The Bread from Heaven
Biblical References
Old Testament
Genesis 14:18-20
18 And Melchiz′edek[a] king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
maker of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Exodus 16:4-5, 14-15, 31
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground.[a] 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?”[b] For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
31 Now the house of Israel called its name manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
Leviticus 24:5-9
5 “And you shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 And you shall set them in two rows, six in a row, upon the table of pure gold. 7 And you shall put pure frankincense with each row, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion to be offered by fire to the Lord. 8 Every sabbath day Aaron shall set it in order before the Lord continually on behalf of the people of Israel as a covenant forever. 9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the offerings by fire to the Lord, a perpetual due.”
Leviticus 23:9-14
9 And the Lord said to Moses, 10 “Say to the people of Israel, When you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest; 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, that you may find acceptance; on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 And the cereal offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, to be offered by fire to the Lord, a pleasing odor; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. 14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Exodus 12:1-11
12 [a]The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening.[b] 7 Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 [a]“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Isaiah 53
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected[a] by men;
a man of sorrows,[b] and acquainted with grief;[c]
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs[d]
and carried our sorrows;[e]
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.[f]
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him;
he has put him to grief;[g]
when he makes himself[h] an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand;
11 he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous;
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out his soul to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
New Testament
Matthew 26:26-28
26 Now as they were eating,[a] Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 14:22-24
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many.
Luke 22:19-20
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[a]
1 Corinthians 11:23-34
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for[a] you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.[b] 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened[c] so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if any one is hungry, let him eat at home—lest you come together to be condemned. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
John 6:25-58
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; 39 and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread[a] which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”[b] 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.”
1 Corinthians 10:14-21
14 Therefore, my beloved, shun the worship of idols. 15 I speak as to sensible men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation[a] in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation[b] in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the practice of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.[c] 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
Hebrews 9:11-14
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,[a] then through the greater and more perfect tent[b] (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking[c] not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your[d] conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Hebrews 10:10-13
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ[a] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet.
Acts 2:42-47
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 20:7
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread,[a] Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
Luke 24:30-31
30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Church Fathers and Extra-Biblical Sources
Didache Chapter 9 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm
“We give thanks to you, our Father, for the holy vine of David your servant… and for the life and knowledge which you have made known to us through Jesus your servant. To you be the glory forever.”
Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans Chapter 7 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm
“They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Justin Martyr First Apology Chapter 66 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm
And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined.
Irenaeus of Lyons Against Heresies - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103418.htm
For we offer to Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity.
Clement of Alexandria Instructor 1 - https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-instructor-book1.html
But since He said, "And the bread which I will give is My flesh," and since flesh is moistened with blood, and blood is figuratively termed wine, we are bidden to know that, as bread, crumbled into a mixture of wine and water, seizes on the wine and leaves the watery portion, so also the flesh of Christ, the bread of heaven absorbs the blood; that is, those among men who are heavenly, nourishing them up to immortality, and leaving only to destruction the lusts of the flesh.
Hippolytus of Rome Apostolic Tradition - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/61614/61614-h/61614-h.htm
Who, when he was betrayed to his willing death, that he might bring to nought death, and break the bonds of the devil, and tread hell under foot, and give light to the righteous, and set up a boundary post, and manifest his resurrection, taking bread and giving thanks to thee said: ⁹Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you. And likewise also the cup, saying: This is my blood, which is shed for you. ¹⁰As often as ye perform this, perform my memorial.
Cyprian of Carthage On the Lord’s Prayer - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050704.htm
When, therefore, He says, that whoever shall eat of His bread shall live for ever; as it is manifest that those who partake of His body and receive the Eucharist by the right of communion are living, so, on the other hand, we must fear and pray lest any one who, being withheld from communion, is separate from Christ's body should remain at a distance from salvation; as He Himself threatens, and says, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall have no life in you. John 6:53 And therefore we ask that our bread — that is, Christ — may be given to us daily, that we who abide and live in Christ may not depart from His sanctification and body.
Athanasius of Alexandria Letter 1 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2806001.htm
And as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, being heavenly bread, is the food of the saints, according to this; 'Unless you eat My flesh, and drink My blood John 6:53;' so is the devil the food of the impure, and of those who do nothing which is of the light, but work the deeds of darkness. Therefore, in order to withdraw and turn them from vices, He commands them to be nourished with the food of virtue; namely, humbleness of mind, lowliness to endure humiliations, the acknowledgment of God. For not only does such a fast as this obtain pardon for souls, but being kept holy, it prepares the saints, and raises them above the earth.
