WHAT DOES THE WORD EUCHARIST MEAN?

Eucaristia

The Eucharist (from the Greek εὐχαριστία, eucharistia = thanksgiving), also called the Holy Sacrifice, the Lord's Supper, the Breaking of Bread, Communion, the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Mysteries or Holy Communion, according to the tradition of the Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Adventist churches.

The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished, both in creation, redemption and sanctification, through Christ his Son.

It is the Actualization, in the here and now of the Church, of the offering that Jesus made of himself at the Last Supper and on the Cross... It is also the sign of his presence, alive and risen in the midst of the community of believers.

It is, in short, the body and blood of Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine.

P. Claudio