The Eucharist Makes the Church: The Sacrament of Unity

          If you were at Christ in the Capitol last night then you heard me mention that it is the Eucharist that is the source of unity for the Church, so in this month's blog reflection I wanted to talk about what that really means.  Throughout the scripture there are constant references to the Church being the Body of Christ.  The most explicit example occurs in 1 Corinthians 12 where in writing to the Church in Corinth St. Paul says "you are the body of Christ" (verses 12-31).  Thus, in speaking of the Body of Christ, there is constant mentioning of the unity that exist within the members of that body which in other passages is equated with the Church.  One such example occurs in Colossians 1: 18 where St. Paul states, "He is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent."  From this we can infer that the unity that was meant to be in the Church was supposed to be a visible unity because bodies are visible.  St. Paul did not call us the soul of the Christ, but he called us the body of Christ; therefore, our unity is much more than just some invisible spiritual reality.  Our unity was never meant to be just poetic word usage on the part of St. Paul but from the establishment of the Church, Christ had always intended for the Church to be one because if Christ is the head there can only be one body.
         Now that we have established the Church to be the Body of Christ, how does one become a member of the Body of Christ?  Well, in the most simple of terms, one becomes incorporated into the Body of Christ simply by being baptized in accordance with the right form and matter (form--"I Baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirt", matter--with water).  While this is the truth of how one becomes a part of the Body of Christ, we must remember that the waters of baptism only become efficacious (effective) by Christ's sacrifice of himself upon the Cross.  In other words, if Christ had not died for us upon the cross then the waters of baptism would be meaningless.
          Okay, so that is great and all, but if we were to stop here then it would seem as if waters of baptism is the source of our unity.  Where does the Eucharist come in?  To answer that question we must return to the sacred scriptures.  On the night of the last supper, Jesus turned to his Apostles and said "'This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.'  And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you (Luke 22:19-20).'"  At first glance through the lens of our contemporary mindset, these words may seem meaningless.  To fully understand what it is Christ is saying we must get into the mindset of a Jew in that time period and seek to understand what is meant when Christ uses the term "covenant."
          Looking in the Old Testament, a covenant was a promise/oath that was sworn between two parties--God and man, and from a liturgical context, whenever a Jewish person offered a sacrafice in the temple he is recalling the original covenant that was made between God and Man.  For example, whenever a Jew was to celebrate the Passover (sacrifice of the lamb in the Temple) he in a sense was making the original covenant present at the current sacrifice.  This is not say that it was a new covenant but it was a re-presenation (to present again) of the sacrifice that had already been established.  It is through this lens that Catholics look at the Eucharist; namely, not as merely a representation (symbol) but as a re-presentation (to make present again).  It is no coincidence that Christ uses the terminology "new covenant" within the celebration of the Passover liturgy (Old Covenant).  In doing this is Christ is saying to the Jews, "Hey guys, this is super important, you might want to pay attention here, because I am about to do something super awesome."  Thus, whenever, Christ establishes the "new covenant" with the Apostle and by telling them to do this in remembrance of me, Christ is telling them every time you celebrate the Eucharist you are making my original sacrifice on the cross present.  It is for this reason, that we call the Eucharist the source and summit of our faith.  It is the source because, being the same sacrifice as that of the cross, it makes all of the other sacraments efficacious, and it is the summit because it is the aim that all of the other sacraments are directed towards.  In other words, it is the Eucharist that gives the sacrament of baptism the necessary grace to unite us to the body of Christ and it the Eucharist to which our life in Christ is directed and by which our life in Christ is nourished.  In other words, it is the Eucharist that makes the Church. "Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the faithful in one body - the Church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism. In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. The Eucharist fulfills this call[.] (CCC 1396)."