Celebrating Eucharist; becoming Eucharistic

Read the Catechism in a Year

Catechism in a Year: Day 185

Part Two: How We Celebrate the Christian Mysteries
- Section Two: The Seven Sacraments of the Church
-- Chapter One: The Sacraments of Initiation -- THE EUCHARIST

Question 217: What happens in the Church when she celebrates the Eucharist?

Every time the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she stands before the source from which she herself constantly springs anew. By “eating” the Body of Christ, the Church becomes the Body of Christ, which is just another name for the Church. In the sacrifice of Christ, who gives himself to us, body and soul, there is room for our whole life. We can unite everything—our work and our sufferings, our joys—with Christ’s sacrifice. If we offer ourselves in this way, we are transformed: We become pleasing to God and like good, nourishing bread for our fellowmen.

Again and again we grumble about the Church, as though she were just an association of more or less good people. In reality the Church is what happens daily in a mysterious way at the altar. God gives himself to each one of us individually, and he wants to transform us through communion with him. Once we are transformed, we are supposed to transform the world. Everything else that the Church is besides that is secondary. 

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Question 218: 

What is the right way to honor the Lord present in the bread and wine? 

Because God is truly present in the consecrated species of bread and wine, we must preserve the sacred gifts with the greatest reverence and worship our Lord and Redeemer in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

If there are consecrated hosts left over after the celebration of Holy Eucharist, they are kept in sacred vessels in the tabernacle. Since the Most Blessed Sacrament is present in them, the tabernacle is one of the most venerable places in every church. We genuflect before any tabernacle. Certainly, anyone who is really following Christ will recognize him in the poorest of the poor and serve him in them. But he will also find time to spend in adoration before the tabernacle and offer his love to our Eucharistic Lord. 

Dig Deeper: Corresponding CCC section (1368-1381) and other references here.

Recommended Reading: Seven Big Myths abouth the Catholic Church by C. Kaczor