Eucharist is Thanksgiving

Imagine a table, friends and family are gathered around for a celebration, talking and sharing stories.  The head of the table gives thanks to God and everyone consumes the food.  Sound familiar?  It is what we do at family dinners and Thanksgiving. 

Isn't it also what we do at Mass?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches:
     "The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses  her gratitude to God for all
      his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification.  Eucharist means first of all
     "thanksgiving." 

     The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of praise by which the Church sings the glory of God in the name of all creation.  This sacrifice
     of praise is possible only through Christ: he unites the faithful to his person, to his praise, and to his intercession, so that the
     sacrifice of praise to the Father is offered through Christ and with him, to be accepted in him." (CCC 1360-1361)
 
In the Gospels we hear the story of the Last Supper.  (Mt 26:17-30, Mk 14: 12-26, Lk 22: 17-20) Our Lord Jesus Christ has gathered with his Apostles and is eating with them.  He takes the bread, offering the prayers of blessing and  thanksgiving to God the Father, and  tells them and us to take and eat it for it is his body.  They take and eat. Then again with the wine he offers the prayers of blessing and  thanksgiving to God the Father, and  tells them and us to take and eat it for it is his blood, the blood of the new covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  They take and drink.  He asks us to do this in 'memory' of him.

'Memory' is a poor English translation of the Greek word, 'Anamnesis'.  "Anamnesis. The liturgical celebration always refers to God's saving intervention in history.  The economy of Revelation is realized by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other...the words for their part proclaim the works and bring to light the mystery they contain." (CCC 1103) During the Eucharistic Prayers at Mass, the priest who is in personal Christi caput repeats the words of  Christ Jesus at the last Supper including the command to "Do this in memory of me." 

When we use the word, 'memory' we only think of things that have happened in the past and are over.  'Anamnesis'  however is not passive, but calls us to be fully present to Christ at the Last Supper, experiencing ritually and fully enter into the Paschal Mystery.  We are right there with Christ Jesus who is intersessing on our behalf to the Father, and we receive with the help of the Holy Spirit, his Body and Blood and the Father's Mercy and Love, through the work of the Holy Trinity. Christ Jesus is truly at table with us offering us his body and blood through the thin veil of bread and wine.  

Christ Jesus in mercy and love gave his body and blood upon the Cross, shed for our sake--for the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation.  "At the heart of our Eucharistic Celebration are the bread and the wine, that by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood... Thus in the offertory we give thanks to the Creator for bread and wine, fruits of human hands, but above all as fruits of the earth and of the vine-gifts of the Creator."  (CCC 1333)

Therefore the Eucharist is truly a thanksgiving to God.