When Jesus instituted the Eucharist he gave a final meaning to the blessing of the bread and the wine and the sacrifice of the lamb. The Gospels narrate events that anticipated the Eucharist.
The miracle of the loaves and fish, reported in all four Gospels, prefigured the unique abundance of the Eucharist. The miracle of changing water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana manifested the divine glory of Jesus and the heavenly wedding feast in which we share at every Eucharist.
In his dialogue with the people at Capernaum, Christ used his miracle of multiplying the loaves of bread as the occasion to describe himself as the Bread of Life:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. . . Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood, you do not have life within you"
(Jn 6:51, 53)
Holy Eucharist is received for the first time after a two year Religious Education program, usually at the end of the second grade year and after receiving First Reconciliation.
There is also a program for older children and Confirmation students (Kate Devine), and adults,
(OCIA), who wish to receive the Eucharist for the first time.