Eucharist

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See alsoEUCHARIST AS SACRIFICE,EUCHARIST AS SACRAMENT, andREAL PRESENCE.

(Greekeucharistia, thanksgiving).

The name given to theBlessed Sacrament of the Altar in its twofold aspect ofsacrament andSacrifice of Mass, and in whichJesus Christ istruly present under the appearances ofbread andwine.

Other titles are used, such as "Lord's Supper" (Coena Domini), "Table of the Lord" (Mensa Domini), the "Lord's Body" (Corpus Domini), and the "Holy of Holies" (Sanctissimum), to which may be added the following expressions, and somewhat altered from their primitive meaning: "Agape" (Love-Feast),"Eulogia" (Blessing), "Breaking of Bread","Synaxis" (Assembly), etc.; but the ancient title "Eucharistia" appearing in writers as early as Ignatius,Justin, and Irenæus, has taken precedence in the technical terminology of theChurch and hertheologians. The expression "Blessed Sacrament of the Altar", introduced by Augustine, is at the present day almost entirely restricted tocatechetical and popular treatises.

This extensive nomenclature, describing the greatmystery from such different points of view, is in itself sufficientproof of the central position the Eucharist has occupied from the earliest ages, both in theDivine worship and services of theChurch and in the life offaith and devotion which animates her members.

TheChurchhonors the Eucharist as one of her most exaltedmysteries, since for sublimity and incomprehensibility it yields in nothing to the alliedmysteries of theTrinity andIncarnation. These three mysteries constitute a wonderful triad, which causes theessential characteristic ofChristianity, as a religion ofmysteries far transcending the capabilities ofreason, to shine forth in all its brilliance and splendor, and elevatesCatholicism, the most faithful guardian and keeper of ourChristian heritage, far above allpagan and non-Christianreligions.

The organic connection of thismysterious triad is clearly discerned, if we considerDivine grace under the aspect of a personal communication ofGod. Thus in the bosom of theBlessed Trinity, God the Father, by virtue of theeternal generation, communicates His DivineNature toGod the Son, "the only begottenSon who is in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18), while theSon of God, by virtue of thehypostatic union, communicates in turn the DivineNature received from His Father to Hishumannature formed in the womb of theVirgin Mary (John 1:14), in order that thus asGod-man, hidden under the EucharisticSpecies, He might deliver Himself to HisChurch, who, as a tender mother, mystically cares for and nurtures in her own bosom this, her greatest treasure, and daily places it before her children as the spiritual food of theirsouls. Thus the Trinity,Incarnation, and Eucharist are really welded together like a precious chain, which in a wonderful manner linksheaven with earth,God withman, uniting them most intimately and keeping them thus united. By the very fact that the Eucharisticmystery does transcendreason, norationalistic explanation of it, based on a merely natural hypothesis and seeking to comprehend one of the sublimesttruths of theChristian religion as the spontaneous conclusion oflogical processes, may be attempted by aCatholictheologian.

The modernscience of comparativereligion is striving, wherever it can, to discover inpaganreligions "religio-historical parallels", corresponding to the theoretical and practical elements ofChristianity, and thus by means of the former to give a natural explanation of the latter. Even were ananalogy discernible between the Eucharistic repast and the ambrosia and nectar of the ancient Greek gods, or thehaoma of the Iranians, or thesoma of the ancientHindus, we should nevertheless be very cautious not to stretch a mereanalogy to a parallelism strictly so called, since theChristian Eucharist has nothing at all in common with thesepagan foods, whose origin is to be found in the crassest idol- and nature-worship. What we do particularly discover is a newproof of the reasonableness of theCatholic religion, from the circumstance thatJesus Christ in a wonderfully condescending manner responds to the natural craving of the human heart after a food which nourishes untoimmortality, a craving expressed in manypaganreligions, by dispensing tomankind His own Flesh and Blood. All that is beautiful, all that istrue in thereligions of nature,Christianity has appropriated to itself, and like a concave mirror has collected the dispersed and not infrequently distorted rays oftruth into their common focus and again sent them forth resplendently in perfect beams of light.

It is theChurch alone, "the pillar and ground oftruth", imbued with and directed by theHoly Spirit, that guarantees to her children through herinfallible teaching the full and unadulteratedrevelation of God. Consequently, it is the firstduty ofCatholics to adhere to what theChurch proposes as the "proximate norm offaith" (regula fidei proxima), which, in reference to the Eucharist, is set forth in a particularly clear and detailed manner in Sessions XIII, XXI, and XXII of theCouncil of Trent.

The quintessence of thesedoctrinal decisions consists in this, thatin the Eucharist the Body and Blood of theGod-man are truly,really, and substantially present for thenourishment of our souls, by reason of thetransubstantiation of thebread andwine into the Body and Blood ofChrist, and that in this change ofsubstances the unbloodySacrifice of the New Testament is also contained.

These three principletruths —Sacrifice,Sacrament, andReal Presence — are given a more detailed consideration in the following articles:

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