Question
Is there a connection with the eucharist we receive at a Communion Service and that which we receive at Mass?
--Miffed in Milwaukee
Answer
Holy Communion Outside of Mass states the following:
13. Sacramental communion received during Mass is a more complete participation in the eucharistic celebration. This truth stands out more clearly, by force of the sign valued...
15. The faithful should be instructed carefully that, even when they receive communion outside Mass, they are closely united with the sacrifice that perpetuates the sacrifice of the cross. They are sharers in the sacred banquet in which "through the communion of the body and blood of the Lord, the people of God share the benefits of the paschal sacrifice, renew the new covenant with us made once and for all by God in Christ's blood, and in faith and hope foreshadow and anticipate the eschatological banquet in the Father's kingdom, as they proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.