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In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul the Apostle gives the earliest recorded description of
Jesus' Last Supper. The synoptic gospels, first Mark, and then Matthew and Luke, portray Jesus as presiding
over the Last Supper. References to Jesus' body and blood predict his crucifixion, and he identifies them as a
new covenant. In the gospel of John, the account of the Last Supper has no mention of Jesus taking bread and
wine and speaking of them as his body and blood; instead it recounts his humble act of washing the disciples'
feet, the prophecy of the betrayal, which set in motion the events that would lead to the cross, and his long
discourse in response to some questions posed by his followers, in which he went on to speak of the
importance of the unity of the disciples with him and each other.
The expression O


, derived from St. Paul's usage in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, may have
originally referred to the Agape feast, the shared communal meal with which the Eucharist was originally
associated. The Agape feast is mentioned in Jude 12. But O


 is now commonly used in
reference to a celebration involving no food other than the sacramental bread and wine.

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The Didache (Greek: teaching) is an early Church order, including, among other features, instructions
for Baptism and the Eucharist. Most scholars date it to the early 2nd century, and distinguish in it two separate
Eucharistic traditions, the earlier tradition in chapter 10 and the later one preceding it in chapter 9. The
Eucharist is mentioned again in chapter 14.
Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 35 or 50-between 98 and 117), one of the Apostolic Fathers, mentions the
Eucharist as "the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ͟, and Justin Martyr speaks of it as more than a meal: "the
food over which the prayer of thanksgiving, the word received from Christ, has been said ... is the flesh and
blood of this Jesus who became flesh ... and the deacons carry some to those who are absent."

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The Last Supper appears in all three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke; and in the First
Epistle to the Corinthians, while the last-named of these also indicates something of how early Christians
celebrated what Paul the Apostle called the Lord's Supper. As well as the Eucharistic dialogue seen in John
chapter 6.


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The consecrated Host and the Precious Blood under the form of wine are given the adoration that is
reserved for God alone, since they are, indeed, Almighty God Himself. This highest form of worship is known
as latria. The opinions that Christ is only in the Eucharistic elements as in a sign, or that Christ is received only
spiritually, were condemned by the Council of Trent.
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Both the bread and wine become the whole Jesus Christ - His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, so that the
recipient receives Christ whole and entire under either form. Furthermore, the tiniest particle of a
consecrated Host or the smallest drop of consecrated "wine" is Christ. Yet Christ is not divided, He remains
one.

Our Lord is present as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain. When a consecrated Host is
digested or dissolved in water, and no longer has the appearance of bread, it is no longer Jesus. Thus Our Lord
is present in a communicant for about 15 minutes, and one should adore Him within oneself as long as He is
sacramentally present.

While it is true that God is everywhere, as the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and that He is present by
sanctifying grace in all souls in the state of grace, these are spiritual presences. The Eucharistic presence of
Christ - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - is entirely unique, and it alone is referred to as the Divine Presence.

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The Sacrament of Communion is a Holy Sacrament by which the believer eats the Holy Body and Precious
Blood of Jesus Christ, presented by the Bread and Wine. This Sacrament has the greatest importance among
the Seven Church Sacraments. It is sometimes called the ͚Mystery of Mysteries͛ or the ͚Crown of Sacraments͛;
for all the Sacraments are crowned by the Eucharist:

The person baptized must receive Communion directly after Baptism.

The repentant person must receive Communion after having confessed.

The person who marries must receive Communion after the wedding, (which must take place between the
Matins and Holy Mass), according to the original Rite of Matrimony. Also, whoever is ordained with any
priestly rank must receive Communion following the Holy Mass of his ordination

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The first and principal effect of the Holy Eucharist is union with Christ by love which union as such does
not consist in the sacramental reception of the Host, but in the spiritual and mystical union with Jesus by the
theological virtue of love. Christ Himself designated the idea of Communion as a union love: "He that eateth
my flesh, and drinketh blood, abideth in me, and I in him" (John 6:57). It stands to reason that the essence of
this union by love consists neither in a natural union with Jesus similar to that between soul and body, nor in a
hypostatic union of the soul with the Person of the Word, nor finally in a pantheistical deification of the
communicant, but simply in a moral but wonderful union with Christ by the bond of the most ardent charity.

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A second fruit of this union with Christ by love is an increase of sanctifying grace in the soul of the
worthy communicant. Here let it be remarked at the outset, that the Holy Eucharist does not per se constitute
a person in the state of grace as do the sacraments of the dead (baptism and penance), but presupposes such
a state. It is, therefore, one of the sacraments of the living. It is as impossible for the soul in the state of mortal
sin to receive this Heavenly Bread with profit, as it is for a corpse to assimilate food and drink. Together with
the increase of sanctifying grace there is associated another effect, namely, a certain spiritual relish or delight
of soul. A good Communion is recognized less in the transitory sweetness of the emotions than in its lasting
practical effects on the conduct of our daily lives.

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The Holy Eucharist is not merely a food, but a medicine as well. The destruction of venial sin and of all
affection to it is readily understood on the basis of the two central ideas mentioned above. Just as material
food banishes minor bodily weaknesses and preserves man's physical strength from being impaired, so does
this food of our souls remove our lesser spiritual ailments and preserve us from spiritual death. As a union
based upon love, the Holy Eucharist cleanses with its purifying flame the smallest stains which adhere to the
soul, and at the same time serves as an effective prophylactic against grievous sin. It only remains for us to
ascertain with clearness the manner in which this preservative influence against relapse into mortal sin is
exerted. According to the teaching of the Roman Catechism, it is effected by the allaying of concupiscence,
which is the chief source of deadly sin, particularly of impurity.

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There can be nothing incongruous or improper in the fact that the body also shares in this effect of
Communion, since by its physical contact with the Eucharist species, and hence (indirectly) with the living
Flesh of Christ, it acquires a moral right to its future resurrection, even as the Blessed Mother of God,
inasmuch as she was the former abode of the Word made flesh, acquired a moral claim to her own bodily
assumption into heaven. The further discussion as to whether some "physical quality" or a "sort of germ of
immortality" is implanted in the body of the communicant, has no sufficient foundation in the teaching of the
Fathers and may, therefore, be dismissed without any injury to dogma.

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Bread and wine are food and drink and the Eucharist is our supernatural-spiritual nourishment. The Lord made
it easier to consume Him in this form, telling us that ͞the bread that I shall give you is my flesh for the life of
the world͟.

The Separation of the Eucharistic Christ into two separate signs (bread and wine), signals to us the separation
of His flesh and blood on the Cross, a sacrifice of ransom and salvation.

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The Eucharist being a permanent sacrament, and the confection (confectio) and the reception (susceptio)
thereof being separated from each other by an interval of time, the minister may be and in fact is twofold: (a)
the minister of consecration and (b) the minister of administration.

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The first requisite of aptitude or capacity is that the recipient be a "human being", since it was for
mankind only that Christ instituted this Eucharistic food of souls and commanded its reception. This condition
excludes not only irrational animals, but angels also; for neither possesses human souls, which alone can be
nourished by this food unto eternal life.
SOURCE: http://www.catholic.org