Basic questions and answers: intro and question one
    During the year 2002 the Diocese of Charleston begins efforts at evangelization as a special diocesan priority. We encourage all who are able to join us on Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, morning and afternoon hours, for the Coastal Catholic Conference “Go and Make Disciples,” culminating in a liturgy at 4 p.m., celebrated by the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo. With this conference, we are encouraging participation in the Disciples in Mission effort underway at the training stage in parishes of the diocese. We are also initiating our years of evangelization in the diocese.
 
    The New Catholic Miscellany joins in this evangelization effort over the year by sharing reflections on the Holy Eucharist, which lies at the heart of all we do to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
    In July 2001, the Catholic bishops of the United States issued a brief, yet significant explanation of the Catholic teaching on the Eucharist. It was the bishops’ hope that study and discussion of this text would “aid many of the Catholic faithful in our country to enrich their understanding of this mystery of our the faith.”
    Having made a modest contribution to the formulation of this document, I am happy to encourage reflection on it by all readers of The Miscellany. Rather than print it in its entirety, our newspaper will print portions of the document monthly. May you find this statement a great help to yourself personally and to your family also as you reflect on this greatest of gifts the Lord gave us and the greatest of miracles the Lord worked to assure his presence among us until the end of time.   Bishop Robert J. Baker
Introduction
The Lord Jesus, on the night before he suffered on the cross, shared one last meal with his disciples. During this meal our Savior instituted the sacrament of his body and blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages and to entrust to the church his spouse a memorial of his death and resurrection. As the Gospel of Matthew tells us:
    While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matt 26:26-28; cf. Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:17-20, 1 Cor 11:23-25)
    Recalling these words of Jesus, the Catholic Church professes that, in the celebration of the Eucharist, bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the instrumentality of the priest. Jesus said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world .... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:51-55). The whole Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine — the glorified Christ who rose from the dead after dying for our sins. This is what the church means when she speaks of the “Real Presence” of Christ in the Eucharist. This presence of Christ in the Eucharist is called “real” not to exclude other types of his presence as if they could not be understood as real (cf. Catechism, no. 1374). The risen Christ is present to his church in many ways, but most especially through the sacrament of his body and blood. 
What does it mean that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine? How does this happen? The presence of the risen Christ in the Eucharist is an inexhaustible mystery that the church can never fully explain in words. We must remember that the triune God is the creator of all that exists and has the power to do more than we can possibly imagine. As St. Ambrose said: “If the word of the Lord Jesus is so powerful as to bring into existence things which were not, then a fortiori those things which already exist can be changed into something else” (De Sacramentis, IV, 5-16). God created the world in order to share his life with persons who are not God. This great plan of salvation reveals a wisdom that surpasses our understanding. But we are not left in ignorance: for out of his love for us, God reveals his truth to us in ways that we can understand through the gift of faith and the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. We are thus enabled to understand at least in some measure what would otherwise remain unknown to us, though we can never completely comprehend the mystery of God.
    As successors of the apostles and teachers of the church, the bishops have the duty to hand on what God has revealed to us and to encourage all members of the church to deepen their understanding of the mystery and gift of the Eucharist. In order to foster such a deepening of faith, we have prepared this text to respond to 15 questions that commonly arise with regard to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We offer this text to pastors and religious educators to assist them in their teaching responsibilities. We recognize that some of these questions involve rather complex theological ideas. It is our hope, however, that study and discussion of the text will aid many of the Catholic faithful in our country to enrich their understanding of this mystery of the faith.
1. Why does Jesus give himself to us as food and drink?
    Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment because he loves us. God's whole plan for our salvation is directed to our participation in the life of the Trinity, the communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our sharing in this life begins with our baptism, when by the power of the Holy Spirit we are joined to Christ, thus becoming adopted sons and daughters of the Father. It is strengthened and increased in confirmation. It is nourished and deepened through our participation in the Eucharist. By eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ in the Eucharist we become united to the person of Christ through his humanity. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (John 6:56). In being united to the humanity of Christ we are at the same time united to his divinity. Our mortal and corruptible natures are transformed by being joined to the source of life. “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me” (John 6:57).
