Jesus Unites Us

• Love is the pathway to unity
• Unity through Jesus Christ
• It is an urgent need that we have to pray for because there is so much division & competition around us
• Jesus gives us the commandment to love our enemies
• Unity becomes possible when we love Him & others & when we continue to be in communion w/ Him in the sacraments & the Church
• Eucharist as Holy Communion
• Biblical foundation for Holy Communion = what Christ did at the Last Supper; gives his followers His own flesh to eat & blood to drink (represented by the bread & wine)
• If we do not eat & drink His flesh & blood, we won’t attain eternal life
• Love of God & for our neighbour
• 1st Effect of receiving Holy Communion: Unite us w/ Christ
• Holy Communion/Holy Eucharist must be received to support & nourish the supernatural life of the soul; 3rd sacrament of initiation; brings us into the fullness of our life in Christ; we unite ourselves to Christ
• If it is physically impossible to participate in Communion, we can pray the Act of Spiritual Communion (where we express our desire to be united w/ Christ & ask Him to come into our soul)
• Receiving Holy Communion worthily brings us graces that affect us (spiritually/physically)
• Spiritually, our souls become more united w/ Christ, both through the graces we receive & through the change in our actions that those graces effect