On the night before he died, Jesus knew his mission was about to be completed. He could return to the Father with a fait accompli. This God-man, however, with his heart of love, wasn’t about to leave us empty-handed. Even though he knew what we were about to do to him, he called together a group of his closest friends and spoke words that were, in effect, his last will and testament.

Though he possessed nothing of value by worldly standards, he left us our greatest treasure. He took bread and wine into his hands and spoke words that would echo down the halls of humankind for all eternity. He invested himself so the benefits would never run out as he commanded us to repeat—over and over again—what he had just done. Today we continue to share in the fullness of that bequest.

In the centuries from Jesus’ decision to leave himself to us under the humble appearances of bread and wine to the present, he has allowed for an evolution in the diverse ways we celebrate our eucharistic inheritance—always the same truth, but with new customs and traditions.

In the very beginning, Saint Paul writes, Christians came together in response to Jesus’ request to “do this in memory of me” and celebrated the Eucharist in communities like Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi. They gathered weekly, sharing a meal and friendship. These gatherings allowed them to grow as Christians—experiencing Jesus in the Eucharist and in one another.

Eventually this celebration of the Eucharist became a daily practice, and members of the assembly were permitted the privilege of receiving daily Communion. That, of course, always has been and always will be the quintessential eucharistic experience.

As early as the second century, Saint Justin Martyr recorded that the Eucharist was held in reserve following the eucharistic celebration so that it could be brought to sick members of the community or to other communities of believers who were unable to attend. The primary purpose of reserving the Eucharist, however, was to bring holy Communion to the dying. The Latin word viaticus, which means “preparation for the journey,” was the basis for referring to this custom as Holy Viaticum.

Early on, the Eucharist was reserved in private homes. Later, it became the duty of the parish priest to ensure the safety of the Eucharist reserved for the sick and dying. Once the common dwelling place became the church, there emerged to accommodate the sacred species an ornamental container, or sakramentshauschen. This “sacrament house” went through a number of metamorphoses, eventually becoming our present tabernacle.
In the second half of the thirteenth century, Pope Urban IV added the Feast of Corpus Christi to the Church calendar, opening the door wider for prayerful devotion to the Eucharist outside the Liturgy of the Mass.