The Henri Nouwen Society from Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Meditation for Thursday, 8 October 2015 "Sacrament of Unity" from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey

The Henri Nouwen Society from Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Meditation for Thursday, 8 October 2015 "Sacrament of Unity" from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey
The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It makes us into one body. The apostle Paul writes: "As there is one loaf, so we, although there are many of us, are one single body, for we all share in the one loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:17).
The Eucharist is much more than a place where we celebrate our unity in Christ. The Eucharist creates this unity. By eating from the same bread and drinking from the same cup, we become the body of Christ present in the world. Just as Christ becomes really present to us in the breaking of the bread, we become really present to one another as brothers and sisters of Christ, members of the same body. Thus the Eucharist not only signifies unity but also creates it.

For further reflection...
"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."[I Corinthians 10: 16, 17 (NIV)]
Save the date! For those of you in the Toronto area, keep October 13free! Click here.
The First Annual Henri Nouwen Lecture featuring Jim Wallis happensNovember 14, 2015. For more information, click here.
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Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.
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