What does the word Eucharist means?

Answer 1

The word Eucharist is from the Latin Eucharistia, the virtue of Thanksgiving or thankfulness; from the Greek eucharistia which means gratitude.

from Pocket Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J., Doubleday c 1980, 1985

Eucharist. The true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, who is really and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine, in order to offer himself in the sacrifice of the Mass and to be received as spiritual food in Holy Communion. It is called Eucharist, or "Thanksgiving", because at its institution at the Last Supper Christ "gave thanks," and by this fact it is the supreme object and act of Christian gratitude to God.

Although the same name is used, the Eucharist is any one or all three aspects of one mystery, namely the Real Presence, the Sacrifice, and Communion. As Real Presence, the Eucharist is Christ in His abiding action of High Priest, continuing now to communicate the graces He merited on Calvary; and as Communion, it is Christ coming to enlighten and strengthen the believer by nourishing his soul for eternal life.

from

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

The Sacrament of the Eucharist

1323 "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, The church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is give to us.'" (Sacrasanctum concilium 47)

I. The Eucharist-Source and Summit of Ecclesial Life

1324 The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." (Lumen Gentium 11) 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." (Presbyterorum ordinis 5)

1325 "The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit." (Congregation of Rites, instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium 6.)

1326 Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all. (Cf. 1 Cor15:28.)

1327 In brief, 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." (St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haeres. 4, 18, 5:J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca {Paris, 1857-1866} 7/1, 1028.)

Answer 2

The word Eucharist is from the Latin Eucharistia, the virtue of thanksgiving or thankfulness; from the Greek eucharistia which means gratitude.

from Pocket Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J., Doubleday c 1980, 1985

Eucharist. The true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, who is really and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine, in order to offer himself in the sacrifice of the Mass and to be received as spiritual food in Holy Communion. It is called Eucharist, or "thanksgiving", because at its institution at the Last Supper Christ "gave thanks," and by this fact it is the supreme object and act of Christian gratitude to God.

Although the same name is used, the Eucharist is any one or all three aspects of one mystery, namely the Real Presence, the Sacrifice, and Communion. As Real Presence, the Eucharist is Christ in His abiding action of High Priest, continuing now to communicate the graces He merited on Calvary; and as Communion, it is Christ coming to enlighten and strengthen the believer by nourishing his soul for eternal life.

from

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

The Sacrament of the Eucharist

1323 "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, The church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is give to us.'" (Sacrasanctum concilium 47)

I. The Eucharist-Source and Summit of Ecclesial Life

1324 The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." (Lumen Gentium 11) 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." (Presbyterorum ordinis 5)

1325 "The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the church is kept in being. It is the culmination both of God's action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit." (Congregation of Rites, instruction, Eucharisticum mysterium 6.)

1326 Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all. (Cf. 1 Cor15:28.)

1327 In brief, 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." (St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haeres. 4, 18, 5:J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca {Paris, 1857-1866} 7/1, 1028.)