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VI. The Paschal Banquet
1382The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial inwhich the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet ofcommunion with the Lord's body and blood. But the celebration of the Eucharisticsacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful withChrist through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself whohas offered himself for us.
1383The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of theEucharist, represents the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of thesacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the more so since theChristian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assemblyof his faithful, both as the victim offered for our reconciliation and as foodfrom heaven who is giving himself to us. "For what is the altar of Christif not the image of the Body of Christ?" asks St. Ambrose. Hesays elsewhere, "The altar represents the body [of Christ] and the Body ofChrist is on the altar." The liturgy expresses this unity ofsacrifice and communion in many prayers. Thus the Roman Church prays in itsanaphora:
We entreat you, almighty God,
that by the hands of your holyAngel
this offering may be borne toyour altar in heaven
in the sight of your divinemajesty,
so that as we receive incommunion at this altar
the most holy Body and Bloodof your Son,
we may be filled with everyheavenly blessing and grace.
"Takethis and eat it, all of you": communion
1384The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in thesacrament of the Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the fleshof the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life inyou."
1385To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and soholy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever,therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy mannerwill be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examinehimself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats anddrinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment uponhimself." Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive thesacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.
1386Before so great a sacrament, the faithful can only echo humbly and with ardentfaith the words of the Centurion: "Domine, non sum dignus ut intres subtectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea" ("Lord, Iam not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and mysoul will be healed."). and in the Divine Liturgy of St. JohnChrysostom the faithful pray in the same spirit:
O Son of God, bring me intocommunion today with your mystical supper. I shall not tell your enemies thesecret, nor kiss you with Judas' kiss. But like the good thief I cry,"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
1387To prepare for worthy reception of this sacrament, the faithful should observethe fast required in their Church. Bodily demeanor (gestures,clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment whenChrist becomes our guest.
1388It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, ifthey have the required dispositions, receive communion each time theyparticipate in the Mass. As the Second Vatican Council says:"That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful,after the priest's communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same sacrifice,is warmly recommended."
1389The Church obliges the faithful "to take part in the Divine Liturgy onSundays and feast days" and, prepared by the sacrament of Reconciliation,to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, if possible during the Easterseason. But the Church strongly encourages the faithful to receivethe holy Eucharist on Sundays and feast days, or more often still, even daily.
1390Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communionunder the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit ofEucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion hasbeen legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But"the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, sincein that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears moreclearly." This is the usual form of receiving communion in theEastern rites.
The fruitsof Holy Communion
1391Holy Communion augments our union with Christ. the principal fruit of receivingthe Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed,the Lord said: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, andI in him." Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharisticbanquet: "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father,so he who eats me will live because of me."
On the feasts of the Lord,when the faithful receive the Body of the Son, they proclaim to one another theGood News that the first fruits of life have been given, as when the angel saidto Mary Magdalene, "Christ is risen!" Now too are life andresurrection conferred on whoever receives Christ.
1392What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfullyachieves in our spiritual life. Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, aflesh "given life and giving life through the HolySpirit," preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace receivedat Baptism. This growth in Christian life needs the nourishment of EucharisticCommunion, the bread for our pilgrimage until the moment of death, when it willbe given to us as viaticum.
1393Holy Communion separates us from sin. the body of Christ we receive in HolyCommunion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink "shed forthe many for the forgiveness of sins." For this reason the Eucharistcannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sinsand preserving us from future sins:
For as often as we eat thisbread and drink the cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord. If we proclaim theLord's death, we proclaim the forgiveness of sins. If, as often as his blood ispoured out, it is poured for the forgiveness of sins, I should always receiveit, so that it may always forgive my sins. Because I always sin, I shouldalways have a remedy.
1394As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens ourcharity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charitywipes away venial sins. By giving himself to us Christ revives ourlove and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and rootourselves in him:
Since Christ died for us outof love, when we celebrate the memorial of his death at the moment of sacrificewe ask that love may be granted to us by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Wehumbly pray that in the strength of this love by which Christ willed to die forus, we, by receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, may be able to consider theworld as crucified for us, and to be ourselves as crucified to the world....Having received the gift of love, let us die to sin and live for God.
1395By the same charity that it enkindles in us, the Eucharist preserves us fromfuture mortal sins. the more we share the life of Christ and progress in hisfriendship, the more difficult it is to break away from him by mortal sin. theEucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins - that is proper tothe sacrament of Reconciliation. the Eucharist is properly the sacrament ofthose who are in full communion with the Church.
1396The unity of the Mystical Body: the Eucharist makes the Church. Those whoreceive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christunites them to all the faithful in one body - the Church. Communion renews,strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achievedby Baptism. In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. TheEucharist fulfills this call: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is itnot a participation in the blood of Christ? the bread which we break, is it nota participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who aremany are one body, for we all partake of the one bread:"
If you are the body andmembers of Christ, then it is your sacrament that is placed on the table of theLord; it is your sacrament that you receive. To that which you are you respond"Amen" ("yes, it is true!") and by responding to it youassent to it. For you hear the words, "the Body of Christ" andrespond "Amen." Be then a member of the Body of Christ that your Amenmay be true.
1397The Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood ofChrist given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren:
You have tasted the Blood ofthe Lord, yet you do not recognize your brother,.... You dishonor this tablewhen you do not judge worthy of sharing your food someone judged worthy to takepart in this meal.... God freed you from all your sins and invited you here,but you have not become more merciful.
1398The Eucharist and the unity of Christians. Before the greatness of this mysterySt. Augustine exclaims, "O sacrament of devotion! O sign of unity! O bondof charity!" The more painful the experience of the divisionsin the Church which break the common participation in the table of the Lord,the more urgent are our prayers to the Lord that the time of complete unityamong all who believe in him may return.
1399TheEastern churches that are not in full communion with the Catholic Churchcelebrate the Eucharist with great love. "These Churches, althoughseparated from us, yet possess true sacraments, above all - by apostolicsuccession - the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby they are still joined tous in closest intimacy." A certain communion in sacris, and so in theEucharist, "given suitable circumstances and the approval of Churchauthority, is not merely possible but is encouraged."
1400Ecclesialcommunities derived from the Reformation and separated from the CatholicChurch, "have not preserved the proper reality of the Eucharistic mysteryin its fullness, especially because of the absence of the sacrament of HolyOrders." It is for this reason that Eucharistic intercommunionwith these communities is not possible for the Catholic Church. However theseecclesial communities, "when they commemorate the Lord's death andresurrection in the Holy Supper . . . profess that it signifies life in communionwith Christ and await his coming in glory."
1401When,in the Ordinary's judgment, a grave necessity arises, Catholic ministers maygive the sacraments of Eucharist, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick to otherChristians not in full communion with the Catholic Church, who ask for them oftheir own will, provided they give evidence of holding the Catholic faithregarding these sacraments and possess the required dispositions.