The mystery of the Eucharist - sacrifice, presence,
banquet - does not allow for reduction or exploitation; it must be
experienced and lived in its integrity, both in its celebration and in the
intimate converse with Jesus which takes place after receiving communion or in
a prayerful moment of Eucharistic adoration apart from Mass. These are times
when the Church is firmly built up and it becomes clear what she truly is:
one, holy, catholic and apostolic; the people, temple and family of God; the
body and bride of Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit; the universal
sacrament of salvation and a hierarchically structured communion.
"The path taken by the Church in these first years of the third
millennium is also a path of renewed ecumenical commitment. The final
decades of the second millennium, culminating in the Great Jubilee, have
spurred us along this path and called for all the baptized to respond to the
prayer of Jesus 'ut unum sint ' (Jn 17:11). The path itself
is long and strewn with obstacles greater than our human resources alone can
overcome, yet we have the Eucharist, and in its presence we can hear in the
depths of our hearts, as if they were addressed to us, the same words heard by
the Prophet Elijah: 'Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for
you' (1 Kg 19:7). The treasure of the Eucharist, which the Lord
places before us, impels us towards the goal of full sharing with all our
brothers and sisters to whom we are joined by our common Baptism. But if this
treasure is not to be squandered, we need to respect the demands which derive
from its being the sacrament of communion in faith and in apostolic
succession.
"By giving the Eucharist the prominence it deserves, and by
being careful not to diminish any of its dimensions or demands, we show that
we are truly conscious of the greatness of this gift. We are urged to do so by
an uninterrupted tradition, which from the first centuries on has found the
Christian community ever vigilant in guarding this 'treasure'. Inspired by
love, the Church is anxious to hand on to future generations of Christians,
without loss, her faith and teaching with regard to the mystery of the
Eucharist. There can be no danger of excess in our care for this mystery, for 'in this sacrament is recapitulated the whole mystery of our salvation'.104"
Note
104Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, III, q. 83, a. 4c.
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