"This is my body which will be given
up for you. This is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. Do this in memory
of me."
Matthew 26: 26-28 (See also
Luke 22:19-20.)
"We are never more the Church than when we are celebrating the Eucharist
around the table of the Lord. In this Sacrament of love, our redemption
is carried on, we are filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us."
Catechism, 1402,1405
The Body and Blood of Christ
The Sacrament of the Eucharist is really and truly the Body and Blood of Christ.
It is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Risen Christ.
On the night before He died for us, Jesus Christ Himself gave us
the gift of His own Body and Blood.
At the Passover feast, Jesus took the gifts of
unleavened bread and wine and said,
"This is my body which will be given up for you. This is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. Do this in memory of me."
Matthew 26: 26-28 (See also Luke 22:19-20.)
Before the Last Supper, Jesus said,
"I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread
will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
John 6:51
Jesus did not stop there. He continued by saying,
"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have
life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and
I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink."
John 6:53-55
The Eucharist is the celebration of the abiding
presence of Christ in our midst.
Jesus said,
"I am with you always, until the end of the age."
Matthew 28:20
The Catholic Church teaches that "the Eucharist
is the 'source and summit of
the Christian life'"
Catechism, 1324.
The Eucharist is the center
of our faith,
because it is Jesus Christ Himself,
Who is the nourishment of our souls.
Copyright 2002 Love Offering, Inc. All rights reserved