Communion in the Catholic Church

To help describe the Catholic Church’s understanding of Communion, I am cribbing this article from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. (If you want to look this up yourself, it is paragraphs 1328-1332 of the Catechism.) We have many different names for Communion. Each one of the names describes one aspect of Communion.

We call it the Eucharist, because it is an act of Thanksgiving we give to God. The Greek words eucharistein (from Luke 22:19) and eulogein (from 1 Cor.11:24) recall the Jewish blessings that proclaim God’s works of creation, redemption, and sanctification.

We call it The Lord’s Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion (Matthew 26:26) and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem. (1 Cor. 11:24)

We call it The Breaking of Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meal, when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread at the Last Supper. (Acts 2:42) It is by this action that his disciples will recognize him after his Resurrection, (1 Cor. 10:16-17) and it is this expression that the first Christians will use to designate their Eucharistic assemblies; (1 Cor. 11:17-34) by doing so they signified that all who eat the one broken bread, Christ, enter into communion with him and form but one body in him. (Hebrews 13:15)

We call it The Eucharistic assembly, because the Eucharist is celebrated amid the assembly of the faithful, the visible expression of the Church. (1 Cor. 10: 16-17. We call it The Memorial of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection. Christ directed us to repeat his actions and words until he comes again. (1 Cor. 11:26)

We call it 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.

We call it The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church’s whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this sacrament. It is so central to the Catholic Church that we celebrate it daily.

We call it the Sacred Mysteries. There is always something more to discover about Christ and His Love for Us when we celebrate the Eucharist and receive communion. It is a great mystery that we will never completely solve.

We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the Sacrament of sacraments. The Eucharistic species reserved in the tabernacle are designated by this same name.

We call it Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.

We call it Holy Mass (Missa, “sent” in Latin), because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (missio in Latin) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God’s will in their daily lives.

Paragraph 1419 gives an excellent summary of how important Communion is in the Catholic Church: “Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with Jesus, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in Heaven.”

(All scripture is taken from the New American Bible)

Fr. Damian Richards is the Pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra in Hays and St. Francis of Assisi in Munjor.