The Sacrament of Unity | Sunday Reflection | 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By: Fr. Matthew Harrington, Class of 2024

Last week the National Eucharistic Revival reached its summit in the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Very fittingly, this Sunday and the following four Sundays will feature Gospel passages from the bread of life discourse in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. This provides an opportunity to continue to reflect on the Eucharist, not only in our personal lives but in our national context.

​We live in a nation, and world, particularly characterized by division and disagreement, and, unfortunately, we sometimes see this in the Church as well. When these divisions are not overcome, violence is often the terrible but predictable result. Various secular leaders will propose plans for how to create unity. But on the natural level, the reality is that we do not have the ability to solve this problem. It is only on the supernatural level that real division can be overcome.

​God is able to reconcile us with himself through the blood of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only when we are drawn up into the life of the Trinity, through Jesus Christ, that we can overcome division and disagreement. Through the power of God we are formed into the one people of God, the living mystical Body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit. By being pulled together into Christ all division and disorder is able to be overcome as we become united in Christ.

​The greatest sacrament of this unity is the Eucharist. In the third Eucharistic Prayer, the priest prays asking God for this unity saying, “grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ.” This prayer helps us to see how this sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, the Eucharist, has the power to bind us together and strengthen our unity.

​Even the name we so often use for the Eucharist, Holy Communion, helps us to see this reality. This communion with God and with one another is accomplished and strengthened by our reception of the Eucharist. The part of the Mass called the Communion Rite begins with the Our Father, because our communion, our unity, is based on the fact that in Christ we all share the same Father. Even the sign of peace helps us to see how our unity and peace must flow from Christ who unites us.

​So in this world so marked by division, the only Christian response is to allow ourselves to become more united with Christ. Every divided group can be united today. But this unity can only be achieved if we allow Christ to accomplish it in us, especially through the great sacrament of unity, the Eucharist.