4 Reasons Why Jesus Gave Us The Eucharist

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He commissioned the disciples to preach the Gospel to all nations with the assurance that He would be with them even to the very end of the world.

“…and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” – Matthew 28:20 (DRA)

Reflecting upon these words, how do we Christians often think Jesus would still be with us? Do we content ourselves with the thought that Jesus is watching over us from up above? Do we try to think of this as being with the invisible presence of Jesus only?

As Catholics, we believe in this promise of Jesus not only through His invisible presence but also through His visible presence in the Holy Eucharist.

Here are four reasons why Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist:

1. To be with us always

Jesus is faithful. He always keeps His word. Thus, when He promised that He would be with us, He truly meant to be present among us until the end of time!

“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.” “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.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1374

2. To make present Christ’s sacrifice

The Eucharist is a memorial not only in the sense of “remembering” what Christ has done but of making present (through an unbloody manner) Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Every time we celebrate this Sacrament, we participate in Christ’s offering of love for our salvation.

“The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love. In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1337

3. To unite the Church

In receiving the Eucharist, we are not only united to Christ but to one another. The Eucharist unites the Church, the Body of Christ.

For this reason, the Eucharist is also called Holy Communion.

“Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1331

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” – 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (NABRE)

4. To nourish us

Our earthly body needs food in order to survive. In the same way, we need spiritual nourishment to be strengthened in our spiritual journey and to grow deeper in our relationship with God.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.’” – John 6:53 NABRE

“As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins. By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1394

A Foretaste of Heaven

The Eucharist already unites us with Christ and the Church, along with the saints in heaven. We anticipate the joy and glory that we will one day have when we reach the end of our earthly pilgrimage. Let us thank God therefore for this Blessed Sacrament as we look forward to that day when we shall see Him face-to-face.

“Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1419

Is Jesus in the Eucharist? Read the answer plus other questions and answers about the Catholic faith. See Jocelyn Soriano’s book Defending My Catholic Faith.

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” – 1 Peter 3:15 (NABRE)