Eucharist in the Catholic Church

The Eucharist (Koine Greek: εὐχαριστία, romanized: eucharistía, lit. 'thanksgiving') is the term used in the Catholic Church for the sacrament in which, according to Catholic doctrine, the body and blood of Christ are made present under the appearances of consecrated bread and wine during the eucharistic liturgy commonly called the Mass. The 1983 Code of Canon Law describes the Eucharist as "the most August sacrament … in which Christ the Lord himself is contained, offered, and received and by which the Church continually lives and grows," and further teaches that the eucharistic sacrifice is "the summit and source of all worship and Christian life," with all other sacraments and works of the apostolate ordered to it. Catholic theology commonly distinguishes three closely related dimensions of the sacrament: Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, the reception of Holy Communion, and the sacrificial character of the Mass.

The term "Eucharist" derives from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning "thanksgiving", and is associated with the New Testament accounts of the Last Supper in Matthew 26:26–28, Mark 14:22–24, Luke 22:19–20, and 1 Corinthians 11:23–29—where Jesus "gave thanks" over the bread and the cup. In Catholic usage, three commonly used terms relate to the Eucharist: "Mass" refers to the liturgical celebration in which the Eucharist is consecrated; "Holy Communion" designates the reception of the consecrated species; and "Blessed Sacrament" refers to the Eucharistic species outside the celebration of Mass, especially in devotional practices such as adoration. In Catholicism, consecrated hosts are reserved in a tabernacle so that Holy Communion may be brought to the sick and the dying and to support the practice of eucharistic adoration.