Eucharist:

Sign and Source of Christian Unity

by Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M., S.T.D. When Catholics from all the nations and cultures of the world gather for a Eucharistic Congress, like the one in Rome in June 2000, they celebrate a tremendous sign of unity. All who artici ate in this Eucharist are fed by the same life of Christ. At the same time the worldwide eucharistic celebration is a sign of unity it is also a source, or cause, of unity. We are nourished by the same body and blood of Christ, strengthened in unity. !et there"s a fli side of the coin. As remarkable a dis lay of unity as eucharistic congresses are they also show us how far we are from unity among all Christians. A eucharistic congress makes us long for the day when all Christians can share in the one body of Christ# intercommunion. $o what degree is intercommunion ossible today% Are there ways we can hasten the day when all communions can artici ate in one Eucharist% $his Update will e& lore what the Catholic Church teaches about intercommunion and why.

Longing for Intercommunion

$he fundamental meaning of any sacrament can be found in the rayers which accom any the sacramental action. 'n each of the se(en sacraments we in(oke the )oly * irit and etition the * irit to make us holy and to build u the +ody of Christ. $his etition is the key to understanding the sacrament# $he rimary etition of the eucharistic rayer is for unity in Christ. We ask that the * irit change the bread and wine into the +ody and +lood of Christ so that we who eat and drink might be changed into the +ody of Christ. ,-et your * irit come u on these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our -ord, Jesus Christ.....ay all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the )oly * irit., /Eucharistic 0rayer, 21 ,2rant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his )oly * irit, and become one body, one s irit in Christ., /Eucharistic 0rayer, 31 $he other eucharistic rayers ha(e similar in(ocations.

If "unity" is at the heart of Eucharist, why can't all Christians Protestants, rthodo!, Catholicsshare "oly Communion#
4ifferent Christian Churches answer this 5uestion in (arious ways. *ome Christians fa(or ,o en Communion., 6 en Communion is the osition that holds that no one can sto a ba ti7ed erson who belie(es in Jesus Christ from recei(ing Communion in any Church. $hey would say that o en Communion is the referred o tion because the )oly *u er is a source of unity8a means by which unity among Christians can be achie(ed. $his, howe(er, is not the official Roman Catholic osition. 6ther Christians belie(e that the condition for recei(ing )oly Communion in another Church is unity of faith in the Real 0resence. 'ntercommunion will be ossible when the Churches reach a doctrinal consensus regarding Eucharist. While much rogress has been made regarding our common doctrinal understanding of Real 0resence, the official Catholic osition asks for more than common belief in the real resence. *ome Christians8Catholics included8hold that sharing )oly Communion is only ro er between Churches which ha(e a historical succession of bisho s and true riesthood. 9or real /(alid1 Eucharist, you need real riesthood. $his is an im ortant element of the Catholic osition. $he official Catholic osition holds that )oly Communion is not only a source of Christian unity, but it is also a sign of unity8real unity, e&isting now. ,*trengthened in holy Communion by the body of Christ, :the faithful; manifest in a concrete way the unity of the eo le of 2od that this sacrament a tly signifies and wondrously causes, /<atican '', Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, ==1. We cannot ut forth signs of unity when ob(ious di(ision still e&ists. Recei(ing Communion at the same altar is not a sign of unity when we do so with the intention of se arating afterwards to return to our (arious Churches. 'n short, the Catholic Church teaches that we should not retend to ha(e true unity if, in reality, we are se arated from other Christian bodies. $hat se aration is often seen now not so much o(er basic beliefs as it is o(er mutual recognition of the (alidity of )oly 6rders.

$he Eucharist is more than food for the indi(idual Christian. When we come together to celebrate the Eucharist we e& ress who we are as Church. $he liturgy, es ecially the Eucharist, ,is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may e& ress in their li(es and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church, /Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 21.

