Communion

The Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life. Christians are therefore called to prepare themselves properly to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. St Paul says: ‘Let each one examine himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup’ (1 Cor 11:28). Pope John Paul II, in his Encyclical Letter *Ecclesia de Eucharistia*, reminds us of the words of Saint John Chrysostom: ‘I too raise my voice; I plead and implore that no one should approach the Sacred Table with a corrupt conscience. Indeed, such an act cannot be called ‘Communion’, not even if we were to touch the Body of Christ a thousand times. Rather, such an act would bring condemnation, torment and increase our punishment’. Similarly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that anyone in a state of serious sin should receive the sacrament of reconciliation (confession) before going to communion. Let us give thanks to God that many Christians today have come to understand the need to prepare properly to receive the Eucharist. When I, too, came to understand the benefits of this preparation, I personally made regular confession a part of my life.

If we prepare ourselves well to receive Holy Communion, we must also bear the fruits of this sacrament by ‘becoming what we receive’: communion. This communion implies communion with the Bishop and the Pope. Pope John Paul II warns against celebrating the Eucharist without being in communion with the Bishop. This communion is particularly expressed during Sunday Mass. Consequently, Sunday Mass must not be missed. I know Christians who take their Sunday Mass so seriously that they do everything they can to ensure they never miss it. Even when they are planning a trip, they attend Mass early on Sunday morning or, upon arrival, in the evening. Otherwise, they either postpone their trip or bring it forward. During my many travels, I always make every effort to attend Sunday Mass and receive Holy Communion. Indeed, I would not want anything to prevent me from receiving Holy Communion; for me, that would be spiritual death. 

Becoming what we receive—that is, ‘Communion’—implies communion with our brothers and sisters. Saint Paul says that we are all members of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12–27). Hence the need for a life of communion amongst us. Once again, Pope John Paul II, in *Novo Millennio Ineunte*, even calls on us to promote a spirituality of communion. This call implies that our communities should become homes and schools of communion—that is to say, of love. This requirement is always a challenge for us all. ‘The spirituality of communion means the ability to be attentive to one’s brother or sister in faith, regarding them as “one of our own”, so as to share in their joys and sufferings, to discern their desires and respond to their needs, and to offer them true and profound friendship. It is also the ability to see, above all, what is positive in the other person, so as to welcome and value them as a gift from God: a ‘gift for me’ and not just for the brother who has received it; finally, it means knowing how to ‘make room’ for one’s brother by ‘bearing one another’s burdens’ (Gal 6:2). Life in our communities is characterised above all by the exclusion of those who are not one of us. Living in communion will involve regarding others as brothers. 

If the Trinity also dwells in the other person, I must forgive them. Living in communion will mean that each of us makes an effort to forgive and restore unity with those with whom we do not get on well. Each of us, young and old alike, surely has someone with whom relations are not at their best. If we wish to be what we receive in the Eucharist, we shall seek to forgive our brothers and sisters. Jesus says that if anyone has a grievance against you, leave your offering first and go and be reconciled with them, then come and offer your gift. If we understand that in this case it is someone who has a grievance against us, this applies even more so if it is we who are angry. So we must seize every opportunity for forgiveness and practical reconciliation with our brothers and sisters; this, too, would be to live out what we receive: Communion.

Henri Bayemi