Holy Communion, receiving the Body and Blood of
Christ in the Eucharist, is one of the three sacraments of
Christian initiation. It was explicitly instituted by Christ ( Mt
26:26-29 ) ( Mk 14:22-25 ). The Eucharist, or thanksgiving
offering, is rich in symbolic themes of Christian teachings.
Saint Paul says, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink
this cup, you proclaim the Lords death until he comes". It also
symbolizes Christian unity as a common meal by members of the
Church ( Acts 2:46-47 ) ( 1 Cor 10:17; 11:17-33; 12:27 ). Saint
Luke includes Passover Supper and Institution Traditions and
memorial reenactment ( Lk 22:15-20 ). The rite existed from the
very beginning of the Church( Acts 2:42 ). The Eucharist has
themes of the Christian Passover in which the Lamb is consumed
sacramentally as a covenant sacrifice. Saint John shows the
sacrament as a principal of eternal life and atonement made for
the salvation of the world ( Jn 6:27-71 ). Jesus, as the bond of
the new covenant through His death, is the victim of the covenant
sacrifice ( 1 Cor 10:14-22; 11:23-29 ). The Old Testament
foreshadowed that Jesus would offer a true sacrifice to God as
bread and wine after the order of Melchizedek ( Gen 14:18 ) ( Ps
110:4 ) ( Heb 7:1-28 ). "In every place and time let there be
offered to me a clean sacrifice. For I am a great king, says the
Lord, and my name is wonderful among the gentiles" ( Mal 1:11
).
The Real Presence of Christ In the Eucharist
When we share the bread and wine, Jesus unites us
with himself in his offering of himself to God, our Father. We
offer ourselves to God, along with Jesus at Mass, as a "living
sacrifice"... "so we, though many, are one body in Christ" ( Rom
12:1-5 ). When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus gives himself to
us in the food of life; his Body and Blood, to help us grow in
goodness and love, and be more like him. We receive the gift of
grace. We join Jesus in praising our Father at Mass. We celebrate
the memorial of his sacrifice, and we celebrate, too, Jesus alive
and mysterious, really present among us ( 1 Cor 5:7 ) ( Heb 9:14;
9:24-28 ).