$oman Catholic Law

0o e John 0aul '' e& lains the Roman Catholic osition regarding intercommunion in his encyclical letter on ecumenism, That A May !e One. )e says that <atican ''"s Decree on "cumenism />22?231 , ointing out that the ost?Reformation Communities lack that "fullness of unity with us which should flow from +a tism,, obser(es that "es ecially because of the lack of the *acrament of 6rders they ha(e not reser(ed the genuine and total reality of the Eucharistic mystery," e(en though "when they commemorate the -ord"s 4eath and Resurrection in the )oly *u er, they rofess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and they await his coming in glory", />@A1. Conse5uently, the current law of the Roman Church states that ordinarily Catholics can recei(e the sacraments only from Catholic ministers /Code of Canon -aw, Canon BCC1. )owe(er, the law itself gi(es some e&ce tions to this general rule. ,Whene(er necessity re5uires it or true s iritual ad(antage suggests it, and ro(ided that danger of error or indifferentism is a(oided, the Christian faithful for whom it is hysically or morally im ossible to a roach a Catholic minister are ermitted to recei(e the sacraments of enance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non?Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are (alid, /Canon BCC, 21. $he fact that e&ce tions e&ist is a sign of ho e.

Sharing Communion %ith Eastern Catholics and rthodo!

*ome years ago ' was in Egy t, (isiting a fellow Catholic riest at his arish. While ' was there, his friend, the astor of the neighboring Co tic arish, died. $he Co tic funeral was a situation where Roman Catholics would be ermitted to recei(e Communion from a non?Catholic minister. Roman Catholics recogni7e this Church as ha(ing (alid riesthood and (alid Eucharist. $he long friendshi of the two astors made this a time when recei(ing Communion at his friend"s funeral would ha(e constituted a ,s iritual ad(antage., 't was im ossible to a roach a Catholic minister because it was a Co tic funeral .ass. +ut there was another consideration that ke t us two Catholics from recei(ing Communion# Co tic?church law forbade it. We did not recei(e out of res ect for their law. $he same would be true for a Catholic (isiting an 6rthodo& arish anywhere. +ut what ha ens when the abo(e situation is re(ersed, when a member of an 6rthodo& Church wishes to recei(e Communion in a Catholic Church% )ere Catholic canon law states# ,Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of enance, Eucharist, and anointing f the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not ha(e full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are ro erly dis osed, /Canon BCC, 31. ' e& erienced an e&am le of this in Derala, 'ndia. ' was staying with a good friend who is astor of a Catholic arish of the *yro?.alankara Rite. An elderly cou le who li(ed ne&t door to the arish church, although they were *yrian 6rthodo&, came to daily .ass and recei(ed )oly Communion with us. $his is ermitted by the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches /Canon @A3, 3 which is (ery similar to our Canon BCC, 31. $hese ro(isions in the law are in kee ing with the current Catholic osition that the Eucharist is a sign of actual unity already achie(ed. $here is sufficient unity between the Catholic Church and these sister? Churches to warrant intercommunion under the circumstances s elled out in the law. $hey ha(e true faith in the Eucharist, a ostolic succession, and (alid riesthood.

