Ecclesia De Eucharistia - (On the Eucharist in its Relationship to the Church) April
17, 2003 Pope John Paul II
Chapter Four
The Eucharist And Ecclesial Communion
35. The celebration of
the Eucharist, however, cannot be the starting-point for communion; it
presupposes that communion already exists, a communion which it seeks to
consolidate and bring to perfection.
…The sacrament… in its visible dimension…entails communion
in the teaching of the Apostles
…Only in this context
can there be a legitimate celebration of the Eucharist and true participation
in it.
36. Invisible communion…presupposes
the life of grace
…Keeping these
invisible bonds intact is a specific moral duty incumbent upon Christians who
wish to participate fully in the Eucharist by receiving the body and blood of
Christ.
…Saint John Chrysostom,
with his stirring eloquence, exhorted the faithful: “I too raise my voice, I
beseech, beg and implore that no one draw near to this sacred table with a
sullied and corrupt conscience. Such an act, in fact, can never be called
'communion', not even were we to touch the Lord's body a thousand times over,
but 'condemnation', 'torment' and 'increase of punishment'”.73
…“anyone conscious of
a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to
communion”.74 I therefore desire to reaffirm… the Apostle Paul's
stern warning when it affirmed that, in order to receive the Eucharist in a
worthy manner, “one must first confess one's sins, when one is aware of mortal
sin”.75
37. …the Eucharist gives
rise to a continuous need for conversion
…If a Christian's
conscience is burdened by serious sin, then the path of penance through the
sacrament of Reconciliation becomes necessary for full participation in the
Eucharistic Sacrifice.
…However, in cases of
outward conduct which is seriously, clearly and steadfastly contrary to the
moral norm, the Church, in her pastoral concern for the good order of the
community and out of respect for the sacrament, cannot fail to feel directly
involved. The Code of Canon Law
refers to this situation of a manifest lack of proper moral disposition when it
states that those who “obstinately persist in manifest grave sin” are not to be
admitted to Eucharistic communion.76
38. …“They are fully
incorporated into the society of the Church who, possessing the Spirit of
Christ, accept her whole structure and all the means of salvation established
within her, and within her visible framework are united to Christ, who governs
her through the Supreme Pontiff and the Bishops, by the bonds of profession of
faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government and communion”.77
The Eucharist…demands
to be celebrated in a context where
the outward bonds of communion are also intact.
39. …Likewise, since
“the Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter, is the perpetual and visible
source and foundation of the unity of the Bishops and of the multitude of the
faithful”,82 communion with him is intrinsically required for the
celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice..
42. …the Church has
drawn up norms…determining the objective conditions under which communion may
not be given. The care shown in promoting the faithful observance of these
norms becomes a practical means of showing love for the Eucharist and for the
Church.
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