May 8 Thu
How does the Holy Spirit intervene in the Eucharist?
The Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Spirit plays an essential role in the Eucharist, particularly in the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and in uniting the faithful as the Mystical Body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit and Transubstantiation.
The essential signs of the Eucharist are wheat bread and grape wine.
The priest invokes the Holy Spirit to bless these elements.
During the Eucharistic Prayer, specifically in the epiclesis, the priest requests God the Father to send the Holy Spirit so that the bread and wine offered may become Christ’s Body and Blood and so we may be able to celebrate the Eucharistic mystery, and to make all the effects of the sacrament operative in us.
The change occurs through the institution narrative, by the power of Christ's words pronounced by the celebrant.
At the same time, the priest extends his hands, palms downward, over the chalice and host, and traces the sign of the cross over them. With this gesture, he asks God to pour his blessing over the gifts offered and to turn them into his Son’s body and blood.
St. Thomas Aquinas asks himself, “Why does the priest ask for what he positively knows will happen at the Consecration?” And he answers, “How many times did Jesus Christ ask for what He well knew would infallibly happen? The priest seems to pray, not so much for the miracle of transubstantiation as for the happy fruits it may produce in our souls.”
How often have we relegated the Holy Spirit to a secondary role! We now promise him we shall be more docile to his sanctifying action. “That means we should be aware of the work of the Holy Spirit all around us, and in our own selves we should recognize the gifts He distributes, the movements and institutions He inspires, the affections and decisions he provokes in our hearts.”
Through the action of the Holy Spirit, the substance of the bread and wine is changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, while the appearances (accidents) of bread and wine remain.
This change is called transubstantiation. The Church has always held that by the consecration of the bread and wine, a change occurs where the whole substance of the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the whole substance of the wine becomes the Blood of Christ.
Because of transubstantiation, Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Christ is truly present—Body and Blood, soul and divinity. The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist.
The Holy Spirit unites the faithful in the Mystical Body of Christ.
Thus, the priest asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the assembly, so that those who take part in the Eucharist may be one body and one spirit.
The Holy Spirit unites all the members of the Mystical Body to Christ and to one another.
Partaking in the Eucharist unites each person to the Lord, making them one spirit with Him in a new life that comes from the Holy Spirit.
The Eucharist should increase love for one another and remind everyone of their responsibilities toward one another.
As members of the Mystical Body, the faithful must represent Christ and bring Christ to the world, sharing the Good News through words and actions, and working against injustice.
The Eucharist commits everyone to the poor, recognizing Christ in the poorest.
In summary, the Holy Spirit is essential to the Eucharist in both the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and in uniting the faithful as the Mystical Body of Christ, fostering communion, love, and a shared responsibility to represent Christ in the world.