“The courage and strength that are in me are not of me, but of Him who lives in me - it is the Eucharist.”-St. Faustina

This sacrament is called Holy Communion because it unites us to Christ, who “makes us sharers in His Body and Blood to form a single body”(1331, CCC), and in Him we are united to one another. It is also called Eucharist, meaning to give thanks from the Greek eucharistein, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. After all, once God has made Himself fully present to us in His body, blood, soul and divinity and gives His whole self to us, thanksgiving is the only appropriate response. "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"135

Receiving our Lord in the Eucharist opens the eyes of our soul to the great humility of our God who through the words and actions of His priests makes Himself really and substantially present under the appearance of bread and wine. In His thirst for our love and attention, He satiates our thirst for Him by giving us His own self. While difficult to comprehend such intense love for us, ultimately faith is required to be able to say “Lord, to whom else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

If you would like to read more about Holy Communion, click here.

Also, don't miss out on Bishop Barron's talk about the Sacrament of Holy Communion in the video below.