If sacraments are to create unity, why do they cause so much division?
Fr. Fragomeni responds by posing three questions:
- Why do we celebrate the Eucharist?
- What are we doing?
- Specifically in the Catholic Church, why is there division since there is such universal love of the Eucharist?
He addresses disagreements over kneeling or standing, location of the tabernacle, communion in the hand, and the presence of the communion rail. These practices evoke different responses, depending on whether Eucharistic worship is seen as a gift or a sacrifice. But both themes are woven together in Christian history and cannot be isolated. Fr. Fragomeni passionately reminds all that in the midst of our attitudinal differences, we are transforming humanity into divinity:
We come to Eucharist as a divided people, with sinfulness and a bias to others.
In Eucharist, we need to give God the access code to our hearts and become the living Body of Christ, formed into a people undivided.
This presentation was recorded before a live audience at the 2000 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.
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