Why the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life

Of all the seven sacraments, the holy Eucharist is the "source and summit" of the Church and of every Catholic's life, because it is Jesus himself.

In the original order of the seven sacraments, catechumens were baptized, confirmed, and received their first holy communion at one Easter Mass.

This ordering reflected an important theological truth that the Eucharist is the “summit” of a Catholic’s life journey:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that, “The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord’s own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist” (CCC 1322).

Source and summit

The Catechism continues its commentary on the Eucharist by highlighting its privileged role among the seven sacraments:

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.“
CCC 1324

Catholics believe that in the Eucharist, Jesus is truly and substantially present under the form of bread and wine. While the other sacraments certainly convey Christ’s grace and life, it is only the Eucharist that contains Jesus’ “Real Presence.”

The entire goal of the Christian life is to become more fully united with Jesus and the Eucharist is the sacrament that can realize that most concretely.

Again the Catechism explains that, “the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: ‘Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking'” (CCC 1237).

All other sacraments point to the Eucharist, and often they are celebrated in the context of the Mass, cementing this spiritual reality.