Words Every Catholic Should Know & Meditate on About the Eucharist

04-05-2026Weekly ReflectionFr. Leonard F. Villa

Transubstantiation: The Church makes use of this word in the Catechism to help us understand the meaning of the Holy Eucharist. A substance is what something is. Material substances have an outward appearance: color, weight, size, etc. In the Holy Eucharist bread stops being bread and wine stops being wine. The substance changes.

At the Consecration of the Mass bread becomes Jesus Christ: Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity; wine becomes Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The appearances (species) of bread and wine remain. Only God can do this. The changing of water into wine by the Lord at the wedding in Cana was a manifestation that Jesus is God’s Word, the Author of creation (John 1:1-14); it was also preparing the disciples for the power of Christ, God’s Word, at the Last Supper changing bread and wine into Himself.

Memory: When we use the word “memory” in the Mass it’s not simply about the past, but it is also about the present. The “Memory” at Mass is on the altar in the present tense and He is Jesus Christ Crucified, Risen, Ascended, and Seated at the right hand of God the Father. This “Memory” is brought about by the Holy Spirit. When we say we recall His crucifixion, resurrection and so forth it is not simply something 2000 + years ago but the recollection is now because this Person is on the altar in the present crucified, risen from the dead, ascended, and at the right hand of God the Father offering Himself in the present to the Father.

Faith: We know this Presence by faith, that is, we accept the word of Jesus Christ, God and Man, Who cannot deceive or be deceived. It is the highest form of certitude because Jesus is the Word of God. I believe what the Son of God has said, there is nothing truer than this Word of truth, St. Thomas Aquinas writes in his prayer to Jesus in the Eucharist.

Concomitance: This word means that Jesus Christ is present whole and entire, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in either form of the Eucharist. If you receive only the Host, you are receiving all of Jesus including His Blood. If you receive under both forms, you are not receiving more of Jesus. If you receive from the chalice only you receive all of Jesus including His Body. The reason for the dual consecration of bread and wine at Mass is to show by the outward appearances, the separation of Jesus’ Blood from His Body on the Cross which happened on Good Friday.

Remember the Mass is the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the Cross because the Priest is the same Jesus; the offering is the same His Body and Blood; the altar is the same His sacred humanity. Only the manner of offering is different: on Good Friday the offering was bloody; at the Mass it is unbloody under what looks like bread and wine.

Integrity: Even though there are hundreds of Hosts at Mass and sometimes several chalices Jesus is not broken or divided only the outward appearances of bread and wine are broken and divided. Whether one receives or a million receive all receive Jesus Christ Whole and Entire. Jesus is present Whole and Entire in every drop of the Precious Blood and every particle of the Host.

Effects: The effects of receiving Jesus Christ in the Eucharist on the lives of everyone differ. A person must examine himself/herself before receiving Communion that he/she is not in a state of mortal sin. To receive in that state would be a sacrilege a very serious sin against God Himself. This is why St. Thomas says the good receive and the wicked receive but their destiny is different: eternal life for the good and condemnation for the wicked.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote a prayer in which he prays to receive not just externally the sacrament, the outward appearances of what looks like bread and wine but internally recognizing the Reality and Power of the sacrament, Jesus Christ, God and Man. This means that the one communicating should do so in faith, cooperating actively in their spiritual lives with the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist does not have the same effect on all the people who may receive. The effect depends on their interior disposition. Hence the more we pray and cooperate with God’s grace in our spiritual lives and renew our faith in the Holy Eucharist the more its healing power is released in our personal spiritual lives.

Entering this world we all received life in the womb sharing the body and blood of our mothers, so Jesus gives us His Flesh and Blood to sustain God’s life in us to help make us godlike. This is why the pelican was adopted as a sign of the meaning of the Eucharist: a pelican feeding the young with her body and blood. The Fathers of the Church remind us that the purpose of the sacraments is to make us like God.

Mortal Sin: No sacrament of the living, that is, all the sacraments other than Baptism and Confession should be received in mortal sin. Mortal sin involves three things: serious violation of God’s commandments; and knowledge it is serious; and full consent of the will. For example, deliberately missing Mass on Sunday is mortal sin unless prevented by physical impossibility or serious illness. Sexual sins involve serious matter. Perjury involves serious matter.

Confession: All Catholics should be men and women of the confessional. All mortal sins must be confessed by number (how many?) and kind (what kind of mortal sin?) The Church encourages frequent confession and the confession of venial sins which is called a confession of devotion. Because in confessing venial sins God’s life is increased in us through sanctifying grace and we come to know ourselves better under the guidance of God’s grace to root out hidden sins and corruption which our consciences are not yet aware of. May I know myself and know You, Lord Jesus. St. Augustine

II. The Precepts of the Church

The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.") requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers on Sunday, commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord. (NOTE: This fulfills Gods 3rd Commandment to Keep Holy the Lord’s Day)

The second precept (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year.") ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.

The third precept (“You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.") guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.

The fourth precept (“You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.") completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.

The fifth precept (“You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.") ensures the times of spiritual discipline and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart. The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities.