Why do we need a feast of the Eucharist? In order to arrive at a better understanding of the Eucharist we need to ask why Jesus gave us this sacrament in the first place. There are two main reasons:
(1) Jesus promised to be with us until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). In the Eucharist he provides a visible sign and an effective means of Him being present to us and us being present to him. As Jesus himself said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.”
(2) Jesus said that He came that we may have life and have it to the fullest, (John 10:10). In the Eucharist He provides a visible means of communicating this life to us so that we can be fully alive both in this world and in the next world.
Pope Benedict XVI says, “The Church is the celebration of the Eucharist; the Eucharist is the Church; they do not simply stand side by side; they are one and the same; it is from there that everything else glows.”
The Body and Blood of Christ unites us more closely to Christ and, through Christ, we are united into one Body, the Church.
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