Cyril of Jerusalem Catechetical Lecture 23 – https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310123.htm
Then having sanctified ourselves by these spiritual Hymns, we beseech the merciful God to send forth His Holy Spirit upon the gifts lying before Him; that He may make the Bread the Body of Christ, and the Wine the Blood of Christ ; for whatsoever the Holy Ghost has touched, is surely sanctified and changed.
St. Basil of Caesarea Letter 39 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202093.htm
It is good and beneficial to communicate every day, and to partake of the holy body and blood of Christ. For He distinctly says, He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. John 6:54 And who doubts that to share frequently in life, is the same thing as to have manifold life. I, indeed, communicate four times a week, on the Lord's day, on Wednesday, on Friday, and on the Sabbath, and on the other days if there is a commemoration of any Saint.
St. Gregory of Nyssa Great Catechism 34 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2908.htm
So nourishment (bread and wine) by becoming flesh and blood gives bulk to the human frame: the nourishment is the body. Just as in the case of other men, our Saviour's nourishment (bread and wine) was His Body; but these, nourishment and Body, were in Him changed into the Body of God by the Word indwelling. So now repeatedly the bread and wine, sanctified by the Word (the sacred Benediction), is at the same time changed into the Body of that Word; and this Flesh is disseminated among all the Faithful.
St. Ambrose of Milan Mysteries Chapter 9 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3405.htm
In order that no one through observing the outward part should waver in faith, many instances are brought forward wherein the outward nature has been changed, and so it is proved that bread is made the true body of Christ. The treatise then is brought to a termination with certain remarks as to the effects of the sacrament, the disposition of the recipients, and such like.
St. Augustine of Hippo Sermons 227 - https://www.catholicfidelity.com/apologetics-topics/eucharist/st-augustine-on-the-eucharist-by-phil-porvaznik/
"That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God IS THE BODY OF CHRIST. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, IS THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Through that bread and wine the Lord Christ willed to commend HIS BODY AND BLOOD, WHICH HE POURED OUT FOR US UNTO THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS."
St. John Chrysostom Homily 24 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220124.htm
But do thou, I pray, consider, how with regard to the Jews he said not, they are par-takers with God, but, they have communion with the altar; for what was placed thereon was burnt: but in respect to the Body of Christ, not so. But how? It is a Communion of the Lord's Body. For not with the altar, but with Christ Himself, do we have communion.
Fourth Lateran Council - https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm
There is indeed one universal church of the faithful, outside of which nobody at all is saved, in which
Jesus Christ is both priest and sacrifice. His body and blood are truly contained in the sacrament of
the altar under the forms of bread and wine, the bread and wine having been changed in substance,
by God’s power, into his body and blood, so that in order to achieve this mystery of unity we receive
from God what he received from us. Nobody can effect this sacrament except a priest who has been
properly ordained according to the church’s keys, which Jesus Christ himself gave to the apostles
and their successors.
Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence - https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum17.htm
However, since no explanation was given in the aforesaid decree of the Armenians in respect of the
form of words which the holy Roman church, relying on the teaching and authority of the apostles
Peter and Paul, has always been wont to use in the consecration of the Lord’s body and blood, we
concluded that it should be inserted in this present text. It uses this form of words in the consecration
of the Lord’s body: For this is my body. And of his blood: For this is the chalice of my blood, of the
new and everlasting covenant, the mystery of faith, which will be shed for you and for many unto the
remission of sins. Whether the wheat bread, in which the sacrament is confected, has been baked on
the same day or earlier is of no importance whatever. For, provided the substance of bread remains,
there should be no doubt at all that after the aforesaid words of consecration of the body have been
pronounced by a priest with the intention of consecrating, immediately it is changed in substance into
the true body of Christ.
SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM -
Chapter 2, Paragraph 47
At the Last Supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Savior instituted the eucharistic sacrifice
of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the
centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a
memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a
paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is
given to us.
