The Eucharist is the sacrament that Christ gave us during the Last Supper. On that night, he took the bread and the wine, consecrated it, shared it with his disciples, and invited us to participate in this one, single sacrifice until he comes again. “Do this in memory of me.”

The Eucharist: Real Presence of Christ with Us

The Eucharist is not just a memorial of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; it is how Christ remains with us in a tangible way. When we receive the Eucharist, we receive Jesus Christ, himself! We affirm our belief in this sacrament, this gift of grace, and we invite Christ to work within us. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine become Christ’s true Body and Blood.


Many have experienced healing from this sacrament. Receiving the Eucharist forgives venial sins and preserves one from grave sins (CCC #1416); however, anyone who is guilty of a mortal sin must sincerely seek absolution in the sacrament of Reconciliation before receiving communion (CCC #1415).

“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.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, 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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

– John 6:51-56

The Holy Eucharist is One Single Sacrifice

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Holy Eucharist is a memorial of Christ’s Passover, his passing over to his Father in Heaven by his death and resurrection. This means that the Eucharist is also a sacrifice, but each celebration of the Mass is not a new sacrifice; rather, participating in the Mass is participating in the one single sacrifice of Christ (1365 and 1367).

“Jesus does not die and rise at each Mass,” says Leonard Foley, O.F.M., in his book Believing in Jesus. “Calvary and Easter are not repeated. Rather, his one sacrifice and victory is made present. We are brought into union with it; time is annihilated.” Foley further explains that, even at the Last Supper, Christ’s death and resurrection were made present before they even happened. His disciples were already partaking in his glorified body and life-giving blood.

The Eucharist is the third and final sacrament of initiation. Those entering the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil Mass experience these sacraments of initiation in the most perfect way: they are baptized, confirmed, and then receive the Eucharist. “What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Communion . . . preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism,” explains the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1392).

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