Bread and wine may garner little fanfare during ordinary meals. But bread and wine are more than just a food and a beverage during Christian religious ceremonies.

 

"Eucharist" is the term used to describe the host wafer (or piece of bread) and the wine that represent the "Body and Blood" of Jesus Christ. "Eucharist" comes from a Greek word, meaning "thanksgiving." Holy Eucharist, sometimes referred to as Holy Communion, also is the name of the sacrament in which Christians first receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

 

Individuals participate in Holy Communion for the first time when they are children (or adults who have been newly baptized into the religion), and then each and every week at Mass, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

 

Christians recognize a special presence of Christ in the Eucharist, although the various sects within the Christian faith differ in regard to their beliefs. For example, Catholics, while they understand there is no physical or perceptible change in the wine and host, believe in the process of transubstantiation, during which the bread and wine are transformed into Christ himself with the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

The sacrament of Holy Communion can be traced back to The Last Supper. While Christians believe this supper served as the last time Jesus Christ shared a meal before his earthly death, Christ's final meal became the first supper for the Christian Church. In the 2,000 years since Christ's earthly death, Christians have shared in this extraordinary sacrament and rite at Mass.

 

Recipients of the Eucharist should receive it with a sense of reverence, dignity and awe. The Catholic Education Resource Center says the approach to the table of the Lord should be made with extreme faith and humility, treating the Eucharist as one would treat a special treasure. 

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