Eucharist as Communion
When we participate in the Eucharist by eating and drinking the Lord’s Body and Blood, we refer to it as “receiving Holy Communion.” Actually, Holy Communion refers first of all to the effect of sharing in the Eucharistic sacrificial banquet. We are drawn into union with the Lord, and along with Him, into union with the entire Holy Trinity - Father and Holy Spirit as well as the Son. And this union, this “Holy Communion” perdures well after the Mass is ended and we go in peace. This union began with our First Holy Communion and is deepened more and more with every reception of the Eucharist. Only mortal sin can end it. It will be perfected in the eternal life of heaven.
As marvelous as this union with the Trinity is, there is more to it. Communion” is a commonunion. In other words, through sharing in the Eucharist we are united deeper and deeper with the Body of Christ which is the Church, and with each member of the Church, living and deceased. (Hence the phrase “Communion of the Saints.”) So Holy Communion unites us deeper and deeper with the mystery of the Church and empowers us to share in its mission to spread the Gospel by Christian witness, service and worship.
That elegant and seemingly abstract theology has a concrete side: we are not only united to the Church by Holy Communion; we are united to each member of the Church. That is why St. Thomas Aquinas referred to the Eucharist as the “sacrament of unity and bond of charity.” When we receive Holy Communion, we are in a sense “marrying” one another. “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health” and not even physical death can separate us from our fellow communicants.
So ponder all this carefully as you wait in line to “receive Holy Communion.” Think about Whom you will receive, but also all the people you will be in com-union with besides the Lord and the Trinity. It’s quite amazing to contemplate.
- Msgr. Lockard