What is the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist?
It is that mysterious repast in which, after the consecration (which makes Jesus Christ to be really present in the same state, under the sacramental form, as the victim immolated on Calvary), the body of our Lord Jesus Christ is given to be eaten, and His blood to be drunk, under the species or accidents of bread and wine (LXXIII.-LXXXIII.).
Is this sacrament necessary for salvation?
Yes; for it signifies the unity of the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ, to which everybody who would be saved must belong. But the fruit of the sacrament of the Eucharist can be enjoyed by anyone who has the intention of receiving the sacrament, whether he himself personally have this intention or whether the Church communicate it to him by the reception of baptism as is the case with infants (LXXIlI. 3).
By what names is this sacrament called?
In so far as it is a commemoration of our Lord's sacrifice on the Cross it is called a "sacrifice"; in so far as it signifies the unity of the Church, the mystical body of Christ, it is called "communion"; in so far as it foreshadows the glory of future happiness, it is called "viaticum"; and it is called the "Eucharist," which means the "good grace," because it contains Jesus Christ Himself, who is the author of all grace (LXXIII. 4).
Next - The Catechism of the Summa - Tertia Pars - XXXI. OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST (B)
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