    By being united to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are drawn up into the eternal relationship of love among the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As Jesus is the eternal Son of God by nature, so we become sons and daughters of God by adoption through the sacrament of baptism. Through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation (Chrismation), we are temples of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, and by his indwelling we are made holy by the gift of sanctifying grace. The ultimate promise of the Gospel is that we will share in the life of the Holy Trinity. The fathers of the church called this participation in the divine life “divinization” (theosis). In this we see that God does not merely send us good things from on high; instead, we are brought up into the inner life of God, the communion among the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the celebration of the Eucharist (which means “thanksgiving”), we give praise and glory to God for this sublime gift.

The real presence of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist
Basic questions and answers: question two
    The Jan. 17 issue of The New Catholic Miscellany carried the introduction and part one of "Why does Jesus give himself to us as food and drink?"
    This month we continue with part two of this document on the Holy Eucharist by the U.S. Catholic bishops, published in July 2001. The topic is "Why is the Eucharist not only a meal, but also a sacrifice?"
    In reaction to opinions of various theologians at the time of the Reformation who held that the sacrifice of the altar is called a sacrifice only in the sense that it is a figure or memorial of the sacrifice on Calvary, the Council of Trent in the 16th century underlined the fact that the Mass is a sacrifice per se, that there is a real oblation of Christ offered under the appearance of bread and wine. In the sacrifice of the Mass there is a real oblation of Christ present, as at Calvary.
    The U.S. bishops reiterate this teaching and indicate that "Christ's sacrifice is made sacramentally present …." "The church gathers to remember and to re-present the sacrifice of Christ in which we share through the action of the priest and the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the celebration of the Eucharist, we are joined to Christ's sacrifice and receive its inexhaustible benefits."
    The one sacrifice of Christ at Calvary becomes sacramentally present to us at Holy Mass. "Jesus' one perfect sacrifice is … eternally present before the Father, who eternally accepts it. ... in the Eucharist Jesus does not sacrifice himself again and again. ... by the power of the Holy Spirit his one eternal sacrifice is made present once again, re-presented, so that we may share in it."
    In this Year of Evangelization, we are attempting to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Holy Eucharist, which is at the center of all our evangelizing efforts. Hopefully this continued catechesis on the Eucharist will help us in these efforts.
Bishop Robert J. Baker
    2. Why is the Eucharist not only a meal, but also a sacrifice?
    While our sins would have made it impossible for us to share in the life of God, Jesus Christ was sent to remove this obstacle. His death was a sacrifice for our sins. Christ is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Through his death and resurrection, he conquered sin and death and reconciled us to God. The Eucharist is the memorial of this sacrifice. The Church gathers to remember and to re-present the sacrifice of Christ in which we share through the action of the priest and the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the celebration of the Eucharist, we are joined to Christ's sacrifice and receive its inexhaustible benefits.
    As the Letter to the Hebrews explains, Jesus is the one eternal high priest who always lives to make intercession for the people before the Father. In this way, he surpasses the many high priests who over centuries used to offer sacrifices for sin in the Jerusalem temple. The eternal high priest Jesus offers the perfect sacrifice which is his very self, not something else. "He entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption" (Heb 9:12).
    Jesus' act belongs to human history, for he is truly human and has entered into history. At the same time, however, Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity; he is the eternal Son, who is not confined within time or history. His actions transcend time, which is part of creation. "Passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation" (Heb 9:11), Jesus the eternal Son of God made his act of sacrifice in the presence of his Father, who lives in eternity. Jesus' one perfect sacrifice is thus eternally present before the Father, who eternally accepts it. This means that in the Eucharist, Jesus does not sacrifice himself again and again. Rather, by the power of the Holy Spirit his one eternal sacrifice is made present once again, re-presented, so that we may share in it.
