The Catechism and The Eucharist

Part 3

During the months of November and December we will be on a spiritual journey sharing what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches each of us about the Eucharist.

The Eucharist – What is this Sacrament Called?

1328: The inexhaustible richness of the sacrament is expressed in the different names we give it. Each name evokes certain aspects of it. It is called: Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God, the Greek words eucharistein and eulogein recall the Jewish blessings that proclaim – especially during a meal – God’s works: creation, redemption and sanctification.

1329: The Lord’s Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem.

The Breaking of the Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meal, when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread, above all at the Last Supper. It is by this action that his disciples will recognize him after His Resurrection, and it is the expression that the first Christians will use to designate their Eucharistic assemblies; by doing so they signified that all who eat the one broken bread, Christ, enter into communion with him and form one body in Him.

The Eucharistic assembly (synaxis), because the Eucharist is celebrated amid the assembly of the faithful, the visible expression of the Church. The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church’s offering. The terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, “sacrifice of praise”, spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice, are also used since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.

The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church’s whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration of this “Sacred Mysteries.” We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the sacrament.

Deacon George’s take:

My Lord and my God- nothing further to understand 😊!