The Institution of the Eucharist is recalling how Jesus, at the Last Supper, when Jesus celebrated the Jewish Passover, started the Eucharistic celebration of the mass. It was here that He taught His disciples to consecrate bread and wine to become His body and blood. It started at the Last Supper and continues today throughout the world in the mass where the priests or bishops use the same words of Jesus to take ordinary bread and wine and make it become the body and blood of Jesus. Catholics believe that even though the hosts and wine keep their appearances of bread and wine, they DO become the glorified body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. This process is called Transubstantiation.

Matthew, Mark and Luke, as well as Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, detail the account. John spends one whole chapter discussing this, without repeating the exact words of consecration. The Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) tell us that Jesus took bread, broke it and said, “take this and eat. This is my body”. They continue to say that he then took the chalice of wine and said, “drink from it all of you. This is the blood of my covenant, poured out for you.” The Church has continued, from the earliest days, to celebrate the Eucharist and to hold it up as Live Giving. St. John, in his chapter 6 of the Gospel tells us how Jesus is to give us His body and blood to eat and drink to give us Life for all eternity. He recalls how Jesus said that everyone who eats His body and drinks His blood will live forever. For Catholics, the Eucharist is the “Summit and Source of our faith”. To attend mass and to receive the Holy Eucharist is the highest form of our faith and worship.

It is important to realize that Jesus instituted the Eucharist during His last celebration of the Jewish Passover meal. We must remember that as Catholics, we are rooted in Judaism. Jesus and the twelve were all good Jews, and their church continues the Jewish traditions in many ways. I can’t help but to recommend a couple of books by Dr. Scott Hahn. He is easy to read, but is also profound in what he teaches. Two books on the Eucharist that he wrote and that I would highly recommend are; “The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth” and “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper”. There are many other books as well, but starting with these would be highly recommended.

Above I indicated that the changing of the bread and wine in to the Body and Blood of Jesus is called Transubstantiation and that even though the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood, they keep the appearance of bread and wine. Sometimes this is not so. There have been numerous Eucharistic miracles where the bread and wine also change their appearance in to the body and blood. Our soon (Sept 2025) to be Saint, Carlos Acutis who had a great devotion to the Eucharist, compiled a list of Eucharistic Miracles and put them on a website prior to his dying at the age of 15 from leukemia. His website is available at https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/liste/list.html. Many scientific studies of these miracles have confirmed their authenticity. The Eucharist truly is the body and blood of Jesus.

Questions to ponder:

1 – Do I really believe that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus?

2 – Do I attend mass at least every week on Sunday (or Saturday evening)?

3 – Have I considered going to mass more often, if possible?

4 – Do I see the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of our Faith (from Catechism)?

5 – Do I understand that our Church relies heavily upon its Jewish roots?

6 – Have I read any good books on the Eucharist?

7 – If NO to above, then why not?

8 – Have I looked at any Eucharistic Miracles?

9 – Do I treat the Eucharist with utmost respect?

10 – Have I ever attended Eucharistic Adoration?