"'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 Sopuse, 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 given to us."'
The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life.' '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.'"
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 1323-1324
Preparation for this sacrament usually happens during second grade, and is proceeded by preparation for and the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance (aka Reconciliation or Confession). Children who wish to receive this sacrament are also required to be enrolled in a Catholic school or Religious Education classes for one entire year prior to the year of the reception of the sacrament.