    Christ does not have to leave where he is in heaven to be with us. Rather, we partake of the heavenly liturgy where Christ eternally intercedes for us and presents his sacrifice to the Father and where the angels and saints constantly glorify God and give thanks for all his gifts: "To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever" (Rev 5:13). As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "By the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all" (no. 1326). The Sanctus proclamation, "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord ...," is the song of the angels who are in the presence of God (Isa 6:3). When in the Eucharist we proclaim the Sanctus we echo on earth the song of angels as they worship God in heaven. In the eucharistic celebration we do not simply remember an event in history. Rather, through the mysterious action of the Holy Spirit in the eucharistic celebration the Lord's Paschal Mystery is made present and contemporaneous to his Spouse the Church.
    Furthermore, in the eucharistic re-presentation of Christ's eternal sacrifice before the Father, we are not simply spectators. The priest and the worshiping community are in different ways active in the eucharistic sacrifice. The ordained priest standing at the altar represents Christ as head of the Church. All the baptized, as members of Christ's Body, share in his priesthood, as both priest and victim. The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. The Church, which is the Body and Bride of Christ, participates in the sacrificial offering of her Head and Spouse. In the Eucharist, the sacrifice of Christ becomes the sacrifice of the members of his Body who united to Christ form one sacrificial offering (cf. Catechism, no. 1368). As Christ's sacrifice is made sacramentally present, united with Christ, we offer ourselves as a sacrifice to the Father. "The whole Church exercises the role of priest and victim along with Christ, offering the Sacrifice of the Mass and itself completely offered in it" (Mysterium Fidei, no. 31; cf. Lumen Gentium, no. 11).

The real presence of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist
Basic questions and answers: questions three and four
During this Week of Weeks, we celebrate on Holy Thursday the greatest gift of the Lord: the Holy Eucharist. It is called "the mystery of faith" because it is "the source and summit of the Christian life" (Lumen Gentium, no. 11, Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1324). The Eucharist is so vital to the Christian life because it contains the whole good of the church, Christ himself. In his encyclical letter, Redemptor Hominis, no. 81, Pope John Paul II calls the Eucharist "a Sacrifice-Sacrament, a Communion-Sacrament, and a Presence-Sacrament." During this holy time we reflect upon the Church's teaching about the "real presence" of Christ in the Eucharist.
Sections 3 and 4 of the bishop's document, focus on this central topic of the text: How is Christ present in the Holy Eucharist?
Since the Eucharist is the center of the Christian life, the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, continually seeks to understand this mystery more fully (Eucharisicum Mysterium, no. 1). Precisely because the Holy Eucharist is a mystery, it has challenged the reflection of great theologians throughout the centuries. The Council of Trent (Session XIII) dogmatically defined the Eucharist in 1551.
The American bishops provide a good catechetical explanation in this document, issued on June 15, 2001.
"In the celebration of the Eucharist, the glorified Christ becomes present under the appearances of bread and wine in a way that is unique, a way that is uniquely suited to the Eucharist."
St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotelian philosophy, calls this wondrous change that takes place at the consecration of the Mass "transubstantiation." In his Credo of the People of God (June 30, 1968), Pope Paul VI states that this term "is appropriately and justly" used to indicate the hidden conversion of the substances of bread and wine.
Pope Paul continues in his Credo to state that "any theological explanation intent on arriving at some understanding of this mystery, if it is to be in accordance with Catholic faith, must maintain, without ambiguity, that in the order of reality, which exists independently of the human mind, the bread and wine cease to exist after the consecration. From then on, therefore, the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus, under the sacramental appearances of bread and wine, are truly presented before us for our adoration." Thus, in number 4, the American bishops note that the whole Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist "Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity." They state that "in the Eucharist the bread ceases to be bread in substance, and becomes the Body of Christ, while the wine ceases to be wine in substance, and becomes the Blood of Christ." The appearances of bread and wine remain after transubstantiation as sacred sacramental signs that indicate the new Reality they contain.
We Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is truly, really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist (Council of Trent, Session XIII, Canon 1).
Our faith, liturgical celebrations, and eucharistic devotional practices flow from this pivotal doctrine. How blessed we are by this tremendous gift of Jesus to his s and to each of us personally! How well we are provided for by our Lord and Savior who did not leave us abandoned after the Last Supper and after Calvary, but provided a way for us to encounter the Christ of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in his glorified state here and now today through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
May we celebrate with gratitude this Holy Thursday the great gift Jesus Christ gave us on that first Holy Thursday, his presence for all time in the Holy Eucharist!
Bishop Robert J. Baker
3. When the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, why do they still look and taste like bread and wine?
In the celebration of the Eucharist, the glorified Christ becomes present under the appearances of bread and wine in a way that is unique, a way that is uniquely suited to the Eucharist. In the Church's traditional theological language, in the act of consecration during the Eucharist the "substance" of the bread and wine is changed by the power of the Holy Spirit into the "substance" of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. At the same time, the "accidents" or appearances of bread and wine remain. "Substance" and "accident" are here used as philosophical terms that have been adapted by great medieval theologians such as St. Thomas Aquinas in their efforts to understand and explain the faith. Such terms are used to convey the fact that what appears to be bread and wine in every way (at the level of "accidents" or physical attributes — that is, what can be seen, touched, tasted, or measured) in fact is now the Body and Blood of Christ (at the level of "substance" or deepest reality). This change at the level of substance from bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is called "transubstantiation." According to Catholic faith, we can speak of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because this transubstantiation has occurred (cf. Catechism, no. 1376).
This is a great mystery of our faith — we can only know it from Christ's teaching given us in the Scriptures and in the Tradition of the Church. Every other change that occurs in the world involves a change in accidents or characteristics. Sometimes the accidents change while the substance remains the same. For example, when a child reaches adulthood, the characteristics of the human person change in many ways, but the adult remains the same person —the same substance. At other times, the substance and the accidents both change. For example, when a person eats an apple, the apple is incorporated into the body of that person — is changed into the body of that person. When this change of substance occurs, however, the accidents or characteristics of the apple do not remain. As the apple is changed into the body of the person, it takes on the accidents or characteristics of the body of that person. Christ's presence in the Eucharist is unique in that, even though the consecrated bread and wine truly are in substance the Body and Blood of Christ, they have none of the accidents or characteristics of a human body, but only those of bread and wine.
4. Does the bread cease to be bread and the wine cease to be wine?
Yes. In order for the whole Christ to be present —body, blood, soul, and divinity — the bread and wine cannot remain, but must give way so that his glorified Body and Blood may be present. Thus in the Eucharist the bread ceases to be bread in substance, and becomes the Body of Christ, while the wine ceases to be wine in substance, and becomes the Blood of Christ. As St. Thomas Aquinas observed, Christ is not quoted as saying, "This bread is my body," but "This is my body" (Summa Theologiae, III q. 78, a. 5).

The real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist
Basic questions and answers: questions five and six
    Questions five and six of the American Catholic bishops June 15, 2001, document on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist delicately presents the Church's teaching on Jesus being present in the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine. Jesus gives himself to us "in a form that employs the symbolism inherent in eating bread and drinking wine." St. Bonaventure is quoted as affirming that "there is no difficulty over Christ's being present in the sacrament as in a sign; the great difficulty is in the fact that he is really in the sacrament, as he is in heaven." The bishops emphasize clearly that "the transformed bread and wine that are the Body and Blood of Christ are not merely symbols because they truly are the Body and Blood of Christ," but they also indicate that "it is important to recognize that the Body and Blood of Christ come to us in the Eucharist in a sacramental form."
    Once we have carefully clarified the unique, real, substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist, we can reflect on the issue of sign and symbol as they pertain to this sacrament. Sacraments, as we learned in our early days of study of our Catholic faith are "outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace."
