“Eucharist Importance to the Poverty for the Hope of the Community”

By definition, the Holy Eucharist is one of the sacraments of Christian initiation which lay
the foundations of Christians. Eucharist is the sacrament that completes the process of
initiation and is when one can fully participate in the Eucharist by receiving Holy
Communion. (“Eucharist”) "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.”
(CCC 1324) Partaking the body of Christ is one of the ways to show our faith and worship to
him. To know more about the sacraments, we have to learn their origin, nature, and purpose.
All sacraments come from one origin, who is Jesus. He is the foundation of the Church. The
phrase “instituted by Christ” tells as the origin of the Eucharist. Jesus “instituted” the
sacraments by being the sacrament of his Father through the story of his life and actions, and
then by establishing the Church to be his basic sacrament. Our sacraments are accompanied
by special signs that produce what they signify. Each sacraments has a matter and a form. For
the Holy Eucharist, matter is bread and natural grape wine. While, the form is the Institution
Narrative spoken by the priest that recalls the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper.
Our sacraments have deep meanings which leads us to wonder what the purpose of these
sacraments are. The main purpose of the sacraments, including the Holy Eucharist, is to
sanctify the believer, to build up the Church, the Body of Christ, to help carry on Christ’s
work on earth, and to give worship to the Father to bring us closer to him. All these purposes
revolve around the most important being: God. Our relationship with the Lord is the center of
all these sacraments. In Joel Velasco’s painting, the children who grew up in poverty dines
with God in what is believed to be the Last Supper. Looking back, the Last Supper is when
God broke bread and took his blood to share it with his disciples. The painting shows the
importance of the Eucharist especially to the children who grew up in poverty. (“HAPAG NG
PAG-ASA (Table of Hope)”) Poverty should not affect the child’s access to the church.
Instead, it should be one of the places or community that a child can go to anytime and
anywhere he or she wants. Sacraments bring us closer to God by continuing God’s teachings
and it is cost-free. This early exposure teaches them at an early age that God is with them. It
is vital they know this as they go through a lot of challenges already at childhood. To those
children, Eucharist is vital as it allows them to fully participate in the church. The Eucharist,
which symbolizes Jesus' presence in the Church, is a unique component of the Catholic mass.
A child receives the Eucharist and accepts Jesus for the first time during their First Holy
Communion. It gives them a sense of belonging and helps in their upbringing such that they
will integrate the principles and teachings of God in their life. These children need guidance
in life which sometimes, cannot be provided by their parents who are busy earning money to
get by, and this is when the church can intervene in their upbringing so that they grow to be
good followers of Christ. Once in a while, they might even find their purpose in life in the
church and contribute to the spread of the Church.
REFERENCES
 “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” Vatican.va, 1992,

www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM.

 “Eucharist.” Flame of Faith, flameoffaith.org.au/eucharist/?

fbclid=IwAR1dplFUvOQhBE2SD_H1IrOmBdpP6e6zghYGnNyj7w4i9Ia1l49dBf_qa

Yw. Accessed 17 Nov. 2022.

 “HAPAG NG PAG-ASA (Table of Hope).” A Quiet Moment, 18 July 2007,

aquietmoment.wordpress.com/2007/07/18/hapag-ng-pag-asa-table-of-hope/.

 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “The Eucharist | USCCB.”

Www.usccb.org, www.usccb.org/eucharist.