AUDIENCE: THE WORD, THE EUCHARIST AND DIVIDED CHRISTIANS

VATICAN CITY, NOV 15, 2000 (VIS) - "The Word, the Eucharist and Divided Christians" was the theme of John Paul II's catechesis during the general audience which was held this morning in St. Peter's Square.

The Holy Father said that by reflecting on the Trinity and the Eucharist we come to "consider, above all, the problem of restoring unity among Christians." On this theme, he cited the biblical passage of the disciples of Emmaus who leave the community and, after encountering the Risen Christ as they walked, were able to recognize Him, especially when He "took the bread ... and broke it." Thus they returned to Jerusalem to rejoin "the eleven gathered together and those who were with them."

"Through the celebration of the Eucharist of the Lord in each of (the individual) Churches, the Church of God is built up and grows in stature and through concelebration, their communion with one another is made manifest," said the Pope, quoting from the decree on ecumenism. "The single feast is a sign and display of unity." Thus, it is "doctrinal differences between the disciples of Christ, gathered in different Churches and ecclesial communities, that limit full sacramental sharing. Nonetheless, baptism is the deep root of a fundamental unity that links all Christians, despite their differences."

In some cases, he went on, the Eucharistic celebration may show "some signs of participation that express the unity that already exists and that lead in the direction of full communion between Churches."

"The limits of shared communion in the feast of the Word and the Eucharist must become an appeal to purification, to dialogue and to the ecumenical path of the Churches. These are limits that make us feel even more strongly - precisely in the celebration of the Eucharist - the burden of our wounds and contradictions. Thus, the Eucharist becomes a challenge and a provocation located at the very heart of the Church to remind us of Christ's greatest and most intense will: 'that they may all be one'."

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