Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Relationships and Religion
4 Reasons Why Jesus Gave Us The Eucharist

4 Reasons Why Jesus Gave Us The Eucharist

Last updated on: August 6, 2025 at 8:37 am by Jocelyn Soriano

4 Reasons Why Jesus Gave Us The Eucharist 2025-07-23T08:22:12+08:00 Jocelyn Soriano

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image from Canva Pro

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He commissioned the disciples to preach the Gospel to all nations with the assurance that He would be with them even to the very end of the world.

“…and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” – Matthew 28:20 (DRA)

Reflecting upon these words, how do we Christians often think Jesus would still be with us? Do we content ourselves with the thought that Jesus is watching over us from up above? Do we try to think of this as being with the invisible presence of Jesus only?

As Catholics, we believe in this promise of Jesus not only through His invisible presence but also through His visible presence in the Holy Eucharist.

Here are four reasons why Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist:

1. To be with us always

Jesus is faithful. He always keeps His word. Thus, when He promised that He would be with us, He truly meant to be present among us until the end of time!

“In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.” “This presence is called ‘real’ – by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be ‘real’ too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1374

2. To make present Christ’s sacrifice

The Eucharist is a memorial not only in the sense of “remembering” what Christ has done but of making present (through an unbloody manner) Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Every time we celebrate this Sacrament, we participate in Christ’s offering of love for our salvation.

“The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love. In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1337

3. To unite the Church

In receiving the Eucharist, we are not only united to Christ but to one another. The Eucharist unites the Church, the Body of Christ.

For this reason, the Eucharist is also called Holy Communion.

“Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1331

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” – 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (NABRE)

4. To nourish us

Our earthly body needs food in order to survive. In the same way, we need spiritual nourishment to be strengthened in our spiritual journey and to grow deeper in our relationship with God.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.’” – John 6:53 NABRE

“As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins. By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1394

A Foretaste of Heaven

The Eucharist already unites us with Christ and the Church, along with the saints in heaven. We anticipate the joy and glory that we will one day have when we reach the end of our earthly pilgrimage. Let us thank God therefore for this Blessed Sacrament as we look forward to that day when we shall see Him face-to-face.

“Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1419

Is Jesus in the Eucharist? Read the answer plus other questions and answers about the Catholic faith. See Jocelyn Soriano’s book Defending My Catholic Faith.

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” – 1 Peter 3:15 (NABRE)

Get the book from Amazon

Get my books on other Digital Stores

You may also want to read:
How I Found the Intimate Love of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist
Blessings You’re Not Receiving If You’re a Christian But Not Catholic

General Christian

Education and Religion

About Jocelyn Soriano

Jocelyn Soriano is an author, poet, and book reviewer. She is an introvert who enjoys a cup of coffee and listening to the cello ****** while working.

She wrote the books To Love an Invisible God, Defending My Catholic Faith and Mend My Broken Heart. She also wrote books on poetry including Poems of Love and Letting Go and Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief. She has published more than 15 books and developed her own Android applications including God’s Promises and Catholic Answers and Apologetics.

She writes about relationships and common questions about God and the Catholic faith at Single Catholic Writer. She is currently single and happy and she would like everyone to know how happy we can be by drawing close to the love of God!

Previous Post

July 30, 2025

Should You Never Get Angry?

Next Post

August 13, 2025 Why Do Catholics Pray Long and Repetitious Prayers?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Christmas Church Issue Divine Mercy End Times Grief Healing Heaven Joy Miracles Movie Review Movies New Age Prayer Questions to God Relationships Single Life Spiritual Growth Technology Virgin Mary Wealth Management

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group believes in "soul sleep" after death?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Seventh-day Adventists Orthodox Methodists Baptists

Books by This Author Books by Beloved

See All Titles »