Eucharist in the Catholic Church Eucharist in the Catholic Church The Eucharist in the Catholic Church is celebrated as "the source and summit" of the Christian life. The Eucharist is consecrated daily (except on Good Friday, when consecration takes place on Maundy Thursday, but is distributed during the Mass of the Presanctified) during the celebration of Mass, the eucharistic liturgy. The term "Eucharist" is also used for the bread and wine when transubstantiated (their substance having been changed), according to Catholic teaching, into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic
Eucharist in the Catholic Church celebration of the full meal, abuses denounced by the apostles Paul and Jude, led to a distinct celebration of the Eucharist. The form of this celebration in the middle of the second century is described by Justin Martyr as very similar to today's Eucharistic rites known in the West as the Mass and in much of the East as the Divine Liturgy. The regular celebration was held each week on the day called Sunday, which Christians were also calling the Lord's Day. They included readings from Scripture, a homily, prayer by all, a prayer by "the president of the brethren"