The Eucharist, the sacrament of love, is the event that unites us Christians and binds us together in one mystical body of Christ – the Church – by the sacramental eating of the Body and Blood of Christ. Just as there were disputes in the early Church, specifically in the Corinthian community, over the Eucharist, so there are disputes in the Church today. For the normal life of communion, it is essential that we have a proper understanding of what the Eucharist is, what its meaning is, and why we celebrate it at all. It is also necessary to be aware that we never celebrate it alone, but always as a community gathered in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The Apostle Paul writes clearly about this in his First Letter to the Corinthians, where he stresses in particular the importance of concrete love, which is fundamental for building communion between brothers and sisters and God. The Eucharist involves not only man and communion, but the whole of creation, the whole of the universe - all of which finds its place and purpose in the celebration of the Eucharist, which is thus not only the central event of the Church, but of all creation. Even today, the Eucharist remains a central part of the life of the Church, from which she draws her strength to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, and even today it is precisely in the Eucharist that conflicts arise which seriously threaten the unity of the Church. The Church's teaching ministry, with the Popes at its head, responds to this by encouraging a Eucharistic life - that is, a life of love - and a life of unity, because only in this way will we fulfil Christ's salvific command to love one another.
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