Day 180: The Source and Summit

The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist. CCC 1322

In today's reading, the Catechism gives an intro of sorts to the Eucharist, which it calls "the source and summit of the Christian life" (CCC 1324). Indeed, it goes further in stating that "the other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it." Needless to say, that means the Eucharist could rightly be called the chief of the sacraments. The Catechism Compendium summarizes this section on the Eucharist:

The Eucharist is the very sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus which he instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. Thus he entrusted to his Church this memorial of his death and Resurrection. It is 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. (#271)

I do like how the Catechism Companion, Vol II puts it:

We say that "the Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life'" because it is the source of all grace, coming from the great sacrifice of the Son to the Father, and the ultimate goal for us all. The Eucharist is not only a work of Christ, it is Christ. (p. 124)

The first Eucharist, depicted by Juan de Juanes in The Last Supper, c. 1562

This image depicts our Lord's institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the night before his death. He gave us this sacrament "to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again" (CCC 1323). (p. 125)