    The Council of Trent pointed out that the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist has in common with the other sacraments that it is a "symbol of a sacred reality an a visible form of and invisible grace" (Session XIII, Decree on the Holy Eucharist, Chapter 3).
    The terms "sign" and "symbol" are used by the Church in explaining the Holy Eucharist, but always very carefully, since the theologians of the Protestant Reformation used the terms in a different sense than the Catholic Church did at the Council of Trent.
    A sign can be understood in the general sense as any person, thing, event, or reality that points to another reality. Symbols are a category of sign that go further than just pointing to another reality. They relate us to that reality. They are signs that have depth to them. They are emotive. We connect with someone or something through that symbol.
    When ladies on our diocesan staff were cleaning out the desk of Cleo Cantey, our long-time devoted chancellor who died this past January, they found a prayer in her desk entitled "For Today." The prayer portrayed Cleo so well, one of the women wrote under it, "This poem (prayer) is symbolic of everything she was." The prayer is now in a frame, with Cleo's picture, near the desk she worked at for years. That is the power of symbols. They evoke fond memories. More than that, they evoke relationships. Reading that prayer brought tears to Cleo's friends' eyes. They saw Cleo in that prayer.
    Jesus chose his last meal with his disciples as the event that would link him for all time with his followers and unite them with the sacrificial offering he made of his life on Calvary. The bishops' document states, "we cannot presume to know all the reasons behind God's actions. God uses, however, the symbolism inherent in the eating of bread and the drinking of wine at the natural level to illuminate the meaning of what is being accomplished in the Eucharist through Jesus Christ."
    In bringing his divine Presence into the world, in relating himself to us human beings, Jesus took human elements — bread and wine — to be a vehicle of his grace. He used these to create his Presence from them. So much did he love us, that God respected our human condition.
    Through the consecration of the Mass the bread and wine yield to the action of the Holy Spirit so that they are no longer bread and wine, but the Body and Blood of Christ. However, the remaining natural appearances of the bread and wine, after the awesome change of their substance, would normally disappear. By divine power alone they are sustained in existence without any underlying substance so that they may be the "Sacred" or "Sacramental" signs to indicate the New Reality of the Body and Blood of Christ that these now mere appearances contain.
    What appears as food for the body is now food for the soul.
Bishop Robert J. Baker
    5. Is it fitting that Christ's Body and Blood become present in the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine?
    Yes, for this way of being present corresponds perfectly to the sacramental celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus Christ gives himself to us in a form that employs the symbolism inherent in eating bread and drinking wine. Furthermore, being present under the appearances of bread and wine, Christ gives himself to us in a form that is appropriate for human eating and drinking. Also, this kind of presence corresponds to the virtue of faith, for the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ cannot be detected or discerned by any way other than faith. That is why St. Bonaventure affirmed: "There is no difficulty over Christ's being present in the sacrament as in a sign; the great difficulty is in the fact that he is really in the sacrament, as he is in heaven. And so believing this is especially meritorious" (In IV Sent., dist. X, P. I, art. un., qu. I). On the authority of God who reveals himself to us, by faith we believe that which cannot be grasped by our human faculties (cf. Catechism, no. 1381).
    6. Are the consecrated bread and wine "merely symbols"?
    In everyday language, we call a "symbol" something that points beyond itself to something else, often to several other realities at once. The transformed bread and wine that are the Body and Blood of Christ are not merely symbols because they truly are the Body and Blood of Christ. As St. John Damascene wrote: "The bread and wine are not a foreshadowing of the body and blood of Christ — By no means! — but the actual deified body of the Lord, because the Lord himself said: 'This is my body;' not 'a foreshadowing of my body; but 'my body,; and not 'a foreshadowing of my blood; but 'my blood'" (The Orthodox Faith, IV [PG 94, 1148-49]).