Lumen Gentium – https://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_jp02ee.htm
The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience
of faith, but recapitulates the heart of themystery of the Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully
experiences the constant fulfilment of the promise: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age"
(Mt 28:20), but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing ofbread and wine into the body and blood
of the Lord, she rejoices in thispresence with unique intensity. Ever since Pentecost, when
the Church, the People of the New Covenant, began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly
homeland, the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her days, filling them with
confident hope.
The Second Vatican Council rightly proclaimed that the Eucharistic sacrifice is "the source and
summit of the Christian life".1
"For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church's entire spiritual
wealth: Christ himself, our passover and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and
life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men".2 Consequently the gaze of the Church is constantly
turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation
of his boundless love.
Catechism of the Catholic Church - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc2.htm
The presence of Christ by the power of his word and the Holy Spirit
1373 "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to his Church:197 in his word, in his Church's
prayer, "where two or three are gathered in my name," in the poor, the sick, and the
imprisoned,199 in the sacraments of which he is the author, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the
person of the minister. But "he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species."
1374 The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist
above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the
sacraments tend."201 In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together
with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and
substantially contained."202 "This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the
other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest
sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly
and entirely present."
1375 It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes
present in this sacrament. The Church Fathers strongly affirmed the faith of the Church in the efficacy
of the Word of Christ and of the action of the Holy Spirit to bring about this conversion. Thus St. John
Chrysostom declares:
It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but he who was
crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their
power and grace are God's. This is my body, he says. This word transforms the things offered.204
And St. Ambrose says about this conversion:
Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The
power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed. . .
. Could not Christ's word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into
what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their
nature.
1376 The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer
said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the
conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of
the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the
substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of
his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation."
1377 The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as
long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and
whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide
Christ.
1378 Worship of the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of
Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a
sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the
sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving
the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful,
and carrying them in procession."
1379 The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it
could be brought to the sick and those absent outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ
in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the
Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located
in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it
emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
1380 It is highly fitting that Christ should have wanted to remain present to his Church in this unique
way. Since Christ was about to take his departure from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give
us his sacramental presence; since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he wanted
us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us "to the end," even to the giving of his life.
In his Eucharistic presence he remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave
himself up for us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love:
The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this
sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of
faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration
never cease.
1381 "That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that 'cannot
be apprehended by the senses,' says St. Thomas, 'but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.'
For this reason, in a commentary on Luke 22:19 ('This is my body which is given for you.'), St. Cyril
says: 'Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he
is the truth, he cannot lie.'"
1382 The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of
the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood. But
the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful
with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered
himself for us.
1383 The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of the Eucharist, represents
the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of the sacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the
more so since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly
of his faithful, both as the victim offered for our reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving
himself to us. "For what is the altar of Christ if not the image of the Body of Christ?" asks St.
Ambrose. He says elsewhere, "The altar represents the body [of Christ] and the Body of Christ is on
the altar." The liturgy expresses this unity of sacrifice and communion in many prayers. Thus the
Roman Church prays in its anaphora:
We entreat you, almighty God,
that by the hands of your holy Angel
this offering may be borne to your altar in heaven
in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that as we receive in communion at this altar
the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,
we may be filled with every heavenly blessing and grace.
"Take this and eat it, all of you": communion
1384 The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the sacrament of the
Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you
have no life in you."
1385 To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St.
Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of
the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man
examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks
without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." Anyone conscious of a grave sin
must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.
1386 Before so great a sacrament, the faithful can only echo humbly and with ardent faith the words
of the Centurion: "Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et
sanabitur anima mea" ("Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the
word and my soul will be healed."). And in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom the faithful pray
in the same spirit:
O Son of God, bring me into communion today with your mystical supper. I shall not tell your enemies
the secret, nor kiss you with Judas' kiss. But like the good thief I cry, "Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom."
1387 To prepare for worthy reception of this sacrament, the faithful should observe the fast required
in their Church. Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy
of this moment when Christ becomes our guest.
1388 It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, if they have the required
dispositions, receive communion when they participate in the Mass. As the Second Vatican Council
says: "That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest's
communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same sacrifice, is warmly recommended."
1389 The Church obliges the faithful to take part in the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days and,
prepared by the sacrament of Reconciliation, to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, if possible
during the Easter season. But the Church strongly encourages the faithful to receive the holy
Eucharist on Sundays and feast days, or more often still, even daily.
1390 Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species
of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons this
manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the
Latin rite. But "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that
form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly." This is the usual form of receiving
communion in the Eastern rites.