"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink."     --John 6:55

At the heart of the Catholic faith stands our communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as a Sacrifice to the Father so that we might be freed from death and slavery to sin. This one sacrifice of Christ is made present during each celebration of the Mass, when we receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the Last Supper as written in the Gospels (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-23) and St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). In these Scripture passages, Jesus commands us to repeat his actions and words. The Church, from its beginning, has faithfully obeyed the Lord’s command by celebrating the liturgy of the Eucharist at every Mass.

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life…for in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself…” (CCC 1324).  The Eucharist is:
·         thanksgiving and praise to God the Father
·         the sacrificial memorial of Christ and His Body
·         the presence of Christ by the power of His word and of His Spirit (CCC 1358).

At Mass, by the words of consecration and the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church calls this change "transubstantiation."  The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a mystery that cannot be comprehended by the senses, "but only by faith which relies on divine authority" (CCC 1381).

All Catholics who wish to receive First Communion must first attend courses of instruction.  Children should be enrolled in the CCD program.  Adults should be enrolled in the RCIA.