    At the same time, however, it is important to recognize that the Body and Blood of Christ come to us in the Eucharist in a sacramental form. In other words, Christ is present under the appearances of bread and wine, not in his own proper form. We cannot presume to know all the reasons behind God's actions. God uses, however, the symbolism inherent in the eating of bread and the drinking of wine at the natural level to illuminate the meaning of what is being accomplished in the Eucharist through Jesus Christ.
    There are various ways in which the symbolism of eating bread and drinking wine discloses the meaning of the Eucharist. For example, just as natural food gives nourishment to the body, so the eucharistic food gives spiritual nourishment. Furthermore, the sharing of an ordinary meal establishes a certain communion among the people who share it; in the Eucharist, the People of God share a meal that brings them into communion not only with each other but with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Similarly, as St. Paul tells us, the single loaf that is shared among many during the eucharistic meal is an indication of the unity of those who have been called together by the Holy Spirit as one body, the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17). To take another example, the individual grains of wheat and individual grapes have to be harvested and to undergo a process of grinding or crushing before they are unified as bread and as wine. Because of this, bread and wine point to both the union of the many that takes place in the Body of Christ and the suffering undergone by Christ, a suffering that must also be embraced by his disciples. Much more could be said about the many ways in which the eating of bread and drinking of wine symbolize what God does for us through Christ, since symbols carry multiple meanings and connotations.

The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist
Basic questions and answers: questions seven, eight and nine
By BISHOP ROBERT J. BAKER

Questions seven, eight and nine of The American Catholic Bishops’ June 15, 2001 document on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist discuss the abiding presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, following the Consecration at the Mass, and appropriate signs of reverence with respect to the Body and Blood of Christ.
In his Encyclical Letter, Redemptor hominis, no. 81, Pope John Paul II speaks of the Eucharist as being simultaneously “a Sacrifice-Sacrament, a Communion-Sacrament, and a Presence-Sacrament”.
In the celebration of the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of Calvary becomes present by the operation of the Holy Spirit at the time of the double Consecration when the Lord’s Body and Blood are made present from the bread and wine through the mystery which is aptly called “transubstantiation.” 
After the Consecration of the Mass, the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus remain present so as to be both a “Communion-Sacrament” and a “Presence-Sacrament.”  Thus, when one receives the Eucharist as “Communion-Sacrament,” that person receives the Lord Jesus who is present in the Eucharist because it is a “Presence-Sacrament.”
The three aspects of the Eucharist follow very logically from the Lord’s purpose. The Lord wanted to leave us a living memorial of his love for us “to the end” (John 13:1), and he did this by making the Eucharist to be a “Sacrifice-Sacrament.”  But by the fact that he made the Eucharist to be a memorial of his Sacrifice under the appearances of bread and wine and commanded us to partake of It, it is clear that the Lord wanted us to partake of this Covenant Sacrifice so as to be united to the Father through himself.
Thus, the Eucharist is a “Communion-Sacrament” because it allows us to enter into a spiritual union with the Father in the Son.  But the Eucharist creates this union of communion because It is also a “Presence-Sacrament” which really contains the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Son of God.  Moreover, since there is a mutual indwelling of the Three Persons of the Trinity, the Father and Spirit are also present in the Eucharist.
The celebration of the Eucharistic Mystery in all its fullness means not only the celebration of Mass, but also devotion to Jesus Christ present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist remaining after Mass.
Devotion to the Eucharist outside of Mass has its origin and consummation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Adoration of the “Presence-Sacrament,” which is the fruit of the Mass, extends the grace of the Sacrifice and fosters intimacy with Jesus Christ, who is present.  The Most Blessed of all Sacraments should be a magnet which draws us ever deeper into our Savior’s heart, pierced because of the love he bears for all mankind.
