Pope at Angelus: Allow yourselves
to be transformed
On the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus
Christi, Pope Francis reflects on the mystical and communal effects of the
Eucharist.
By Vatican News
During his Sunday Angelus on the Solemnity of the Body and
Blood of Christ, Pope Francis turned to the day’s reading, in which Saint Paul
describes the Eucharistic celebration. “He highlights two effects of the shared
chalice and the broken bread: the mystical effect and the communal effect”,
said the Pope.
The mystical effect
Pope Francis explained that Jesus is present in the
sacrament of the Eucharist “to be our nourishment, to be assimilated and to
become in us that renewing force that gives energy and the desire to set out
again after every pause or fall”.
He added that this, however, requires “our assent, our
willingness to let ourselves be transformed – our way of thinking and acting”.
Otherwise, continued the Pope, the Eucharistic celebrations in which we
participate “are reduced to empty and formal rites”.
The communal effect
The communal effect is “the mutual communion of those who
participate in the Eucharist, to the point of becoming one body together, in
the same way that one loaf is broken and distributed”, said the Pope. He
explained that “one cannot participate in the Eucharist without committing
oneself to mutual fraternity”.
Pope Francis continued saying the Lord knows that “our human
strength alone is not enough for this” and that aware of the temptation to
rivalry, envy, prejudice, division, “He left us the Sacrament of His real,
tangible and permanent Presence, so that, remaining united to Him, we may
always receive the gift of fraternal love”.
This dual fruit
The Pope then explained that “this dual fruit of the
Eucharist: first, union with Christ and second, communion between those who are
nourished by Him”, generates and continually renews the Christian community.
"It is the Church that makes the Eucharist", he said, "but it is
more fundamental that the Eucharist makes the Church",
continued the Pope, allowing her to “be her mission, even before she
accomplishes it”.
Finally, the Pope prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, that
she may “help us to always welcome with wonder and gratitude the great gift
that Jesus gave us by leaving us the Sacrament of His Body and His
Blood”.
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