For Catholics, the greatest form of worship is the Mass.
The Mass is classed as a sacrament (an outward sign of an internal truth or experience) because the EucharistA service celebrating the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ involving the sharing of the bread and wine (body and blood of Christ) in church. The term can also refer to the bread and wine themselves (especially the bread). is received within each Mass. The Mass is also classed as a sacrifice, as the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is made present and true each time the Eucharist is celebrated.
Transubstantiation and real presence
Within each Mass, Catholics receive the Eucharist which the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes as the "source and summit of Christian life" (Catechism of the Catholic Church {CCC} 1324).
During the consecrate To declare bread and wine to be or to represent the body and blood of Jesus. of bread and wine, Catholics believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ through transubstantiation. This means that Jesus Christ is truly present in the consecrated bread and wine. It is known as the real presence.
The Sacrament of the Eucharist is first received at the age of seven or eight years old. It is the second sacrament of initiation and once First Holy Communion has been received, the individual can receive the Eucharist in every Mass.