Do this in memory of me. These remarkable word swere spoken by Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago when he instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper. The Church fulfills this command of the Lord whenever we celebrate the Mass. In doing so, we participate in the supreme mystery of our faith, the memorial of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection.
The celebration of the Mass is the center of the whole Christian life. It includes both the action by which God sanctifies the world in Christ and the worship that the human race offers to God. When the parish community gathers each week for Sunday Eucharist, our faith is nourished, strengthened and expressed.
The way in which the Mass is celebrated has undergone various changes throughout the centuries, but the heart of the liturgy has remained the same. It continues to be a celebration of the banquet of the Lord, in which Catholics come to hear the word of God in the Scriptures and receive the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.