While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Mark 14:22-24

For a Catholic the Mass is not only just a sacred offering; it is also a sacred meal, which is why Jesus chose the bread and wine for it. By accepting the bread of life we experience the love and friendship that God has given to us.

When eating the bread and drinking the wine we also remember what Jesus said as he stated in the passover, “Do this in remembrance of me,” which his followers and therefore by extension us have followed since. We gather in his name, speak in his name and break bread in his memory. In fact during the Second Vatican Council the bishops called it the “fount and apex of the Christian life,” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 21 November 1964, #11).

It represents the undying love that Jesus has for us; his unconditional self-sacrificing love. It is also called the Paschal Mystery because it represents Jesus’ entire passover: from his life’s journey, his suffering, death and resurrection.