which blood seals and inaugurates a sacred bond. His description of his blood as "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" evokes prophetic themes concerning the "many" among Israel’s exiled tribes and the figure of the suffering servant, whose "life is poured out for the sin of many." Some theologians point to certain Old Testament "oblations to the Lord", such as bread offerings anointed with oil, and interpret them as further prefigurations of the Eucharist. In John 6:58, Jesus said to the Jews, "This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."

New Testament

New Testament passages used in Eucharistic interpretation include the Lord's Prayer, the Gospel of John, and Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. The Catechism of the Catholic Church interprets the word epiousios—a rare term not found in Classical Greek literature and used in the Lord's Prayer—as "super-essential" or "super-substantial" bread and understands it as also referring to the Eucharist. In the Gospel of John, Jesus' statement "for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink" has been interpreted by some commentators as indicating that he intended his words to be taken in a strongly literal or realist sense; the Gospel further reports that many disciples ceased following him after this discourse.
The Catholic Church uses the Words of Institution—found in the three synoptic Gospels and in Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians—as a biblical basis for belief in the real presence and for linking the Eucharist to Old Testament covenant and sacrificial themes. In 1 Corinthians, Paul teaches that participation in the cup and the bread is a participation in the blood and body of Christ, that "we all share the one loaf," and he warns that "whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord". Ryan Habbena argues that Jesus emphasizes faith for understanding his presence in the bread, noting that the verb pisteuō appears 98 times in the Gospel of John.
Other New Testament passages that have been interpreted in a Eucharistic sense include the disciples recognizing Christ "in the breaking of the bread" in the Gospel of Luke after the Resurrection, the apostles "breaking bread" in their homes while gathering in the temple in the Acts of the Apostles, and Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians that eating the bread and drinking the cup "proclaims the Lord’s death until he comes."

Early leaders and documents

Early Christian documents and leaders, such as the Didache and figures including Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, and Cyprian of Carthage, contributed to early Christian understandings of the Eucharist. The concept of apostolic tradition and decisions of Church councils, including the First Council of Nicaea and later the Council of Trent, contributed to shaping doctrine and regulating discipline concerning the reception and administration of the Eucharist.
Whether the agape feast, a meal held by Christians during the first centuries, was identical with, or distinct from, the Eucharist celebration is uncertain. Abuses associated with communal meals are criticized in the New Testament, notably by Paul and Jude. Some scholars argue that such concerns contributed to the gradual separation of the Eucharistic celebration from the agape meal. Justin Martyr, writing in the mid-second century, describes a Sunday gathering that includes readings, a homily, prayers, the offering of bread and wine mixed with water, and their distribution to those present, a pattern that has been compared to later Eucharistic liturgies. Justin wrote that the Christians did not receive the bread and wine as common bread and drink, having been taught that it "is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh".
The Didache, an early Christian manual, includes prayers over bread and wine and instructs that only the baptized may partake of the Eucharist. Ignatius of Antioch has been interpreted as expressing a strong Eucharistic realism, writing that he desired "the Bread of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ... and for drink I desire His Blood, which is love incorruptible", and urging Christians to avoid those who denied that the Eucharist is the flesh of Jesus Christ. Justin Martyr professed that the Eucharist "is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus". Irenaeus of Lyons echoed Justin's views, wondering how others could "affirm that the flesh is incapable of receiving the gift of God". Clement of Alexandria said that the Lord supplies "these intimate nutriments" by delivering "over His Flesh" and pouring "out His Blood". Ambrose of Milan observed that "bread is bread before the words of the Sacraments; where the consecration has entered in, the bread becomes the Flesh of Christ". Cyprian of Carthage identified it with the Lord's Prayer, adding that Christians should "daily receive the Eucharist for the food of salvation", unless wounded by a heinous sin.
Early Church documents and councils emphasized reverence in the celebration of the Eucharist. Eucharistic reverence is emphasized in the early liturgical work known as the Apostolic Tradition, which instructs that "nor a mouse or other animal" may eat of the Eucharist, that clergy must ensure none of "it falls and is lost", and that the faithful should "partake of the eucharist before eating anything else". The First Council of Nicaea, in its eighteenth canon, addressed abuses involving deacons and the Eucharist, forbidding deacons to give Communion to presbyters or to receive it before them, and stating, "et all such practices be utterly done away, and let the deacons remain within their own bounds, knowing that they are the ministers of the bishop and the inferiors of the presbyters".