Diocesan Resources
Catechetical Sunday 2011 Theological, Spiritual, and Practical Meaning of the Eucharist
The Theological, Spiritual, and Practical Meaning of the Eucharist by Benedictine Fr. Thomas Acklin, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and Director of Counseling at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania (in English and Spanish)
Fr. Acklin explains how understanding the Eucharist more deeply leads to a more intimate, personal relationship with Jesus. He explores four theological dimensions—meal, sacrifice, memorial, and presence—and then turns to the spiritual and practical implications for Christian life.
Theological Meaning of the Eucharist
- Meal
- The Eucharist is given at the Last Supper, a shared meal of covenant intimacy.
- In the Eucharist, believers consume Christ himself, becoming one with him and with one another.
- Jesus’ washing of feet is part of preparing disciples for this Eucharistic union; it signifies humility, service, and necessary purification (“Unless I wash you…”).
2. Sacrifice
- The Eucharistic meal is also a sacrificial meal.
- Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross is once for all, but the Eucharist makes this one sacrifice present at every Mass.
- Jesus is simultaneously priest and victim; the Good Shepherd is also the Lamb.
- Every sacrifice believers make is taken up into Christ’s perfect offering.
3. Memorial (Anamnesis)
- “Do this in memory of me” means more than recalling a past event; it is participation in Christ’s Paschal Mystery.
- Through the Holy Spirit, the Eucharist links our present moment with the Last Supper, Cross, and Resurrection, making them present now.
- The thief on the cross (“Remember me…”) illustrates Jesus’ remembrance as active, life‑giving presence. Thus, Eucharistic remembrance means: “On the day you do this, I am with you.”
4. Presence
- Christ is truly and substantially present—Body, Blood, soul, and divinity—through transubstantiation.
- The Eucharist is not merely symbolic; it re‑presents the living Christ, crucified and risen.
Spiritual and Practical Meaning
- Thanksgiving and Praise
- The Eucharist is the heart of the Church.
- Christ is present in multiple ways—people gathered, Scripture proclaimed, and above all in the consecrated species.
- Believers offer themselves with the gifts on the altar, entering Christ’s perfect offering to the Father.
2. Communion with Christ
- Receiving the Eucharist is a moment of intimate personal encounter.
- Silence and recollection are essential for authentically receiving Christ “under our roof.”
- Modern hurried liturgical practice risks diminishing this intimacy.
3. Adoration
- Eucharistic adoration outside of Mass has grown as people seek deeper quiet with Christ.
- Adoration is not staring at an object but entering relationship with the living person of Jesus.
- It deepens the fruits of Communion into lasting love and transformation.
The Eucharist is the summit of Christian life:
- It is meal, drawing believers into communion;
- sacrifice, uniting them to Christ’s self-offering;
- memorial, making present the Paschal Mystery;
- real presence, Christ himself with his people.
Jesus’ promise—“Whoever eats this bread will live forever”—is fulfilled each time the Eucharist is celebrated and adored.