So rich is the mystery of the Eucharist that we have a
number of terms to illumine its saving grace: the Breaking of the Bread;
the Lord's Supper; the Eucharistic Assembly; the Memorial of Christ's
Passion, Death, and Resurrection; the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the
Holy and Divine Liturgy; the Eucharistic Liturgy; Holy Communion; and
Holy Mass (cf. CCC, nos. 1328-1332).
The use of bread and wine in worship is already found in the early
history of God's people. In the Old Testament, bread and wine are seen
as gifts from God, to whom praise and thanks are given in return for
these blessings and for other manifestations of his care and grace. The
story of the priest Melchizedek's offering a sacrifice of bread and wine
for Abraham's victory is an example of this (cf. Gn 14:18). The harvest
of new lambs was also a time for the sacrifice of a lamb to show
gratitude to God for the new flock and its contribution to the
well-being of the family and tribe.
These ancient rituals were given historical meaning at the Exodus of
God's people. They were united into the Passover Meal as a sign of God's
delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, a pledge of his
fidelity to his promises and eventually a sign of the coming of the
Messiah and messianic times. Each family shared the lamb that had been
sacrificed and the bread over which a blessing had been proclaimed. They
also drank from a cup of wine over which a similar blessing had been
proclaimed.
When Jesus instituted the Eucharist he gave a final meaning to the
blessing of the bread and the wine and the sacrifice of the lamb. The
Gospels narrate events that anticipated the Eucharist. The miracle of
the loaves and fish, reported in all four Gospels, prefigured the unique
abundance of the Eucharist. The miracle of changing water into wine at
the wedding feast in Cana manifested the divine glory of Jesus and the
heavenly wedding feast in which we share at every Eucharist.
In his dialogue with the people at Capernaum, Christ used his miracle
of multiplying the loaves of bread as the occasion to describe himself
as the Bread of Life: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
. . . Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you" (Jn 6:51, 53).