This section is dedicated to the seventh and greatest sacrament given to us by our Lord, Holy Eucharist.
Christ instituted the seven sacraments of the new law. While the other six sacraments are symbolized in the windows, the Eucharist is symbolized by the altar in the sanctuary.
The sacraments form an organic whole in which each particular sacrament has its own vital place. In this organic whole, the Eucharist occupies a unique place as the "sacrament of sacraments". All the other sacraments are oriented to it (cf. Catechism, #1211).
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 (cf. Catechism #1324).
The true altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross, from which the sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. The Altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited (cf. Catechism, #1182).