Sharing Communion %ith Protestants

+ut for Catholics where ' li(e, these e&am les seem to miss the oint. $he 5uestion here is not about *yro?.alankara Catholics or Co tic 6rthodo&. $he 5uestion is# What about 0rotestants% Can we share Eucharist with them% We ha(e seen that the official Roman Catholic osition of restricting the sharing of )oly Communion is based on the rinci le that Eucharist is a sign of Church unity already actually achie(ed. +ut years ago the larger issues of Church unity and ministry did not lay a determining role. 'n my early training ' learned that 0rotestants could not recei(e )oly Communion at .ass because they did not belie(e in the Real 0resence of Christ in the Eucharist. 't was ne(er e& lained to me e&actly what they did belie(e, but ' knew it was not what we belie(ed. *ince then, ' ha(e learned that it is often dangerous to resume to know what someone else belie(es. 9or e&am le, ' remember the day some years ago when -aura, a young Catholic girl, came to the rectory with her 0rotestant fiance .ike and asked me to hel them lan their wedding. +ecause marriage is a sacrament and the wedding ceremony is first and foremost an act of worshi 8 rayer time8' asked -aura and .ike, ,)a(e you e(er rayed together%, ,*ure,, they re lied, ,we often ray together., ,)a(e you e(er gone to church together%, And again the answer was yes. ,Each *unday we go to church together,, -aura re lied. ,*ometimes to mine, sometimes his., ' asked ,4o you e(er recei(e Communion together%, ,6f course not,, they both re lied. When ' asked ,why not,, -aura e& lained, ,+ecause we Catholics belie(e in the Real 0resence of Christ in the Eucharist and 0rotestants belie(e in merely symbolic resence., 'ntrigued by this idea of ,merely symbolic resence, ' asked .ike if he would take his Church"s Communion +read, and ut eanut butter and Eelly on it. .ike looked at me in sur rise and shock. ,6f course not, 9atherF 't"s not bread for a sandwichG it"s the +ody of the -ord., ,'f you belie(e that )oly Communion is the +ody of -ord,, ' asked, ,why don"t you recei(e Communion at the Catholic Church%, .ike e& lained, ,'n our Church, we belie(e that recei(ing )oly Communion has a s iritual, religious meaningG whereas Catholics belie(e that it is merely a hysical act, some sort of cannibalism., ' found it (ery interesting how both of these de(out young Christians had somehow icked u a stereoty e of the other"s belief. Although many 0rotestants ha(e true belief in Christ"s eucharistic resence, our laws regarding their artici ation in Catholic Eucharist are more restricti(e than those we saw abo(e regarding the 6rthodo& Churches because we do not share the same degree of unity with the 0rotestant Churches that we share with the 6rthodo&. ,'f the danger of death is resent or if, in the Eudgment of the diocesan bisho or conference of bisho s, some other gra(e necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer :the sacraments of enance, Eucharist and anointing of the sick; licitly also to other Christians not ha(ing full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot a roach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, ro(ided that they manifest Catholic faith in res ect to these sacraments and are ro erly dis osed., /Canon BCC, C1 $he law allows for some e&ce tions8,when gra(e necessity urges it., $he Roman 4irectory for Ecumenism /=HH31 lists among the e&am les of this ,gra(e necessity, the ossibility of a non?Catholic s ouse recei(ing Communion at a Catholic wedding. +ut the directory insists that local bisho s and bisho "s conferences s ell out the times when this ,gra(e necessity, might be resent. $here are times when eucharistic sharing between E isco alians and Catholics in the Inited *tates might be ossible when similar sharing between Anglicans and Roman Catholics in 'reland might not. 't is difficult for Rome to make laws which are a licable to all the countries of the world. While the Roman directory suggests that the non?Catholic arty might recei(e Communion at their Catholic wedding, the 5uestion must be asked about the non?Catholic guests. 'f they are unable to recei(e )oly Communion, we will ha(e a liturgy which makes (isible signs of our di(ision when the wedding liturgy itself is intended to gi(e signs of unity8the unity of bride and groom, the unity of Christ and the Church. $hat is why it is best on these occasions to celebrate the wedding without a Eucharist.

