Holy Communion :What is the purpose of this sacrament?

The Eucharist is a ceremonial re-enactment of the Last Supper. It is also called Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper. Its avowed purpose is to give worshipers the opportunity to eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood. The flesh and blood are assumed to be miraculously created out of bread and wine at an earlier stage of the ceremony.

The miraculous conversion of bread and wine into flesh and blood is called transubstantiation. The traditional belief is that the conversion occurs when the bread and wine are consecrated by the pronouncement of the phrases "this is my body" and "this is my blood". The Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and certain other Christian groups officially affirm that the transformation actually does take place.

The origin of the Eucharist can be traced to certain passages in the gospels, particularly John 6:53-58, Mark 14:22-24, Matthew 26:26-28, and Luke 22:19-20. For example, in John 6:53-54, Jesus says:

"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

Taken literally, this passage says that it is necessary to consume the flesh and blood of Jesus in order to be saved. The Eucharist provides an opportunity to do this, with the miracle of transubstantiation supplying the needed flesh and blood.

To most people, the bread and wine still look and taste the same after they are consecrated. Many believers in a real transformation consider this to be just another part of the miracle. Others say that the flesh and blood of Jesus is inter-mixed at the microscopic level and thus isn't noticed. On the other hand, many modern Christians simply regard it as symbolically representing Christ's flesh and blood. In some churches grape juice is substituted for the wine used in the traditional form of the sacrament.

In ancient times, when the number of Christians was still small, outsiders heard rumors about the Eucharist and concluded that it was a form of cannibalism. This gave Christianity a bad reputation, and was one of the reasons for the persecution of the early believers.