Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

It is irritating to have people focusing exclusively on the sacrament of the Eucharist as if it was in a category all of its own. True, it does stand out from the other sacraments because of the enduring, substantial presence of Christ, under the species of bread and wine, this nevertheless misses the point. All of the sacraments are the actions of Christ. All of the sacraments are effected by the action of the Holy Spirit and are actions of the Church. Those sacraments which can only be received once: baptism, confirmation and Holy Orders all bring about an ontological change, rather than a substantial change, but they bring about a change all the same. One of my favourite maxims is: "magic is when we use created things to influence God, sacraments are when God uses created things to influence us." The Eucharist is for our benefit and sanctification just like the other sacraments. It is, however, not isolated from them. Henri de Lubac stated that: "Church makes Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church." To understand this mystery we need to see it in its context and the life as lived by the Church not just to focus on the Last Supper. The action and mediation of Christ in the Church and her sacraments is wonderful and mysterious however it is not magic. The 1983 Code of Canon Law sums up the mystery in this way: "Canon 897 The most August sacrament is the Most Holy Eucharist in which Christ the Lord himself is contained, offered, and received and by which the Church continually lives and grows.  The eucharistic sacrifice, the memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord, in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated through the ages is the summit and source of all worship and Christian life, which signifies and effects the unity of the People of God and brings about the building up of the body of Christ.  Indeed, the other sacraments and all the ecclesiastical works of the apostolate are closely connected with the Most Holy Eucharist and ordered to it."