The cross and the Eucharist are intimately connected. And so is the resurrection. Because Christ suffered, therefore he was raised. The Eucharist reveals the love of God and the love of Jesus Christ. It is the center of our loving response to God's love.
Eucharistic sacrifice leads to eucharistic contemplation.
Human beings are contemplative. They cannot absorb the full depth and significance of things in the flash of the moment. They need time, patience and peaceful contemplation. The paschal mystery is the revelation of power in weakness, love in sacrifice, triumph through defeat, life through death. Paul tells us that for the world this is folly.