276. Where does the Eucharist fit in the divine plan of salvation? (part 3 continuation)

276. Where does the Eucharist fit in the divine plan of salvation?  (part 3 continuation)   

(Comp 276 repetition) The Eucharist was foreshadowed in the Old Covenant above all in the annual Passover meal celebrated every year by the Jews with unleavened bread to commemorate their hasty, liberating departure from Egypt. Jesus foretold it in his teaching and he instituted it when he celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles in a Passover meal. The Church, faithful to the command of her Lord, “Do this in memory of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24), has always celebrated the Eucharist, especially on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus.

“In brief”  

(CCC 1417) The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion each time they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year. 

To deepen and explain  

(CCC 1341) The command of Jesus to repeat his actions and words "until he comes" does not only ask us to remember Jesus and what he did. It is directed at the liturgical celebration, by the apostles and their successors, of the memorial of Christ, of his life, of his death, of his Resurrection, and of his intercession in the presence of the Father (Cf. 2 Cor 11:26). (CCC 1342) From the beginning the Church has been faithful to the Lord's command. Of the Church of Jerusalem it is written: They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.... Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts (Acts 2:42, 46). 

On reflection  

(CCC 1343) It was above all on "the first day of the week," Sunday, the day of Jesus' resurrection, that the Christians met "to break bread" (Acts 20:7). From that time on down to our own day the celebration of the Eucharist has been continued so that today we encounter it everywhere in the Church with the same fundamental structure. It remains the center of the Church's life. (CCC 1344) Thus from celebration to celebration, as they proclaim the Paschal mystery of Jesus "until he comes," the pilgrim People of God advances, "following the narrow way of the cross" (AG 1; cf. 1 Cor 11:26), toward the heavenly banquet, when all the elect will be seated at the table of the kingdom. [END]

(Next question: How is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist carried out?)