The Second Vatican Council speaks of the Eucharist as "the source and summit of the Christian life" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 11). The significance of this succinct description is two-fold. First, it articulates the primary role of the Eucharist for uniting and nourishing the Christian community; and second, the Eucharist is also the source and summit of our individual lives as Christians. Our teachers and guides for these insightful reflections on this great mystery of our faith are six great saints, each of whom has been declared a Doctor of the Church. The six whom we meet in this book, three women and three men, are: Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Crosss, Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. May we learn from their wisdom and their example so that our own daily life and work will reflect the fact that Jesus alone is the source and summit of all that we are and of all that we hope to become...