Celebrating God’s Plan of Creation/Salvation
The rediscovery of what might be called the “social dimension” of
the Eucharist is of tremendous significance today. We once again see
Holy Communion as the sacrament of our brotherhood and unity.
We share in a meal together, eating the same bread from the same
table. And Saint Paul tells us clearly: “The fact that there is only one
loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body
because we all have a share in this one loaf” (1 Cor 10:17). In the
Eucharist, in other words, we receive not only Christ, the head of
the body, but its members as well. This fact has immediate practical
consequences, as Saint Paul once again reminds us: “God has
arranged the body so that . . . each part may be equally concerned
for all the others. If one part is hurt, all parts are hurt with it” (1 Cor
12:24-26).
Wherever there is suffering in the body, wherever members of it
are in want or oppressed, we, because we have received the same
body and are part of it, must be directly involved. We cannot opt
out or say to a brother or sister: “I do not need you. I will not help
you.”. . . We cannot properly receive the bread of life without sharing
bread for life with those in want” (Justice with Faith Today, Saint Louis,
Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1980, 176-177). This assumes a great
deal of community consciousness which is fostered by our way of
celebrating the Eucharist together.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, celebrated
Mass with the poor in their base communities in the slums, where a
true sense of community and of unselfish sharing is celebrated in the
Eucharist. Now, as pope, he has captured