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The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church

Doctrinal Document

The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church

  • Synod of Bishops
  • Libreria Editrice Vaticana
  • Vatican City
  • 2004-05-28 AD

The Synod of Bishops presents the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Church’s life, mission, and evangelization. At the Last Supper, Christ establishes the new covenant and commands the Church to repeat his sacrificial memorial. The Mass makes the one sacrifice of the Cross present without repeating it; through transubstantiation, Christ is truly present—Body, Blood, soul, and divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine. The Eucharist manifests and strengthens the Church’s unity, requiring celebration in communion with the Pope and the local bishop and limiting intercommunion according to sacramental and doctrinal unity. The liturgy joins the Table of the Word to the Table of the Sacrament and proceeds through penitence, the presentation of the gifts, the Eucharistic Prayer, epiclesis, consecration, and Holy Communion. Reverence, fidelity to liturgical norms, worthy music and art, and sacred spaces centred on the altar and tabernacle protect its character as divine worship. Mystagogy and catechesis should lead believers from visible signs to the mystery they signify, while adoration outside Mass remains linked to Communion. Nourished by Christ, Christians are sent to practise charity, serve the poor and suffering, and proclaim the Gospel; Mary’s fiat provides a model for the communicant’s amen.

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