The Holy  Eucharist is the body and blood  of Christ.  It has been so and will remain so until Christ's Parousia.  However, since the Second Vatican Council there has been such an immense development in the theology of the Eucharist that we can now safely speak of a 'new' theology.  Maybe our mentality is based on a static view regarding the Eucharist, most probably emanating from the strict interpretation we have always had regarding the word 'transubstantiation'.

Transubstantiation
The word transubstantiation came into use by theologians ever since medieval times.  The first theologian who first made use of this word was Rolando Bandinelli in the year 1140 and who was subsequently elected Pope under the name of Alexander III.  It was virtually accepted so well that it was even included in Council documents especially those of the Council of Trent when the real and substantial presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist had to be explained.  The Council of Trent took the idea from the theology of the times and formulated same in this way: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread (cf. Mt.26.26ff; Mk 14.22ff; Lk.122.19f; 1 Cor. 11.24ff), it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now again declares that, by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole sustance of bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly named transubstantiation” (The Christian Faith, edited J.Neuner-J.Dupuis, New York 1982 p. 417).

 Like several terminological items of the scholastic theology, the concept of the transubstantiation was adopted into the philosophical thought, in this case, the Aristotelian philosophy. Others come out with the expression 'transignification' (change in sense) and 'transfinalisation' (change in aim).  It cannot be said that these are essentially bad, but perhaps they are not all that clear.  This was said by Pope Paul VI in a letter to the Dutch Bishops dated 9 May 1965, in an Speech for the Eucharist Congress of Pisa on 10 June 1965 as well as in his Encyclical Letter Mysterium Fidei of 3 September 1965.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church
As catechists we should have sound knowledge on this great mystery based on the adjourned teaching of the Church by the Second Vatican Council.  We would be mistaken if we were to rely solely on the minimum knowledge we have, as if no development has taken place, even if what we already know is true and good, as in the case of the transubstantiation.  As teachers of religion we should deepen to the utmost our knowledge regarding this mystery while linking it up with our daily life.

Therefore, when we study in detail the theology of the Eucharist from the Bible and the writings of the Holy Fathers, we notice all the more the greatness of this mystery and how much it is necessary for us to learn more so as to be in a position to offer better catechises which would be interesting to modern man.  In order to create an Eucharistic theology in modern language, it would be worthwhile to take in our hands the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  We should not forget that this Catechism is a compendium of theological developments which have taken place after the Council.

The "Catechism" reminds us that the Eucharist is a sacrifice.  Christ had offered himself as a living sacrifice to his Father for once only.  His disposition and Divine person were enough so that this sacrifice on Mount Calvary is offered for once only.  During Mass the reality of Mount Calvary is present.  The "Catechism" explains very well the relationship between Mass and the sacrifice on Calvary.  “The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it its memorial and because it applies its fruit” (Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1366).

The Eucharist is the sacrifice of the Church.  Therefore Mass is also the sacrifice of the Church both of which become one:  “In the Eucharist the sacrice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generation of Christians to be united with his offering” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.1368).

Therefore, according to the teachings of the Church we can speak about a new Eucharistic spirituality.  This Sacrament does not simply consist of our presence for Mass - which is important and cannot be substituted - but also to our living up to the Sacrament by offering ourselves together with Christ in the Eucharist.  In the same way Christ has offered himself to his Father, so we should likewise offer with the Eucharist our work, our apostleship, our aspirations our failures and all we have so that our offerings will be emanating from our hearts.

The Eucharist: A daily commitment
The Eucharist originates from the Mass where we together with the priest offer ourselves  to God, but it should not stop there when we leave the church.  This Sacrament commits us to work for a better and a more just world.

In the Mass a really beautiful expression is uttered: "The fruit of the earth and the handiwork of man".  The bread and wine are the offerings of a primitive and agricultural society.  Today, as we live in an industrialised, post-modern, computerised and technological society, maybe these offerings are not well understood.  It is our duty as Catechists to show that bread and wine had a very strong significance in the culture existing at the time of Christ.  The daily meal for the Jewish people mainly consisted of bread and wine which symbolised rejoicing.  Wine had such a strong meaning for the Jews that Christ's first miracle at Cana was precisely the changing of water into wine.

Mass instructs us to live by brotherly sentiments in the community to which we belong.  It possesses a community aspect and therefore it is a communion prayer which unite us together when in assembly.  The Didache' says that wheat which is scattered on the hills in the ears of corn, when collected and ground by the mills and is made bread, signifies the unity of the Church.  Surely, the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians throws light on the community aspect of the Mass.  The Corinthians used to celebrate the ritual of the Eucharist in a precise manner, but the Christians of Corinth did not make Eucharist a lifetime commitment.  There were discrepancies between the poor and the rich.  Before the Eucharist, a meal was celebrated wherein the rich used to indulge themselves while the poor were not allowed to partake on the excuse that they were going to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ.  Confronted by such a situation, St. Paul does not remain silent.  Rather he condemns most vehemently this bad practice of the Corinthians (1 Cor. 11, 17-34).  The Eucharist is there to do away with social differences and to unite us in one body which is Christ.

The Eucharist is a communion of the Church.  St. Thomas asks why Christ had not chosen the blood of animals so that Christ's sacrifice would be rendered more clear.  He himself gives us the reply:  “Although the flesh of slaughtered animals represents the Passion more forcibly, nevertheless it is less suitable for the common use of this sacrament, and for denoting the unity of the Church" (Summa Theologiae Part III Q 74  1).

As catechists, and in order to be more precise, we should do well if we strengthen the teaching about the Eucharist as a sacrifice of Christ and of the Church, as a commitment of ours in favour of a better world, as a blessing for the work of man, and as a Sacrament of unity for all Christians.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Commentary on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, edited by Michael J.Walsh, London 1994.
The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church,. Edited by J. Neuner-J.Dupuis, New York 1982.
Cantalmessa Raniero, L’Eucaresia nostra santificazione, Milano 1983.

This is a translation.