Eucharist is antidote to egotism, Pope tells audience
June 27, 2011
At his midday audience on Sunday, June 26, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the feast of Corpus Christi, which was being celebrated in many dioceses around the world that day. (The Vatican had celebrated the feast on June 23.)
The Eucharist, the Pope said, “is like a beating heart giving life to the mystical Body of the Church.” He added: “Without the Eucharist the Church would simply cease to exist.” The Church, Pope Benedict explained, is not merely a human organization, but a “mystery of communion” founded upon the Eucharist. He continued:
In an increasingly individualistic culture such as that in which we live in Western societies and which is tending to spread throughout the world, the Eucharist constitutes a kind of “antidote,” working on the hearts and minds of believers and continually infusing them with the logic of communion, service and sharing, the logic of the Gospel.
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Posted by: Justin8110 -
Jun. 27, 2011 5:06 PM ET USA
I like the beating heart imagery. The Precious Blood we receive ultimately comes from His Sacred Heart. I only wish the Pope would stress the need to make ourselves worthy before we approach our Lord in Holy Communion by an examination of conscience and Confession. A real antidote to egotism is to kneel before the Cross in the Confessional so that we may be made worthy to partake in the eucharist.
