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"From the beginning the Church has been faithful to
the Lord's command. Of the Church of Jerusalem it is written:
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers . . .
'(Acts 2:42; CCC 1342).
"From that time on down to our own day the celebration
of the Eucharist has been continued, so that today we encounter
it everywhere in the Church with the same fundamental structure.
It remains the center of the Church's life" (CCC 1343).
"If from the beginning Christians have celebrated the
Eucharist, and in a form whose substance has not changed despite
the great diversity of times and liturgies, it is because
we know ourselves to be bound by the command the Lord gave
on the eve of His Passion: 'Do this in remembrance of me"
(1 Cor 11:24-25; C 1356).
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