The Greatest Sacrament: An Excerpt From Speaking the Love of God by Jacob Wood

The eucharistic celebration is the action of Christ himself and the Church. In it, Christ the Lord, through the ministry of the priest, offers himself, substantially present under the species of bread and wine, to God the Father and gives himself as spiritual food to the faithful united with his offering (CIC, Canon 899, §1).In its central moment, when a priest says the words of Jesus over bread and wine (respectively: “This is my body” and “This is my blood”), those elements become the Body and Blood of Jesus, and, through becoming his Body and Blood, are offered as a sacrifice to God—a re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. They are given to the faithful to eat. Learn more about Speaking the Love of God: An Introduction to the Sacraments visit Emmaus Road Publishing.