Please define Consecrate the Eucharist

[CyrilSebastian]

A lay person was interested in knowing the definition of Consecrating the Eucharist.

[Benedict]

Taken from a footnote to the 1932 Catholic Catechism of Peter Cardinal Gasparri
"This supreme Mystery of our faith may be thus briefly stated :
at Mass, before the words of Consecration,
pronounced by the celebrating priest,
the host is simply bread ;
but after the words of Consecration it is no longer bread
but Jesus Christ Himself, together with His Soul and His Godhead,
under the appearance of bread ;
the same should be explained of the wine.
This Mystery we must accept because Christ our Lord openly declared it
and Holy Mother Church has always taught it and continues to teach it.
Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper
in order that in the Mass the Sacrifice of the Cross might be renewed and presented again,
also that He might be able to dwell with us men in the Tabernacle,
though still sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven,
and might be united to us in Holy Communion.
We ought never to forget this pledge of His love which He has left us ;
consequently we ought to make a point of assisting at Mass at least on the great Feast Days ;
we ought too, to try and assist at it with the same feelings of devotion as we should have experienced had we stood on Calvary while He was dying on the Cross.
In the same way, we ought to pay devout visits to the Blessed Sacrament preserved in the Tabernacle,
and to go to Holy Communion frequently and devoutly."

[eschator83]

Many thanks for great question and great response.  But could you add a comment to supplement your comment about assisting at Mass.  Although I read a good deal about some authorities say they want more lay participation in Mass, it is my experience there has been a decrease in some wonderful opportunities for lay participation.  When we assisted with the Eucharist, we were referred to as Eucharistic ministers.  We were invited into the Sacristy before Mass and shared in prayer with the priests. We were given lapel pins showing are status as Eucharistic ministers.  All this sometime in the 90s, and we have always since been disappointed and think about it almost every Sunday- not because it showed our status but because it helped us express our Devotion and our sense of community.
Can you recall why this changed?

[CyrilSebastian]

I have been a reader at Mass. We, I and the altar boys, did not share a pray with the priest in the Sacristy before Mass.     
 
I would declare more assisting was done at Mass when I was an altar server. I might hold the prayer book and assist in the Washing of the Hands.   
 
I do not know why Eucharistic minister status changed. Was it different from each Catholic church?

[CyrilSebastian]

The One Mass is the Mass at the Lord's Supper celebrated by Jesus.   
Every Mass is the Mass of the Last Supper, not by imitation or repetition, but by the timeless grace and power of God.