In the “Presence-Sacrament” we adore our crucified, risen and glorious Savior who calls us to unite ourselves and our lives to his offering at Mass for the salvation of humankind. In this way our Eucharistic devotion maintains a close connection with the entire Paschal Mystery celebrated at Holy Mass.  In this adoration we render authentic worship “in Spirit and truth” for our hearts are conformed and united to the Sacred Heart of the Eternal High Priest, who alone can bring forth fruit which pleases the Father.
Especially privileged expressions of public Eucharistic devotion are processions, exposition, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the “Presence-Sacrament.” These forms of devotion offer us occasions to publicly profess our faith in the abiding presence of our Savior.  Jesus, by his coming into this world and remaining with us in the Eucharist, makes his own the words of Wisdom: “my delight is to be with the children of men” (Prov 8:51).
In response, we must show him that our delight is to be with him. Eucharistic processions, exposition and Benediction give us the opportunity to respond to our Savior’s faithful love with our own profession of loving faith by humble and thankful adoration and witness.
Bishop Robert J. Baker
7. Do the consecrated bread and wine cease to be the Body and Blood of Christ when the Mass is over?
No. During the celebration of the Eucharist, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, and this they remain. They cannot turn back into bread and wine, for they are no longer bread and wine at all. There is thus no reason for them to change back to their "normal" state after the special circumstances of the Mass are past. Once the substance has really changed, the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ "endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist" (Catechism, no. 1377). 
Against those who maintained that the bread that is consecrated during the Eucharist has no sanctifying power if it is left over until the next day, St. Cyril of Alexandria replied, "Christ is not altered, nor is his holy body changed, but the power of the consecration and his life-giving grace is perpetual in it" (Letter 83, to Calosyrius, Bishop of Arsinoe [PG 76, 1076]). The Church teaches that Christ remains present under the appearances of bread and wine as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain (cf. Catechism, no. 1377).
8. Why are some of the consecrated hosts reserved after the Mass?
While it would be possible to eat all of the bread that is consecrated during the Mass, some is usually kept in the tabernacle. The Body of Christ under the appearance of bread that is kept or "reserved" after the Mass is commonly referred to as the "Blessed Sacrament." 
There are several pastoral reasons for reserving the Blessed Sacrament. First of all, it is used for distribution to the dying (Viaticum), the sick, and those who legitimately cannot be present for the celebration of the Eucharist. Secondly, the Body of Christ in the form of bread is to be adored when it is exposed, as in the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction, when it is carried in eucharistic processions, or when it is simply placed in the tabernacle, before which people pray privately. These devotions are based on the fact that Christ himself is present under the appearance of bread. 
Many holy people well known to American Catholics, such as St. John Neumann, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Katharine Drexel, and Blessed Damien of Molokai, practiced great personal devotion to Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, devotion to the reserved Blessed Sacrament is practiced most directly at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, offered on weekdays of Lent.
9. What are appropriate signs of reverence with respect to the Body and Blood of Christ?
The Body and Blood of Christ present under the appearances of bread and wine are treated with the greatest reverence both during and after the celebration of the Eucharist (cf. Mysterium Fidei, nos. 56-61). 
For example, the tabernacle in which the consecrated bread is reserved is placed "in some part of the church or oratory which is distinguished, conspicuous, beautifully decorated, and suitable for prayer" (Code of Canon Law, Can. 938, §2). According to the tradition of the Latin Church, one should genuflect in the presence of the tabernacle containing the reserved sacrament. 
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the traditional practice is to make the sign of the cross and to bow profoundly. The liturgical gestures from both traditions reflect reverence, respect, and adoration. It is appropriate for the members of the assembly to greet each other in the gathering space of the church (that is, the vestibule or narthex), but it is not appropriate to speak in loud or boisterous tones in the body of the church (that is, the nave) because of the presence of Christ in the tabernacle. 
Also, the Church requires everyone to fast before receiving the Body and Blood of Christ as a sign of reverence and recollection (unless illness prevents one from doing so). In the Latin Church, one must generally fast for at least one hour; members of Eastern Catholic Churches must follow the practice established by their own Church.