ur &as' for the (uture

'n the encyclical On the Coming o# the Third Mi ennium, 0o e John 0aul '' stated# ,Among the most fer(ent etitions which the Church makes to the -ord...is that unity among all Christians of the (arious confessions will increase until they reach full communion., 6ur efforts toward ecumenical agreements must show the world ,that the disci les of Christ are fully resol(ed to reach full unity as soon as ossible in the certainty that "nothing is im ossible with 2od.", 'n this same conte&t, as the o e calls for ,coo eration in the many areas which unite us,, he oints out that these areas which unite us ,are un5uestionably more numerous than those which di(ide us, />=@1. 6ur task is to em hasi7e the ositi(e, to reali7e how far we ha(e come. $oday in many laces the Churches of a city or area are Eoining together to work for safe, drug?free streetsG Eointly s onsoring thrift stores and sou kitchensG ooling resources for emergency financial hel to those in needG working together in roEects such as )abitat for )umanity. And e(en though we cannot yet always share the -ord"s life?gi(ing +read at one common table, how wonderful it is that so many of our Churches share a common table of the -ord"s Word. 't is a great blessing that we all e& erience the redeeming resence of Christ in the roclamation of the same *cri ture assages in our churches. ,$o accom lish so great a work, Christ is always resent in his Church, es ecially in its liturgical celebrations....)e is resent in his word, since it is he himself who s eaks when the holy *cri tures are read in the Church., /Sacred Liturgy, A1. When we s eak of Church unity we do not, of course, mean Church uniformity. 't is ossible, and e(en referable, to achie(e Church unity while reser(ing a wide di(ersity of Church structures and liturgical e& ressions. ,9rom the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great di(ersity of those who recei(e them, /Catechism o# the Catho ic Church, B=C1. $he transcendent s lendor of 6rthodo& liturgiesG the re(erence and ecumenical 7eal of the Churches of the Anglican CommunionG the gratitude for 2od"s free grace and the -utheran Church"s contributions to liturgy through musicG the missionary s irit of the +a tist ChurchesG the 4isci les of Christ"s dedication to Church unityG the call to social res onsibility roclaimed by the Inited .ethodist ChurchG the confidence in 2od"s faithfulness as witnessed to by the 0resbyterian and Reform Churches8these rich gifts which 2od has gi(en to each of the Churches are to be reser(ed and de(elo ed until the day we wea(e them together in a wonderful ta estry to be laced on the table when ,many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, 'saac and Jacob at the ban5uet in the kingdom of hea(en, /.atthew B#==1. Thomas Richsttater, O.F.M., has a doctorate in sacramental theology from Institut Catholique of Paris and serves on the faculty of St. Meinrad School of Theology. e is a !o!ular "riter and lecturer "hose latest #oo$ is The Sacraments% o" Catholics Pray &St. 'nthony Messenger Press(. )e!t: *any (aces in +od's "ouse ,y -irgilio Eli.ondo, /amie Phel0s, and Peter C1 Phan 1P1,

+uidelines for )on2Catholic +uests

"$cerpt #rom the U.S. Catho ic bishops% o##icia guide ines (or our fellow Christians: 111+ecause Catholics belie(e that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life and worshi , members of those Churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in e&ce tional circumstances by other Christians re5uires ermission according to the directi(es of the diocesan bisho and the ro(isions of canon law /Canon BCC, C1. .embers of the 6rthodo& Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the 0olish Jational Catholic

Church are urged to res ect the disci line of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic disci line, the Code of Canon -aw does not obEect to the rece tion of Communion by Christians of these Churches /BCC, 31. (or those not recei3ing holy Communion: All who are not recei(ing holy Communion are encourage to e& ress in their hearts a rayerful desire for unity with the -ord Jesus and with one another. (or non2Christians: We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to holy Communion, we ask them to offer their rayers for the eace and the unity of the human family. Comp ete o##icia guide ines can be #ound on the &nternet at' www1ncc,uscc1org

4elief in $eal Presence

'n discussions with both Catholics and 0rotestants ' ha(e found that many Christians are unaware of the wonderful rogress that has been made by both Catholics and 0rotestants in our common understanding of Christ"s Eucharistic 0resence. 9or e&am le, ' think many Catholics would be sur rised to learn the source of the following statement# ,$he words and acts of Christ at the institution of the eucharist stand at the heart of the celebrationG the eucharistic meal is the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, the sacrament of his real resence. Christ fulfills in a (ariety of ways his romise to be always with his own e(en to the end of the world. +ut Christ"s mode of resence in the eucharist is uni5ue. Jesus said o(er the bread and wine of the eucharist# "$his is my body...this is my blood...." ,What Christ declared is true, and this truth is fulfilled e(ery time the eucharist is celebrated. $he Church confesses Christ"s real, li(ing and acti(e resence in the eucharist. While Christ"s real resence in the eucharist does not de end on the faith of the indi(idual, all agree that to discern the body and blood of Christ, faith is re5uired., $his statement is not from the o e, but from the World Council of Churches /!aptism, "ucharist and Ministry, E=31. $he rogress that Churches ha(e made in interdenominational understanding and astorally sensiti(e e&ce tions to bans on intercommunion are signs of ho e. 0rogress towards Christian unity is taking lace. We must ray, with Jesus /see John =A#201, that all #elievers may #e one.