The Eucharist is the remembrance (made real) of the Last Supper of Jesus with his Apostles, which took place on the Thursday evening prior to his arrest and death on the cross on Good Friday. It was at this last supper that Jesus revealed in a most extraordinary way, how his presence and the gift of his life, would remain eternally with his followers: through the breaking of the bread (the sharing of His body) and the sharing of the cup of wine (the sharing of his blood). As He did this, Jesus addressed his friends, inviting them to "Do this in memory of me." Since then, the breaking of bread and the blessing of wine have been enacted by the Apostles and the Catholic Church every single day. During Mass, it is through the words spoken by the priest that Jesus and his divinity become present in the bread and the wine. The Eucharist, therefore, is a meal of mysterious love between Jesus, who is God, and his disciples. It is an incredible miracle that He alone could perform, a miracle of love to which we are drawn in faith and adoration.
Ever since this first meal, the Eucharist has literally brought life to the Church and to the baptized. It is the Eucharist that enables them to love as Jesus loved and to bring about God’s Kingdom here on earth, through his light, his peace and his joy. The Eucharist is the God of Love who gives of Himself so that the world may have abundant life – abundant because it is rooted in the very life of God.
If your child were to make his/her First Communion, this sacrament of the Catholic Church would enable him/her to experience a most profound relationship with Jesus.
