In the beginning of Christianity, Christians were highly persecuted. They were often forced to hold Mass literally underground, in catacombs. These caves hid the early followers of Christ from the authorities.

When the Roman emperor, Constantine, made Christianity the official religion of the empire, the face of Christianity changed. The Eucharist became a popular public ritual with great ceremonial style in place of the much smaller, intimate meal that had been celebrated in the homes of the early believers.

The Church also began to face challenges to the faith. Arius, a figure of the time, taught that Christ was not God but simply man. The Church, in response, strongly reiterated the divinity of Christ. To challenge Christ's divinity was to challenge the entire Christian faith, and the leaders of the Church defended our beliefs. However, in so strongly emphasizing Christ's divinity, there was one unexpected result—fewer people received communion. Unlike Catholic Mass of today where most of the people present receive the Eucharist every Sunday or even more frequently, people were hesitant to share in the Eucharist at all. They felt too unworthy to share in such a wonderful gift.

The language of the Mass has changed over time, as well. Today the Mass is regularly said in the vernacular, the language of the local people. Most Catholics also recall that prior to the Second Vatican Council from 1962-1965, the Mass was celebrated throughout the world in Latin. However, the celebration of the Eucharist was not initially in Latin. In the early Church, the formal language of the Roman Empire was Greek, and thus the Mass was celebrated in Greek. As fewer and fewer people spoke Greek, the Mass changed languages to Latin, the new, everyday language of the people. It remained in Latin until the changes of the Second Vatican Council.

In addition, the format of the Mass has changed over time. The early celebration of the Eucharist did not have a standard format. The lack of availability of books made it impossible to standardize the everyday Mass. As a result, the priest composed their own liturgies based on local customs. The only fixed parts of the Mass were Jesus' words from the Last Supper blessing of bread and wine and the praying of the Lord's Prayer. The rest of the liturgy was taken up by prayers and reflections, causing the Mass to look different in the different regions and countries.

In the eighth century, Charlemagne tried to unify the liturgy by mandating the Roman version in the empire. The results of this, however, were not the unification that he had hoped for. It was not until the Council of Trent, between the years 1545 and 1563, that the Mass was finally standardized. The resulting Mass is the Tridentine Mass, which was the standard until the Second Vatican Council. The bishops at the council based the Tridentine Mass on the Mass of the Middle Ages.

Unfortunately, the bishops did not have access to the ancient documents describing the Eucharist. These documents were finally discovered in the 19th century. This discovery gave the Church the chance to explore the early celebrations of the Eucharist and use these descriptions to understand the Mass more fully. In studying the early Christian documents, the scholars learned that the Mass could also be an act of community worship and not simply of private devotion. While the format of the ceremony had been highly ritualized by the Council of Trent, the Mass had been and still remains a Sacred Mystery that surpasses human understanding.

The liturgy of the Eucharist, the Mass, which Catholics celebrate today is the result of an effort to learn from the first Christians and all past Masses; it is also the result of an effort to recapture the vital, young spirit that was present when the Mass was celebrated in the early church. The Eucharist is not just a meal remembering Christ's sacrifice, but it more importantly re-presents his sacrifice. Although the Mass has changed in appearance throughout the years, much like all of society has changed over time; the Eucharist has always been and always will be the Body and Blood of Christ. Whether the words are in Greek, Latin, English, or Spanish, the Mass unites the Church in the celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ's life, death and Resurrection.