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21. The Second Vatican Council teaches that the celebration of
the Eucharist is at the centre of the process of the Church's
growth. After stating that “the Church, as the Kingdom of Christ
already present in mystery, grows visibly in the world through the
power of God”,[35] then, as if in answer to the question: “How
does the Church grow?”, the Council adds: “as often as the
sacrifice of the Cross by which 'Christ our pasch is sacrificed'
(1 Cor 5:7) is celebrated on the altar, the work of our
redemption is carried out. At the same time in the sacrament of the
Eucharistic bread, the unity of the faithful, who form one body in
Christ (cf. 1 Cor 10:17), is both expressed and brought
about”.[36]
A causal influence of the Eucharist is present at the Church's very
origins. The Evangelists specify that it was the Twelve, the
Apostles, who gathered with Jesus at the Last Supper (cf. Mt
26:20; Mk 14:17; Lk 22:14). This is a detail of
notable importance, for the Apostles “were both the seeds of the new
Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy”.[37] By offering
them his body and his blood as food, Christ mysteriously involved them
in the sacrifice which would be completed later on Calvary. By
analogy with the Covenant of Mount Sinai, sealed by sacrifice and
the sprinkling of blood,[38] the actions and words of Jesus at the
Last Supper laid the foundations of the new messianic community, the
People of the New Covenant.
The Apostles, by accepting in the Upper Room Jesus' invitation:
“Take, eat”, “Drink of it, all of you” (Mt
26:26-27), entered for the first time into sacramental
communion with him. From that time forward, until the end of the
age, the Church is built up through sacramental communion with the
Son of God who was sacrificed for our sake: “Do this is remembrance
of me... Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me”
(1 Cor 11:24-25; cf. Lk 22:19).
22. Incorporation into Christ, which is brought about by
Baptism, is constantly renewed and consolidated by sharing in the
Eucharistic Sacrifice, especially by that full sharing which takes
place in sacramental communion. We can say not only that each of us
receives Christ, but also that Christ receives each of us. He
enters into friendship with us: “You are my friends” (Jn
15:14). Indeed, it is because of him that we have life: “He
who eats me will live because of me” (Jn 6:57). Eucharistic
communion brings about in a sublime way the mutual “abiding” of
Christ and each of his followers: “Abide in me, and I in you”
(Jn 15:4).
By its union with Christ, the People of the New Covenant, far
from closing in upon itself, becomes a “sacrament” for humanity,[39]
a sign and instrument of the salvation achieved by Christ, the light
of the world and the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-16), for
the redemption of all.[40] The Church's mission stands in continuity
with the mission of Christ: “As the Father has sent me, even so I
send you” (Jn 20:21). From the perpetuation of the sacrifice
of the Cross and her communion with the body and blood of Christ in
the Eucharist, the Church draws the spiritual power needed to carry
out her mission. The Eucharist thus appears as both the source and
the summit of all evangelization, since its goal is the communion of
mankind with Christ and in him with the Father and the Holy
Spirit.[41]
23. Eucharistic communion also confirms the Church in her unity as
the body of Christ. Saint Paul refers to this unifying power of
participation in the banquet of the Eucharist when he writes to the
Corinthians: “The bread which we break, is it not a communion in
the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are
one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor
10:16-17). Saint John Chrysostom's commentary on these
words is profound and perceptive: “For what is the bread? It is the
body of Christ. And what do those who receive it become? The Body
of Christ – not many bodies but one body. For as bread is completely
one, though made of up many grains of wheat, and these, albeit
unseen, remain nonetheless present, in such a way that their
difference is not apparent since they have been made a perfect whole,
so too are we mutually joined to one another and together united with
Christ”.[42] The argument is compelling: our union with Christ,
which is a gift and grace for each of us, makes it possible for us, in
him, to share in the unity of his body which is the Church. The
Eucharist reinforces the incorporation into Christ which took place in
Baptism though the gift of the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:13,
27).
The joint and inseparable activity of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, which is at the origin of the Church, of her consolidation
and her continued life, is at work in the Eucharist. This was
clearly evident to the author of the Liturgy of Saint James: in the
epiclesis of the Anaphora, God the Father is asked to send the Holy
Spirit upon the faithful and upon the offerings, so that the body and
blood of Christ “may be a help to all those who partake of it ...
for the sanctification of their souls and bodies”.[43] The Church is
fortified by the divine Paraclete through the sanctification of the
faithful in the Eucharist.
24. The gift of Christ and his Spirit which we receive in
Eucharistic communion superabundantly fulfils the yearning for
fraternal unity deeply rooted in the human heart; at the same time it
elevates the experience of fraternity already present in our common
sharing at the same Eucharistic table to a degree which far surpasses
that of the simple human experience of sharing a meal. Through her
communion with the body of Christ the Church comes to be ever more
profoundly “in Christ in the nature of a sacrament, that is, a sign
and instrument of intimate unity with God and of the unity of the whole
human race”.[44]
The seeds of disunity, which daily experience shows to be so deeply
rooted in humanity as a result of sin, are countered by the unifying
power of the body of Christ. The Eucharist, precisely by building
up the Church, creates human community.
25. The worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass is of
inestimable value for the life of the Church. This worship is
strictly linked to the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The
presence of Christ under the sacred species reserved after Mass – a
presence which lasts as long as the species of bread and of wine remain
[45] – derives from the celebration of the sacrifice and is directed
towards communion, both sacramental and spiritual.[46] It is the
responsibility of Pastors to encourage, also by their personal
witness, the practice of Eucharistic adoration, and exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament in particular, as well as prayer of adoration
before Christ present under the Eucharistic species.[47]
It is pleasant to spend time with him, to lie close to his breast like
the Beloved Disciple (cf. Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite
love present in his heart. If in our time Christians must be
distinguished above all by the “art of prayer”,[48] how can we not
feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent
adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy
Sacrament? How often, dear brother and sisters, have I experienced
this, and drawn from it strength, consolation and support!
This practice, repeatedly praised and recommended by the
Magisterium,[49] is supported by the example of many saints.
Particularly outstanding in this regard was Saint Alphonsus
Liguori, who wrote: “Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in
the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, the one
dearest to God and the one most helpful to us”.[50] The Eucharist
is a priceless treasure: by not only celebrating it but also by praying
before it outside of Mass we are enabled to make contact with the very
wellspring of grace. A Christian community desirous of contemplating
the face of Christ in the spirit which I proposed in the Apostolic
Letters Novo Millennio Ineunte and Rosarium Virginis Mariae
cannot fail also to develop this aspect of Eucharistic worship, which
prolongs and increases the fruits of our communion in the body and blood
of the Lord.
1“In the course of the day the faithful should not omit visiting the
Blessed Sacrament, which in accordance with liturgical law must be
reserved in churches with great reverence in a prominent place. Such
visits are a sign of gratitude, an expression of love and an
acknowledgment of the Lord's presence”: Paul VI, Encyclical
Letter Mysterium Fidei (3 September 1965): AAS 57
(1965), 771.
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